I have just completed a 4 day, 2000km trip on my new (to me) bike, a BMW K1200RS. It was a nerve wracking to think I was about to do this on a bike I didn't know very well but I had to go, there was a gig waiting.
Here is the map link of the trip.
Here is the story:
Day 1
I was greeted by chilly grey skies with light on and off rain. The electric liner Synergy jacket was out of the side bag shortly after hitting the highway. With just 2 light layers under that I was toasty in the wind chill my speed created in the +8C air. I made it to Canmore where I usually stop for breakfast. I am not one for making a big meal early in the morning but I'll eat if someone else prepares and an hour of riding had my appetite turned on full.
Leaving Canmore AB with myself and the bike freshly fueled I soon hit more rain. It was going to be one of those kind of trips I started to think then it stopped...and started...and stopped. At least the temperature had gone up slightly then the rain started again...then stopped.
I turned onto the Icefield Parkway, bought a park pass and settled into dry roads for about an hour then it rained some more, complete with a drop in temperature down to +5C. It was a light mist, just enough to keep building up droplets on my helmet visor. Annoying. The new tires felt good and gave me confidence with their traction. I had Metzlers on and had never owned a pair before now. So far so good.
The Synergy heated liner was keeping me warm and it was only set on low. It was nice to know I had 2 higher settings should I need them.
My winter gloves combined with the heated grips and the good weather protection the bike's fairing gave me made me feel warm. The weather protection was much better than my last motorcycle (see blog post on Bandit review) but was not in the spoiled category some of the big touring rigs offered. No worries, I like a bit of sport in my touring.
The bike felt amazing and pulled strong. Passing was a breeze and on dry stretches I tried out the cruise control. Yes it has cruise, not a throttle lock but high end, electronic, hit the switch and let it maintain a steady pace. This feature I liked because it was easy for this machine to build speed so smoothly that you suddenly found yourself at a rate of velocity that meant a speed tax. The whole concept of some abitrary number posted on a sign really is silly as different conditions and different vehicles had different safe cruising speeds...but I digress.
I had no desire to meet one of those tax collectors with a badge and set the speed where I thought would be within the range of "okay". A good cop will let you fudge a bit over but a bully that hasn't been laid in awhile may choose to write you up. I'll save that discussion for another post.
As I climbed the mountain pass to the icefields themselves, expecting things to get worse, the temperature started to climb. Huh? Grey skies + increase in altitude usually create the opposite effect but it was getting warmer and the skies, almost as if they were constipated, tried to grunt out some sunshine and then... there was light grey. Ahhh.
I was treated to brief moments of sun for the rest of the day and the rain was over. I made it to Grande Cache as dusk was arriving to close the day. Including stops for shooting video I had been on the road for over 10 hours yet it felt more like I had just been out for an afternoon ride. I was really beginning to like this bike.
Day 2
I had opted for a bed and breakfast and after some coffee and a quick meal I had the bike loaded up with a smile. The clouds had parted and big patches of blue framed in glorious sunlight greeted me for the day's ride. The Synergy liner was stored away. Time to do some real riding with warm roads.
The highway north out of Grande Cache is lightly travelled so I was able to open the throttle a bit on the corners. She handled like a dream. Rock solid and smooth. It is the refined smoothness of the bike I was really enjoying. My only peeve was the wind buffeting. Although the fairing and windscreen gave good protection the windscreen was designed for a shorter rider, as far too many motorcycles seem to be.
As such it was tossing the airstream right at my head causing noise and turbulence. The only relief was to do speeds that would put my license in severe jeopardy, uh, er... so a little dial told me...once or twice. This machine was built in the land of autobahns and no speed limits. Over here in North America we have too many duckass drivers to allow this freedom. I made a note to look into windshield modifications like an add-on wing deflector, like I had seen in a few bike magazines, to fix this slower speed buffeting.
A quick photo opp at Mile Zero in Dawson Creek BC was in order.
