Dreaming, Drooling...

Since I started riding in 2001, every time I buy a bike I think that it will be the last bike I'll ever want. I come from a family that owned their cars for twenty years and only bought another car when it became a necessity. As a child I was imbued with the notion that people who bought a new car every two or three years were indulgent, a clear sign of poor moral fiber. As I ponder the possibility of replacing the 1200GS, I review the progression from the 250cc Suzuki GZ, to the F650 CS and 600cc F3, to the Sprint ST 955, to the 1200GS, I wonder what my father would say if he were alive. I really like my 1200GS for road-riding, but there's more than tarmac in my dreams.

After talking to Lisa Thomas about her bike I've been thinking about the 650GS or the 800GS. I'm still paying off the 1200GS, so keeping it and getting a second BMW motorcycle is out of the question from a cash flow perspective. I seem to have overcome some of the ethical constraints I was inculcated with, but cash flow, well, that's different story.

I didn't get to see the F800GS at the San Mateo motorcycle show. What I know I've learned from Mike Werner's article, and, I'm being told that it's a tall bike. The suspension on the F650GS is fine for me, but I would have to modify the F800GS. I'm disappointed to learn that the Telelever suspension that makes the 1200GS so easy for me to ride isn't on the 800GS, but the gas tank on the 800GS is under the seat where I like it. I won't get to swing a leg over the 800GS until March 2008 when CalMoto will receive inventory.

Meanwhile, my brain chemistry is settling down enough that I'm thinking about taking a 3-day dirt riding clinic in December. The combination of Iyengar yoga, Pilates, 5-HTP (serotonin precursor), St. John's Wort (serotonin re-uptake inhibitor), and Ashwaganda ("Indian ginseng") is helping me feel more normal than I have in quite some time. My mental state became so debilitated that I asked my friend Dennis to take me for a ride on his bike. Normally my pride would make riding pillion unacceptable but at this point I was willing to do just about anything to get out there to smell exhaust and lean into some curves.

Getting used to a menopausal body is a ride all by itself. After gaining about twenty pounds during the five perimenopausal years, I'm back down to my normal weight. The hot flashes are prevalent at night, robbing me of sleep. Coffee, sugar, cheese and alcohol all cause hot flashes so they are special treats, if I consume them at all. For the moment, I'm better and want to get out there before the next wave of unsettlement happens.

In 2004 I had Dunlop 207rr tires on the F3 trackbike. Soft, grippy, I felt confident, even proud with those tires, my first set of track day tires. After less than 1,000 miles on the Sprint ST, I replaced its stock tires with Michelin Pilot Roads. So much better - I could feel the ground almost as well as with the Dunlop207s. The Pilot Roads are the best tire I've even had; Peter has them on his VFR. The 1200GS came with Metzler Tourance dual sport tires. Everyone but me loves those Tourances; I hated them on first ride but didn't replace them because the bike was so different from anything I had ridden before that I tried to keep an open mind. After two cross-country trips squared off the round edge of the tires I decided that I had given them enough benefit of doubt; the Tourances are not the tires for me. The GS's new shoes are Dunlop D607 dual sport tires and I'm loving them. Maybe if I weighed more and rode more aggressively the stiffer Tourances would feel good, but to me they felt awful, like a shoe that will not break in.

The Dunlops feel like a pair of Mephistos - and cost about the same! They are finely worked, even new they feel just right, strong, resiliant, no stiffness. I've been admiring the tread pattern, gazing at the lines and curves from every angle. Gosh, they sure make my shocks look sexy.

New tires have "fur", those soft sprouts of rubber that you want to pet. For some people it is important to get rid of all that tire fur because the less tire fur left on the tire, the more you must be leaning the bike over to have scraped off the sprouts. I am not an aggressive rider so unless I take the GS to the track, I'll still have "fashion fur" on my shoes next year. The November chill is upon us here in Northern California. It may warm up during the day but the heater vest now stays on the bike in case I need it after dark. It's great to ride on these cold clear days but what we really need is rain. The nice thing about these new shoes is that rain won't ruin them, not one bit.