Let's Talk About Something Different

So.... How do you turn a beautiful, $20K bike like this:

Into something more like this?

By riding 900 miles of roads that look like this:

And spending way to much time with the bike in this position:

But it does give you the opportunity to experience the Oregon desert in ways that few ever get to experience such as this:

The above referenced bike is the renowned BMW R1200GS Adventure and the centerpiece of an unnecessarily large collection of bikes (Those of you who know me; yes, I have a problem....).  The trip was along the Oregon Back Country Discovery Route from Walla Walla, WA to Cave Lake, CA almost entirely on dirt that was undertaken last September.  A very exciting and fun trip to say the least but.... if anyone asks if you can do the trip on a big GS say "yes, but expect to be frustrated by the size and weight of the bike and expect to sustain some fairly expensive damage."

At least most of the damage was superficial and cosmetic but since I needed to instal the new Ohlins suspension I thought it would be a good time to get the bike back in order and fix all of the damage sustained on the trip.  First that needed to be taken care of was the wheels that were no longer true (or round) so off to Woody's Wheel Works in Denver for a complete rebuild.  Next was to replace the engine armor with a more substantial (and less dented) version from Ernie:

This setup should protect the headers much better than the stock skid plate did.  Now, while the old armor is removed and the wheels are off the bike I'm going to do the suspension upgrade.  I'm installing the fully adjustable Ohlins designed specifically for the adventure model GS.  This should give me better on-road and off-road performance and ride characteristics.  I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to replace the dented headers or just try pulling the dents out.... we'll have to wait and see how well the dented areas are hidden by the new skid plate.

The next time I do a trip as serious as this one in the back country I'll take the right tool:

Much lighter and designed more specifically for off-road.

Have fun and be safe out there!

Cheers!