Here I was, on a bike that came from Florida and I was now at the beginning of The Alaskan Highway.
The bike almost looks like it is smiling in the pic.
I was making good time, the bike was running great and just before the last 25 km stretch I had to stop above the Peace River. Normally a nice view but Mother Nature decided I was having too much fun so she hit the storm switch. I just had enough time to zip my waterproof vents shut and change gloves.
Rolling into my destination, Fort Saint John, was less than fun. Large trucks, (of which the north seems to have an endless supply) were kicking up spray with mud that seemed imbedded in the road too. I think it even wiped the smile off the face of my bike, I know it did for me.
Although my gear kept me dry as I rolled into "The Fort" it was not how I expected the day to end and I was a bit grumpy. I unloaded the luggage and covered the bike. I had brought my bike cover as shiny Beemers of this type are rarely seen so far north. Let's just say towns with the word Fort in the name sometimes have people with little respect for others or other's their property and they have most likely been drinking. I've seen people roll out of bars in small towns and just turn nasty. Best I put my sun faded, bird poop stained cover on my motorcycle so she blends in I figured.
A quick shower and dinner then it was off to the gig. A small dinner theatre, full of women (from some social club), was the audience. Usually those can be fun but when it is a group of women that live in a town with the word Fort in it, some etiquette goes right out the window it seems. Little things like, you paid good money for the show why not shut the fuck up and listen? Stop texting from the front table? You can gossip, gab and yak after you've had a good laugh.
Not this gaggle of gals, or at least 40% of the crowd which ruined it for the ones that actually had some class. I managed to do my hour but it was like riding a bike with square wheels. Thankfully my BMW was under a cover, back at the hotel unable to witness the half-birth, half-abortion of my jokes as I desperately tried to hold their nano second attention spans. Mouthy, young trophy wives who felt their shit didn't stink, but it did. I felt sorry for the men who had to sleep with them on a regular basis. Meanwhile I kept doing my act feeling like I was drowning
I kept thinking "I rode 2 days to do this?" Then I remembered the warm sunny day, winding roads and changed my thought to "They paid for my bike trip and I just have to make the ladies, that are listening, laugh." Thanks all 43 of you. You other broads need to learn manners.
Day 3
At least the hotel was nice with a bed that was comfortable because I slept solid and dreamless. However, I awoke to a bitch. Drawing the curtains back I saw dark grey clouds then rubbed my eyes as I thought I was still sleeping. Did I? Yes I just saw snow falling. Its #@*#ing June!?!
There it was, slushy, sleety, wet snow. I looked down on my bike where a small amount was starting to build on the cover. This was going to be a long day.
I was up fairly early so decided it may be best to have breakfast and let the sun do its thing overtop the clouds and maybe the day will warm up. Several cups of coffee, 3 eggs, bacon, toast and hash browns later it had not. I started packing to get a jump on this as it would have to be warmer south of here and that was where I was headed. The snow was melting as it hit so, the roads were wet but no accumulation ...yet.
Clicking the side bags on and strapping down my duffle full of camping gear (which I was sure I was not going to use as I had planned) my thermometer needle was hovering just above zero celsius which is where water starts to freeze.
I put the key in and hit the starter. She fired up right away and settled into a steady idle. Not bad for a bike I was sure was feeling snow for the first time.
The weather was to be like this no matter which way I went home so I opted to not do the mountains again. Weather reports only give you average temperatures and with mountains there are too many elevation changes where this wet snow could freeze and I preferred to keep the bike upright.
Within a few hours I should be out of this snow and perhaps just rain I thought. Mother "The Bitch" Nature only agreed with me for about 30 minutes. It turned out to be an all day
sleet/snow fest.
My electric liner was turned to high, the heated grips were put on high and so, I pushed on, occasionally wiping slush off my visor. The ground had retained heat from the previous day to keep the snow melted, my wind chilled helmet visor was not as effective.
