Joy Dutta’s blog

I was just casually surfing the net for information on BMW bikes, and out of curiosity, wanted to know if BMW bikes are really expensive to own, as everyone says. I came across two nice articles that sums it all up:

1. What’s it REALLY cost to own a BMW motorcycle?
2. Q: What’s it cost to own a BMW motorcycle? A: More than it used to!

I am looking around for a modern sport tourer to ride for a long time, and naturally the R1200RT and ST1300 comes up as major contenders. It is getting all the more confusing, because almost all modern bikes today make regular DIY maintenance a big pain.

I still have my trusty Concours, but for the kind of long rides I like to do, it is getting a little tiring. I love this bike and till date have done all major maintenance with the help of Jeff, a fellow concours rider. I would hate to see this find a good home eventually, but riding comfort is now my first priority in a trip.

Our first long motorcycle trip together in the US. Not too long though, but with 2 nights of camping with fellow rider Ligeo and covering both mountain and desert roads made a satisfying trip.

Here is our trip route.
Here are the pics and a bunch taken by Priti, with many from the moving bike.

Day 1, Sat 21 July: Sunnyvale to Mariposa
Started around 11am, and at Gilroy the spark plug boots for cylinder 1 and 4 came loose. Fixed them at the gas station after a bit of panic and frustration. Relaxed ride through 152 to Los Banos then 140 to Mariposa. Pulled over at the burger king, and not five minutes have passed when Ligeo showed up. After catching up over lunch we headed to the fairgrounds and found a camping spot.

Day 2, Sun 22 July: Mariposa CA to Austin NV
Scenic ride on 140 then 120 through Yosemite. Enjoyed lake Tenaya, then crossed lake Ellerey, Tuolomne meadows and Tioga pass. It wasn’t as cold as we expected at 9000 ft. Hit US-395 N beside Mono lake and continued till NV-167, then NV-359, US-95 S and NV-361 N to US-50, the loneliest highway of America. This was like a dream come true, and that too with Priti. Riding the endless straights of the desert highways is a fun of its own kind. the weather was hot and dry, and regardless of how much water I drank, I remained thirsty most of the time on road. Cherished a late lunch at Middlegate station on US-50, then headed to Austin, the midpoint between Carson City and Ely. Mountain roads came up from nowhere right after Austin and we climbed for a few miles to reach the Bob Scott campgrounds, which is free of cost. We picked some food from Austin, and dinner was not too shabby.

Day 3, Mon 23 July: Austin NV to Sunnyvale CA
Ligeo had plans to continue visiting Montana and Idaho, so we split in the morning. We came back home in the evening, riding around 500 miles via lake Tahoe. Priti enjoyed a cold bath in the crystal clear waters of the lake while I decided not to go through the ordeal of getting in and out of my gear. The road condition of I-80 after Tahoe was horrible for 100 miles and it totally stressed me out. Near Benicia on I-680, we had violent gusts of crosswinds, and a lot of muscle power went to stabilize us and for a few miles we rode with a permanent right lean.

It was a fun trip overall and the bike did great. I wish the vibrations at high speed could be lower, but if the concours can’t be made better I might have to look for a smoother ride, like a honda ST1300. I loved the smoothness of Ligeo’s ST1100 and ST1300 is said to be smoother than that. Gotta ride such a machine some day and do a 500-mile day effortlessly.