ShinySideUp wrote:Reggiebooze wrote:What video camera are you using? Are you happy with it? It looks pretty easy to activate while riding.. or at least to turn off.
Is that built in to the camera, or was the helmet mount responsible?
One of the distraction of motorcycle videos is the loud wind noise. Your video handled that well until you picked up some speed. Have you ever experimented with placing a mic facing backwards, maybe inside a funnel shield, down by the exhaust to capture the engine notes and minimize wind noise?
It's a VholR Contour HD camera - no IS, just stable from being on my helmet. Very easy to use, and makes decent video for $300
It does not offer an external mic input so what I have is what I get.
I do however have an external mic to use when shooting HD video on my 5D2, though I didn't have enough storage space for the Canon's HD file's on this trip. We'll see what the future brings for me and video....
redwing wrote:Impressive ride ChiTown... lots of miles and lots to see. I saw from your map you went what looked like the Continential Divide, the western part of Montana. You must have spent as much time going up as down. Did you have any fade in your brakes going down hill? Seems like you would have to ride the brakes for some time going downhill.
Also did you make it by Glacier Park due east of the Continential Divide? I hear there is a road called 'Going To The Sun Road' or Glacier Rt.1 in Glacier Park. Did you ride Rt.1?
In all fairness, you'll have to wait to make another ride until I make a ride somewheres with lots of stuff to see... you do want to be fair???
Robert
When I was on Bear Tooth Pass outside of yellowstone ( the most spectacular ride-able mountain pass IMO) I had no problems with brake fading.... I took it easy on the way up, and since I was there late in the day, on the way down where I could see the entire road, and lack of traffic, I didn't need the brakes much since I was just on the throttle coming down at warp speeds> I've never felt any significant brake fading on the R, but I've not been a track with it either.
I did not go to Glacier or Going to the Sun HWY. Again, I've been there( it's quite beautiful), but now choose to have free, unrestricted riding instead of heavy traffic, cops, and rules found in the park.
Eagle wrote:Chi - nice post about Alaska. How did you enjoy the western Canadian provinces?
Well, if it wouldn't have been raining so much in BC I could have seen more.... I liked the people I met along the way, I liked Jasper and Banff, but like most big, spectacular US parks, the crowds were stifling. I've concluded that if you want to see things from a bike, not battle the crowds, and not hike in, you're better off outside of national parks where you'll have some fire roads and what not available. But again I like off the beaten path.
This next part is something I posted over on ADV with all my recent 8GS problems, I thought I'd share it here since it's very relevant to the R1200R....
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthre ... 09&page=47
Let me back up a little bit and share my road thoughts about my bikes...
Since I'm so behind on the meat of my story - photographs and tales from the road - it will be hard to not bring some of that into this.... explanation.
After my ride to Newfoundland on my R, the first long ride I've had on it since the GS, I had already realized that the GS wasn't really the bike I need.
I banged out 2000+ miles in a matter of days to get into Newoundland with ease on my R with a small screen, greatly enjoying being in clean air without that big plastic thing in front of me.
I had really forgotten how wonderfully perfect this bike is, being distracted by the mighty GS with it's crazy looks that promise Adventure and nice snarling exhaust.
Anyways, when in Newfoundland I toured the tarmac in great comfort at a very nice, safe, pace, taking in all the sights, and then took the R on some gravel roads, two tracks trails like you saw in the video, some hiking trails (yes hiking trails), rode a portion of the T-Rail (an abandoned rail road track with deep gravel) with 4WD ATV's, and various unimproved roads.
This kind of riding is all I want out any 400+ pound bike.... 12R, 12GS, 8GS, KTM 990 or 950, etc, etc.... I mean, I've been in some rougher stuff than this, but really how fun is it picking up a loaded touring bike, no matter what model?
Why do I need 2 bikes that can do the same thing?
The R does the roads substantially better.... With the exception of Mengle Pass, and a COUPLE of other places out of the 23,000 miles on the GS, the R could do it, just maybe not quite as fast in places
The R is perfect, rides wonderfully, 100% reliable, easy maintenance (6,000 mile between oil changes) I can do myself, and is, well, a piece of art that is a modern classic. She's a beauty.
I guess what I'm saying is my love for the R is obvious, for obvious reasons, and I don't need another Touring Adventure bike, I've had the best one for me all along.
As for the GS I have never "abused" it, I just rode it doing the exact thing it's designed for and heavily marketed as doing - Adventure Dual Sport bike. Unfortunately my particular GS has not proven to be able to take what I consider very normal usage.... maybe this transmission issue I'm having now will be fixed and the bike will be all fine and dandy for the rest of time....
SO, knowing I already have a very capable ADV touring bike in my R, and then combined with the ongoing issues in the GS, getting rid of it is the obvious solution..... but I don't know what I'm going to do about the GS, my issues don't fall under any lemon laws, and on the used market I'm going to really get hoot... would you buy my bike?
Maybe there's someone out there who doesn't know of ADVrider.com....
With all that said, once I figure out how to get rid of the GS for many reasons I've decided that the easiest solution to my "what bike" issues, not needing another ADV touring bike, is to change MY location.... so I'm moving to California, and doing what I should have been done a while ago - buying a proper dirt bike instead of trying to have a do-it-all bike with too many compromises.
Take the need to cover great distances out of the equation and this is what I've got. Living here I won't need to do any Iron Butt rides to get into some mountain trail or desert riding, so I won't need to have a 400+pound bike to lug around the trails... My R can fulfill my adv touring needs with light DS riding easily.
An XR450 or 650, KTM 450, etc. can be my local (entire SW) exploring bike packed super light....... then maybe I'll need some kind of classic 60's bike to look cool on, and then a supermotard bike for the track and canyons... and then maybe Ural... does it ever end?
I'm really wanting to get this whole bike discussion/drama over with and get on with my frikin' Newfoundland story... a happy story.
I start work tomorrow and will have time in the evenings in my hotel room so expect a real update very soon.
For those of you considering a 8GS, don't think that what's happened to my GS is normal, because it's really not from what I've read.... I just happen to have a big hoot mouth.... go over to Beasts or that other f-something site and sift through the crap and come up with your own opinion whether this bike is for you.
If I can only have one, I choose the R1200R.
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So nice. Thank you for sharing the wonderful photos. And video. That is some interesting debris on the coast. And i'm not talking about the driftwood. 
I just finished reading your Baja trip...which seems to have been awhile ago. I just get caught up in the adventures and forget to look at the dates. It was brought home to me in your AdvRider info when you referenced an Alaska trip. I had to do a double take and wonder what rock I have been under!
I guess you will just have to go again... 