The bike hummed along as though this was normal and never skipped a beat.
About 6 1/2 hours into this wet day my gear developed a flaw, or rather I helped it. Slush was building up on my arms, which was fine. The Tourmaster jacket was waterproof. I even left some napkins and tissue in one of the front pockets to test the waterproofness. They remained dry for the whole trip. however the jacket was not "take things for granted" proof.
Heat from my sleeve melted the slush underneath where the wind could not blow it off and water started to run down my arms and into my gloves. I felt my hand get wet then my finger tips filled with a bit of water. Heated grips or not this became cold in the wind blast. The last hour was hell and my feet were feeling chilled too as I tried to convince myself that my Tourmaster Solution waterproof boots were not leaking. The cold, wet numb report I got back from my feet had me doubting them.
I had set a time to be off the road and made it to Whitecourt Alberta at almost that exact time give or take 15 minutes. Wet snow was still coming down and the chill from wet gloves was taking its toll as my hands seemed to suck cold from my body or was it send cold into my body? No matter, I was feeling the effects.
It took only 90 minutes to change me from toasty and dry to cold and miserable. I felt like my first highway tour I did many, many years ago with improper gear. It sucked to feel like this.
I found a cheap mom and pop motel with a room I could park my bike right in front of. I prefer these when on a bike trip as it makes loading and unloading easier plus the piece of mind that I can keep an eye on my ride. How I would do that while sleeping like a log had not been worked out but I felt confident she would honk and wake me if any bad people came.
I opened my room and was greeted with a blast of warm air. The base board heaters were doing their thing and I needed to warm up and dry out as my teeth had just started to chatter. My oasis of salvation was in a cheap motel in Whitecourt. Who would have thought?
Taking off my boots I felt my socks and they were dry as a bone. I blame the cold wet hands for sharing their nerve readings. The boots did fine but my body had to fight too much heat loss with my wet hands so the feet were starved of warm blood too. One could buy heated socks but I don't plan on riding like this ever again...or at least not often.
I had to keep my helmet visor cracked most of the day as the cold, dampness kept fogging it up and glasses were impossible to keep clear. I had ridden in cold weather before but not quite like this. Lucky I am farsighted and don't require glasses for driving but it does fatigue the eyes a bit more.
I had my Oxford Comfy neck tube and an Oxford balaclava on to keep my face warm. Even when a bit damp these did a great job of fending off cold.
Did my gear fail?
No. It held up admirably keeping me warm and dry for over 6 hours of horrible riding conditions. A day most sane riders would have pulled off the highway long before they had slush build up on their arms and melt down into the gauntlet of their gloves. I had to make a certain distance if I was to make my next gig so I rode for about 3 hours longer than I would have liked, if I can even say "liked"about that ride at all.
Once that cold water hit my hands the chill was on. I had been dry and had I not been so reluctant at clearing slush off my arm, that last hour would not have been hell. I hung the gloves over a radiator and let them drip as the heat dried them out and drip they did as a lot of water had flowed in. The stiffness I had reported in my earlier blog seemed to have gone out of them and I'm sure this good soaking helped. I hoped they did not stiffen up while drying.
I then treated myself to a hot shower, ordered pizza from across the lot , ate and watched a movie. I tried to do email but lucky for my tired eyes there was no internet. Sleep came early and I hoped "The Bitch" was out of snow by morning.
Day 4
I awoke and reluctantly pulled back the curtains. It did not appear as though the sun was up judging by the dim light sneaking thru. I was right. Cold grey skies met my eyes but no snow or rain. Things were looking up! My duffle, with the camping gear, had frosty snow frozen on it so that was exciting.
A nearby restaurant had internet so I quickly checked the forecast. No rain expected but I'd have to go further south to get an increase in temperature. The gloves were almost dry so I made sure the grips had a chance to warm up before leaving.
