V-Strom - Love at first sight

So off Dylan, Deanna and I went to Blackfoot Motosports to check out the bike that Dylan had been researching since his first ride on the Kawasaki KLR 650.

The shop was very busy as the economy in Calgary and area is going completely bonkers. Everyone it seems who ever wanted a motorcycle was at Blackfoot that Saturday. We walked in and headed over to the Suzuki section and Dylan pointed it out. The 20067 Suzuki DL 650 V-Strom. He had a seat on the bike as I looked it over. It was love at first sight.

The bike is a strange combination of street and adventure. Basically it's described by many owners as a sport bike that has been punched in the face to flatten out the front end. To me it looked like the perfect bike for the trip.

I kicked Dylan off the bike and took a seat on it myself. The difference between the V-Strom and the KLR was immediate. The V-Strom was a modern, powerful and beautiful machine. The KLR was a big, overgrown dirt bike from the 1980s.

Dylan and Deanna went off to look at some other things in the shop. I got off the bike, took two steps to follow them and turned around to look at the V-Strom again. I walked right back to it and got on again. I was hooked. This was the right bike for the trip and I finally began to understand why Dylan was passionate about motorcycles. Ten minutes later they came back and I was still sitting on it. I had to have one.

More to come...

"I'm not riding a KLR around the world"

After I got back from my mini trip on the KLR, I went over to Dylan and Deanna's place for dinner - a fairly regular occurance.

"I'm not riding a KLR around the world", Dylan proclaimed at dinner. I asked why not and he said, "I don't want to be bored out of my mind while going on this trip. It's the perfect bike on paper for this journey, but the trip isn't on paper."

Needless to say I was upset. Although I had struggled somewhat in getting used to the height of the KLR, I was definitely enjoying riding. I felt that the KLR was a perfectly capable bike for our needs. Dylan on the other hand had been riding his Honda CBR F4i for a couple of years and knows what a smooth, nice ride feels like.

After a couple weeks of my feeling in the dumps because I'd gone out and done so much work to get my gear and take the safety course and buy the brand new bike, Dylan called me up. "I'm thinking about the Suzuki V-strom", he said. I think we should go take a look at Blackfoot Motosports."

So Dylan, Deanna and I went down to Blackfoot to check out the DL 650 V-strom.

More to come...

Mini trip to Kananaskis on the KLR

After Dylan was nice enough (he's always nice enough) to install some new parts on the KLR - namely new handlebars (I went with Protaper ATV Mid) I was off on my first mini adventure.

All this adventure really was is a short, trip from Calgary to Kananaskis Country (Pronounced Can an Ass Kiss). The reason for the trip was to attend leadership training with my company and I would be staying for a couple of nights.

The ride out to Kananaskis was spectacular along highway 1A. It was a crisp morning that seemed full of optimism and potential and I was looking forward to my first real twisty road. I wasn't disappointed as the road was almost completely empty for the entire journey. When I arrived at the hotel for training, I had a grin a mile wide. My colleagues who didn't know me very well seemed shocked that I would roll in on a motorcycle. To be honest, at this point, so was I.

One night after dinner I took the bike out for a quick spin down highway 40, also known as the Kananaskis Trail. This short ride would end up being a great learning experience for me.

Once I got up to speed on the highway, I noticed a deer in the ditch. Thankfully it stayed put.

Then, just a kilometre or so away, there was a herd of elk. At first I saw a pair of elk, then five or six. I looked off to the side and there were at least 15-20 elk by the side of the road. Thankfully they all stayed put.

Not five kilometres further down the road and I came face to face with yet another deer. This one was on the road. It looked up as I slowed down. For some reason I felt that it had the confidence to stay put. I passed him doing about 60 km/h. Thankfully, it didn't take a step.

Feeling rather inspired by my nature ride, I turned onto a gravel road and decided I might as well learn what loose stones under my tires felt like. I rode up a reasonably steep hill that was mostly potholes and switchbacks. Averaging about 40km/h, it felt good.

I got to the top of the road and realized I had ridden to the base of Fortress Mountain. There, I spent a few minutes checking out how different everything looked without snow on it and I headed back down the hill to the highway and off to the hotel.

More to come...

The KLR crashes

Determined to make the KLR my primary mode of transportation for the summer, and beginning to feel more comfortable on the bike, I took it out for some errands and to meet a friend for coffee. This was my first trip out with the bike where riding it wasn't the entire reason for being on it.

Calgary has a trendy little area called Kensington where there are lots of shops, coffee and tea houses and the like. Unfortunately, the area is also known for being impossible to find a parking spot. I was running late to meet my friend for coffee and so I found a spot on a side street where there was enough - dare I say plenty - of room for me to park the bike. So I parked and headed in for coffee.

