BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Phil,

Too bad we missed you today, but I understand. It was a sticky wet snow but didn't seem to be sticking to the road, just things above ground.

Met up with Vann, got to meet Chitown. I'll have to post a pic of him on the F800GS. Didn't get to sight see much because of the wather so we're back at the hotel and will run over to the Mall here in a few minutes.

If any of the pics turn out I'll post them in Group Rides.


DSKYZD

We made it home, without any drama! The worse part of the drive was the parking lot at the show! The streets were just wet and we had no problems at all.

Heard from Chitown and he got out of the weather also and was heading north under clear skies. And into an arctic blast! Great to meet him and he said he would check in when he made it home. I have promised him a tour of some 'secret' roads when he is back in this area.

He is a true adventure rider! Only one of two guys I saw at the bike show with riding gear on!

Brian, nice to see your better half and the kids again. Oh, and you too! Spring rides aren't too far away!

Phil and Rob - wusses!

Yes. I was a wuss. In retrospect, I should have gone down there. Instead I hovered around the house, watched the weather reports, took a picture of this little guy...





Which Sparky built...And kept nice and dry and warm.

Hey Phil - I was even wearing the Bash IV shirt you made! Just to impress you!

Looks like I lucked out this year. Normally, my daughter and I go to the Atlanta show and spend the weekend together. Several years ago she developed a crush on one of the Balls of Steel guys. She's over it now, but I'll never let her live it down.

This year a business trip conflicted with the Atlanta show. Since Bailey is out of school Monday, she came with me so at least we still get to spend a weekend together. As it turned out, instead of being in the nasty weather in Atlanta, we spent most of the afternoon and evening walking around South Beach Florida! The weather here was sunny and in the mid 80s. I sure hate missing the motorcycle show, but if I have to miss it, I'd choose missing it this way!

touchton - Sounds like you got a pretty good weekend out of it!

How can you crush the Balls of Steel?

I just got back from the show. I was disappointed for two reasons.

1.) There was no free parking for bikes. I DID end up parking for free when the attendant felt sorry for me being so cold and the lot was full. She let me back into a striped space by the bus stop shelter. When I left the house at 10 it was 22'F out and sunny. Luckily last night the temps didn't drop down until most of the wet stuff had evaporated from the roads. Its after 2 now and only 28'F. Still sunny, which is deceiving. I can't believe they don't have motorcycle parking at a big motorcycle show!

2.) There was no water fountains that I could locate. That pisses me off when they force you to buy water to drink.

I wanted to sit on the new F800GS but some big heavy guy had broken the sidestand yesterday trying to climb on from the pegs, so Bob Wooldridge (the dealership owner) had to stand there and keep it from falling as people tried it out.



I didn't want to bother with that, so I went over and tried out the 650 X-Country. Turns out it has no rear frame to attach bags. Bummer!
I saw no other bikers riding in to the show today. The best part of the whole show was the Ducati welcoming girl. Unfortunately no pics. OH! And I saw Bill Haycock at the Roadgear booth. He says he's coming to the PA Bash in May. I had to get a replacement Roadgear air gauge which stopped working.
Now I have to go thaw out my toes.

Phil,
I bet a lot of people looked at your license plate, and were jealous that they were not as tough as you.

Too bad about the 800's side stand. I believe that if you have to use the pegs to get on, then you need to look at another bike.

Glad to hear that Bill may make it to PA.

I talked to Bill briefly Saturday and let him know about the Bash. He said he had a trip planned to PA in May anyway.

I made it home from the show safely!
It was nice to meet Vann, and to briefly meet Brian. Sorry I didn't get a chance to chat more, with the high rate of snow falling and number of miles I was from home I needed to get moving. Plus I was starting to sweat with all my gear on. Hopefully I will make it to the Bash...

I thought the show looked small compared to the Chicago one last year, but maybe it was just the layout...
I'm real glad I went though, on top of meeting a few board members I went to the Gerbings booth because my left sleeve on my liner had stopped working. They swapped it out on the spot, no questions asked. No that's what I call customer service! I also bought a pair of the G3 heavy duty winter gloves that proved to be a life saver.


Here's a pic when I came out of the show....




[/img]

Chitown - Glad you made it back OK! We all caught a bit of a break on the snow as we moved north!

Hopefully you can venture back down south later and we can do some riding in the mountains in better weather! And maybe see you at the Bash too!

So the gloves did OK?

I hope you didn't lose that little can of whatever down on the ground by the centerstand.
When Vann phoned me at home, I meant to convey the current weather patterns. I was going to recommend you just take off north since it was better weather about 100 miles above Atlanta.

That little bottle looks some kind of Nikwax waterproofer.

Good to hear you are safe and sound. I like those ADV stickers, fitting!


DSKYZD

wncbmw wrote:Chitown -
Hopefully you can venture back down south later and we can do some riding in the mountains in better weather! And maybe see you at the Bash too!

So the gloves did OK?

The gloves were good, the ride wouldn't have been possible without them.
They kept my hands warm, with the grips on high, at least until I was into Kentucky and the temps dropped below 14.9ºF ( the temp gauge on the bike apparently doesn't go below that, it just comes up blank.) For the last 500 miles in was blank and the gloves only kept my hands warm for about 45 - 60 minutes, then my tips got cold. Another thing I learned about riding in the Arctic temps, is that the gloves won't catch up and warm up unless you put them on indoors, with already warm hands, and plug them in and sit for a few minutes with the bike running to get them warm before riding.

Boxer wrote:I hope you didn't lose that little can of whatever down on the ground by the centerstand.
When Vann phoned me at home, I meant to convey the current weather patterns. I was going to recommend you just take off north since it was better weather about 100 miles above Atlanta.

DSKYZD wrote:That little bottle looks some kind of Nikwax waterproofer.

Good to hear you are safe and sound. I like those ADV stickers, fitting!


DSKYZD

Yes it is a bottle of nikwax gloveproof, I did the treatment right at the Gerbing's booth, then left them to dry at the MOA booth. It worked out well, with all the snow I did get pretty wet, on the outside, but nothing leaked thank God.

And yes I did forget it, running it over as I took my bike off the stand
That sucked but at the time I had plenty of other things on my mind...



Here's another classic ADV sticker shot for ya:

Joe, you are THE Ironman! I could never ride the weather you do.

Joe was easy to find when we agreed to meet at the ticket booth. He was one of only two guys I saw all day with riding gear on!

The more I hear about various glove options for cold weather, the more I am convinced that a pair of Hippo Hands for long rides in the cold may be the best plan!

I remember Hippo Hands. I used them on my snowmobile when I had a broken wrist. They work!

OU812 wrote:I remember Hippo Hands. I used them on my snowmobile when I had a broken wrist. They work!

I have a pair of them, but only use them in the extreme cold (under 20F). They're big and clumsy, but do the job. I never used them inthe rain, so I'm not sure how they would hold up, or keep your hands dry.