A few hours later I was in Rocky Mountain House, AB and for the first time in over 24 hours my thermometer started to climb. A quick lunch and back on the road with 11C on the dial.
By the time I got close to Calgary I had to peel off a layer of clothing as "The Bitch" turned back into good ol' Mother Nature again.
After 4 days, 3 seasons and 2000 kilometers what did I think?
I was impressed with the bike. She ran wonderfully and had similar fuel consumption to my last ride but with more power and comfort. I had bought a good machine. Phew!
All my riding gear worked very well, so despite the day of bitchy snow, I was a happy rider. I even had enough time for a nap before my show that night.
Maiden voyage report is complete.
Thanks for reading along.
Daryl Makk
Here is the map link of the trip.
Here is the story:
Day 1
I was greeted by chilly grey skies with light on and off rain. The electric liner Synergy jacket was out of the side bag shortly after hitting the highway. With just 2 light layers under that I was toasty in the wind chill my speed created in the +8C air. I made it to Canmore where I usually stop for breakfast. I am not one for making a big meal early in the morning but I'll eat if someone else prepares and an hour of riding had my appetite turned on full.
Leaving Canmore AB with myself and the bike freshly fueled I soon hit more rain. It was going to be one of those kind of trips I started to think then it stopped...and started...and stopped. At least the temperature had gone up slightly then the rain started again...then stopped.
I turned onto the Icefield Parkway, bought a park pass and settled into dry roads for about an hour then it rained some more, complete with a drop in temperature down to +5C. It was a light mist, just enough to keep building up droplets on my helmet visor. Annoying. The new tires felt good and gave me confidence with their traction. I had Metzlers on and had never owned a pair before now. So far so good.
The Synergy heated liner was keeping me warm and it was only set on low. It was nice to know I had 2 higher settings should I need them.
My winter gloves combined with the heated grips and the good weather protection the bike's fairing gave me made me feel warm. The weather protection was much better than my last motorcycle (see blog post on Bandit review) but was not in the spoiled category some of the big touring rigs offered. No worries, I like a bit of sport in my touring.
I had no desire to meet one of those tax collectors with a badge and set the speed where I thought would be within the range of "okay". A good cop will let you fudge a bit over but a bully that hasn't been laid in awhile may choose to write you up. I'll save that discussion for another post.
As I climbed the mountain pass to the icefields themselves, expecting things to get worse, the temperature started to climb. Huh? Grey skies + increase in altitude usually create the opposite effect but it was getting warmer and the skies, almost as if they were constipated, tried to grunt out some sunshine and then... there was light grey. Ahhh.
I was treated to brief moments of sun for the rest of the day and the rain was over. I made it to Grande Cache as dusk was arriving to close the day. Including stops for shooting video I had been on the road for over 10 hours yet it felt more like I had just been out for an afternoon ride. I was really beginning to like this bike.
Day 2
I had opted for a bed and breakfast and after some coffee and a quick meal I had the bike loaded up with a smile. The clouds had parted and big patches of blue framed in glorious sunlight greeted me for the day's ride. The Synergy liner was stored away. Time to do some real riding with warm roads.
The highway north out of Grande Cache is lightly travelled so I was able to open the throttle a bit on the corners. She handled like a dream. Rock solid and smooth. It is the refined smoothness of the bike I was really enjoying. My only peeve was the wind buffeting. Although the fairing and windscreen gave good protection the windscreen was designed for a shorter rider, as far too many motorcycles seem to be.
As such it was tossing the airstream right at my head causing noise and turbulence. The only relief was to do speeds that would put my license in severe jeopardy, uh, er... so a little dial told me...once or twice. This machine was built in the land of autobahns and no speed limits. Over here in North America we have too many duckass drivers to allow this freedom. I made a note to look into windshield modifications like an add-on wing deflector, like I had seen in a few bike magazines, to fix this slower speed buffeting.
A quick photo opp at Mile Zero in Dawson Creek BC was in order.