About an hour later I returned to the side street to see my KLR 'bleeding' by the side of the road. Someone had hit it and driven away.

Fortunately I had turned the petcock (fuel supply) off so there was only a little bit of fuel spilled on the ground. However, as I looked in shock, I also saw bits of broken amber plastic.

During the safety course I learned how to pick up the bike properly. I approached it and was embarassed and didn't know why. Getting the bike upright wasn't difficult. Getting it started was another story.

The Kawasaki KLR 650 has a reputation as an extremely durable bike that can take a lot of abuse. The technology is ancient and proven. On paper it was the perfect bike for the trip. Was I ever disappointed.

The KLR suffered bent handlbars, a broken signal lens, stressed plasic on the handguards, scratches to the luggage rack, a dented fuel tank, and it wouldn't start. My bike had 125 kilometres on it. My new bike was no longer new and I didn't even get to crash it myself.

I managed to get the bike started. There was a problem with the controls and the safety cuttof that I managed to workaround. Riding home was not fun with bent handlebars and the engine would stall when I pulled the clutch in all the way. Going around the world seemed like it was impossible.

More to come...

As the wind blows

And the wind really does blow.

Riding a tall motorcycle such as my Kawasaki KLR 650 in traffic is not what I would describe as a simple task. One of the first things I noticed once I got up to highway speeds was the wind. Wind + KLR = Fear. The wind is not nice to the KLR and I felt like I was going to get blown into traffic, the median, a lightpost, you name it. I struggled to understand: a: how riding this quickly could be fun and b: how could anyone survive riding around the world on a bike like this. It's been done before by a few Polish Canadians, Greg, Jacek and Natasha. Greg did the trip with natasha on the back of his KLR (2-up). Their story is at www.motodreamers.com

Over the course of the next week I did a lot of reading about wind on klr650.net and learned to relax a bit and let the bike do its thing. Soon I was riding more comfortably but still didn't like the wind - or the noise it created. The fear began to subside although I had flashbacks from learning how to drive for the first time as a boy. I knew I would learn and it would get better. The learning curve seemed steep.

Bike Odometer (2006 KLR 650): 100km. My riding experience: 60km.

More to come...

The KLR - In a parking lot

I was definitely excited to have the KLR. However, I was keeping it at Dylan's place up in suburbia near a massive movie theatre parking lot where I could get some practice in. A couple of evenings that first week we'd go to the parking lot and I'd practice all the things I'd learned in the safety course.

The first thing I noticed was how incredibly tall the bike really was. It was fun to have a chuckle at my brother's expense watching him teetering on it at stop lights, but it was another thing altogether for me to be still learning to ride and having do deal with the same thing. The first panic stop I practiced I nearly crashed the bike. I had been cheating in the safety course by deciding in advance what foot I would put down after the stop. I'd lean the bike that way slightly just prior to stopping and then put my foot down. Quickly I learned that, due to the KLR's significant height and weight difference, it would decide what side it wanted to lean, not me. By leaning the bike over a bit near the end of my first panic stop, I realized the bike was going to really go in that direction and it took all my strength to keep upright.

By the second evening I was ready to try the KLR on the road. Well, that and Dylan was tired of breaking in the engine and riding the KLR altogether.

More to come...

My First Bike!

Two days after I got my motorcycle licence I was off to Bow Cycle to buy a motorcycle. Dylan and I had spent a number of hours researching various bikes to take on the trip. We felt the BMW 1150GS bikes that Ewan and Charlie took on Long Way Round were too big and cumbersome for us. The pricetag also put them out of range as they were more expensive than our current vehicles. We considered the KTM and, again, felt the price was a little high for what you get. Then, doing a lot of research on the internet, we found a bike with a strong cult following - the Kawasaki KLR 650. The main resources for KLRs are located at www.klr650.net and http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html there is a great network of folks who know seemingly as much (if not more about some things) than does Kawasaki about these bikes.

One of the main reasons this was the one we wanted was that it was foolproof, proven technology. The first KLRs rolled off the assembly line in 1987 and there have been few changes since.
So, off to the dealer and I bought a brand new KLR. Later that day, Dylan came by to pick it up. There was no way I was ready to ride it on the street yet.

He rode it to his house and was immediately disappointed in the bike. Firstly, at 5'6", coming to a stop on the bike was like a Cirque de Soleil maneuver. Dylan has about a 28" inseam. (He might correct me on this.) The KLR has a 34" seat height. That makes for an awkard situation every time he stopped. Basically, riding the KLR for him (and me as it turned out) was like getting a big wedgie at every stop light.

Undeterred, and a little angry that perhaps we made a mistake, I vowed to enjoy the KLR and prove it was the right bike for the trip. But first I had to ride it.

More to come...

Meanwhile, