BMW GS Offroad Riding Skills DVD

For those that need some dirt skills...

Update: I found this great write up about a guy’s Rawhyde Adventures training course experience over at ADVrider.com worth a read if you have any interest in these courses to get a feel for what one would be like.

If you’ve recently got yourself a big enduro bike like a KLR or BMW GS and don’t have much in the way of dirt riding skills you should watch this DVD. It won’t make you a superstar, but it will give you a set of drills to practice and some useful information that will make heading off pavement less painful. Rawhyde Adventures runs a BMW Offroad Academy that will teach you all you need to know if you have the time and $$$ for the training.

I can’t afford $1400 for a 2 day course or $2600 for a 5 day catered trip, but I can afford $30 for a DVD I can watch whenever I need a refresher on the basics and I can share it with friends who might be thinking about getting a dualsport bike.

I got my DVD from Touratech USA. I think most BMW motorcycle dealers can get you a copy as well.

Road of Bones – Siberia Video…

I found this fun tour video on ADVrider.com of a guy’s trip from Vienna to Magdan on the infamous Road of Bones in Siberia. He’s riding a BMW, but the video isn’t ruined by that….hahahaha…j/k…=-) It sounds like he’ll be posting a written account of his trip and/or more detailled videos so check over at his ADVrider.com thread and see what happens…!

Simon Pavey’s Dakar Bike

Long Way Down Book Review

Ewan & Charlie in Africa...

You can read my review of the Long Way Round book that Ewan & Charlie wrote about their RTW BMW GSA trip here. Coles Notes version of that review is I didn’t like the book as it was poorly written and had very little motorcycle or travel content. I had bought this book about their motorcycle tour down the African continent at the same time as the first book. If I hadn’t I would have skipped it, but since it was in my luggage and I was on the road I figured I’d give it a shot. I made it about halfway through before I stopped reading it. There is no improvement in writing style or content from the first book. I hear folks enjoyed the TV shows that are available on DVD. I haven’t seen them so I can’t give you my opinion, but if you are in a book shop thinking about buying either of these books do yourself a favour and don’t bother. You’ll be much happier with one of Ted Simon’s motorcycle tour books.

Just to be fair I’ll say that Ewan and Charlie are actors and they clearly love motorcycles. I can get behind that. I’m not putting them down, but these books aren’t very good.

KLR650 Low Front Fender?

Photo: Colebatch @ADV Rider

I’ve got a 2010 KLR with the stock front fender. I’m thinking about tackling a low front fender project over the winter. I’ve found a couple options that are easy, but look like crap. I’m hoping to end up with something along the lines of the KTM fender on the BMW X-Challenge shown above [photo – Walter aka Colebatch over at ADV Rider].

I thought I would see if anyone had any suggestions for a good place to start. I’m going to head down to my local KTM dealer and check out the Adventure 990 front fender.

BTW – I’ve got the EM/HT fork brace on my KLR.

Tiffany Coates…

For more information about Tiffany and her adventures check out her website.

ADVenturizing a Bike…

Photo: Walter aka Colebatch on Adv Rider...

I found a great thread over on ADV Rider.com discussing how to ADVenrturize your motorycle. Walter worked on a BMW X-Challenge, but the info and principals he talks about apply to any bike. His posts are well worth a read. He is also the author of The Endless Highway website which has some incredible adventure motorcycle porn to offer anyone with time to surf.

Photo: Walter aka Colebatch on Adv Rider…

Walter is the guy who made the Russian enduro video I posted a few days ago. He tells a great story and takes great photos.

BMW HP2…

BMW HP2...

My buddy Alex is a BMW GS nut. Not surprisingly this is the bike he rides – well a heavily modified/upgraded BMW HP2. When I read the reviewer’s comments I realize this was why I was disappointed with the BMW GS option [G650/F650/F800] since the HP2 was the only BMW GS actually made to be taken off road in stock trim. Too bad it was a limited edition bike with a $20K+ price tag. On the other hand it’s cool to see BMW address the real GS market with such a focused product. I guess I’ll just wait to see what they do for their next High Performance [HP] GS project bike. Maybe it I have the $$ I’ll finally get that BMW GS I was always dreaming about?…=-)

KLR650 vs. BMW G650GS…

KLR650...

Motorcyclist Magazine has a useful article comparing the Kawasaki KLR650 to the BMW G650GS.

BMW G650GS...

BMW F800 Stormtrooper Build…

Click here to see a video explaining why this BMW is all broken...

Click on the image above and watch the video then and ask yourself what you would do when your BMW F800GS’ front fender explodes from a rock brought up by your wheel and your bike goes down hard when the front brake crossover line snags the tire?

Talk about making the best of a crash...

Well if you have some skills and a vision maybe you make the best of the insurance cheque and rebuild the bike to better suit your needs.

All Photos & Video: belong to http://www.lostrider.com - click on image to jump there...

The bike belongs to Finn from Lost Rider.com who posts over at ADVrider forums as ChiTown.

Note there is no crossover brake line anymore!

After watching that crash video I was just glad Finn made it out without any serious injuries. I figured the bike would be a write off and he’d buy something new, but I was wrong. He brought it back to life better than ever. Great job Finn…=-)