Here I was, on a bike that came from Florida and I was now at the beginning of The Alaskan Highway.
I was making good time, the bike was running great and just before the last 25 km stretch I had to stop above the Peace River. Normally a nice view but Mother Nature decided I was having too much fun so she hit the storm switch. I just had enough time to zip my waterproof vents shut and change gloves.
Rolling into my destination, Fort Saint John, was less than fun. Large trucks, (of which the north seems to have an endless supply) were kicking up spray with mud that seemed imbedded in the road too. I think it even wiped the smile off the face of my bike, I know it did for me.
A quick shower and dinner then it was off to the gig. A small dinner theatre, full of women (from some social club), was the audience. Usually those can be fun but when it is a group of women that live in a town with the word Fort in it, some etiquette goes right out the window it seems. Little things like, you paid good money for the show why not shut the fuck up and listen? Stop texting from the front table? You can gossip, gab and yak after you've had a good laugh.
Not this gaggle of gals, or at least 40% of the crowd which ruined it for the ones that actually had some class. I managed to do my hour but it was like riding a bike with square wheels. Thankfully my BMW was under a cover, back at the hotel unable to witness the half-birth, half-abortion of my jokes as I desperately tried to hold their nano second attention spans. Mouthy, young trophy wives who felt their shit didn't stink, but it did. I felt sorry for the men who had to sleep with them on a regular basis. Meanwhile I kept doing my act feeling like I was drowning
I kept thinking "I rode 2 days to do this?" Then I remembered the warm sunny day, winding roads and changed my thought to "They paid for my bike trip and I just have to make the ladies, that are listening, laugh." Thanks all 43 of you. You other broads need to learn manners.
Day 3
At least the hotel was nice with a bed that was comfortable because I slept solid and dreamless. However, I awoke to a bitch. Drawing the curtains back I saw dark grey clouds then rubbed my eyes as I thought I was still sleeping. Did I? Yes I just saw snow falling. Its #@*#ing June!?!
There it was, slushy, sleety, wet snow. I looked down on my bike where a small amount was starting to build on the cover. This was going to be a long day.
I was up fairly early so decided it may be best to have breakfast and let the sun do its thing overtop the clouds and maybe the day will warm up. Several cups of coffee, 3 eggs, bacon, toast and hash browns later it had not. I started packing to get a jump on this as it would have to be warmer south of here and that was where I was headed. The snow was melting as it hit so, the roads were wet but no accumulation ...yet.
Clicking the side bags on and strapping down my duffle full of camping gear (which I was sure I was not going to use as I had planned) my thermometer needle was hovering just above zero celsius which is where water starts to freeze.
I put the key in and hit the starter. She fired up right away and settled into a steady idle. Not bad for a bike I was sure was feeling snow for the first time.
The weather was to be like this no matter which way I went home so I opted to not do the mountains again. Weather reports only give you average temperatures and with mountains there are too many elevation changes where this wet snow could freeze and I preferred to keep the bike upright.
Within a few hours I should be out of this snow and perhaps just rain I thought. Mother "The Bitch" Nature only agreed with me for about 30 minutes. It turned out to be an all day
sleet/snow fest.
My electric liner was turned to high, the heated grips were put on high and so, I pushed on, occasionally wiping slush off my visor. The ground had retained heat from the previous day to keep the snow melted, my wind chilled helmet visor was not as effective.
The bike hummed along as though this was normal and never skipped a beat.
About 6 1/2 hours into this wet day my gear developed a flaw, or rather I helped it. Slush was building up on my arms, which was fine. The Tourmaster jacket was waterproof. I even left some napkins and tissue in one of the front pockets to test the waterproofness. They remained dry for the whole trip. however the jacket was not "take things for granted" proof.
Heat from my sleeve melted the slush underneath where the wind could not blow it off and water started to run down my arms and into my gloves. I felt my hand get wet then my finger tips filled with a bit of water. Heated grips or not this became cold in the wind blast. The last hour was hell and my feet were feeling chilled too as I tried to convince myself that my Tourmaster Solution waterproof boots were not leaking. The cold, wet numb report I got back from my feet had me doubting them.
I had set a time to be off the road and made it to Whitecourt Alberta at almost that exact time give or take 15 minutes. Wet snow was still coming down and the chill from wet gloves was taking its toll as my hands seemed to suck cold from my body or was it send cold into my body? No matter, I was feeling the effects.
It took only 90 minutes to change me from toasty and dry to cold and miserable. I felt like my first highway tour I did many, many years ago with improper gear. It sucked to feel like this.
I found a cheap mom and pop motel with a room I could park my bike right in front of. I prefer these when on a bike trip as it makes loading and unloading easier plus the piece of mind that I can keep an eye on my ride. How I would do that while sleeping like a log had not been worked out but I felt confident she would honk and wake me if any bad people came.
I opened my room and was greeted with a blast of warm air. The base board heaters were doing their thing and I needed to warm up and dry out as my teeth had just started to chatter. My oasis of salvation was in a cheap motel in Whitecourt. Who would have thought?
Taking off my boots I felt my socks and they were dry as a bone. I blame the cold wet hands for sharing their nerve readings. The boots did fine but my body had to fight too much heat loss with my wet hands so the feet were starved of warm blood too. One could buy heated socks but I don't plan on riding like this ever again...or at least not often.
I had to keep my helmet visor cracked most of the day as the cold, dampness kept fogging it up and glasses were impossible to keep clear. I had ridden in cold weather before but not quite like this. Lucky I am farsighted and don't require glasses for driving but it does fatigue the eyes a bit more.
I had my Oxford Comfy neck tube and an Oxford balaclava on to keep my face warm. Even when a bit damp these did a great job of fending off cold.
Did my gear fail?
No. It held up admirably keeping me warm and dry for over 6 hours of horrible riding conditions. A day most sane riders would have pulled off the highway long before they had slush build up on their arms and melt down into the gauntlet of their gloves. I had to make a certain distance if I was to make my next gig so I rode for about 3 hours longer than I would have liked, if I can even say "liked"about that ride at all.
Once that cold water hit my hands the chill was on. I had been dry and had I not been so reluctant at clearing slush off my arm, that last hour would not have been hell. I hung the gloves over a radiator and let them drip as the heat dried them out and drip they did as a lot of water had flowed in. The stiffness I had reported in my earlier blog seemed to have gone out of them and I'm sure this good soaking helped. I hoped they did not stiffen up while drying.
I then treated myself to a hot shower, ordered pizza from across the lot , ate and watched a movie. I tried to do email but lucky for my tired eyes there was no internet. Sleep came early and I hoped "The Bitch" was out of snow by morning.
Day 4
I awoke and reluctantly pulled back the curtains. It did not appear as though the sun was up judging by the dim light sneaking thru. I was right. Cold grey skies met my eyes but no snow or rain. Things were looking up! My duffle, with the camping gear, had frosty snow frozen on it so that was exciting.
A nearby restaurant had internet so I quickly checked the forecast. No rain expected but I'd have to go further south to get an increase in temperature. The gloves were almost dry so I made sure the grips had a chance to warm up before leaving.
A few hours later I was in Rocky Mountain House, AB and for the first time in over 24 hours my thermometer started to climb. A quick lunch and back on the road with 11C on the dial.
By the time I got close to Calgary I had to peel off a layer of clothing as "The Bitch" turned back into good ol' Mother Nature again.
After 4 days, 3 seasons and 2000 kilometers what did I think?
I was impressed with the bike. She ran wonderfully and had similar fuel consumption to my last ride but with more power and comfort. I had bought a good machine. Phew!
All my riding gear worked very well, so despite the day of bitchy snow, I was a happy rider. I even had enough time for a nap before my show that night.
Thanks for reading along.
Daryl Makk
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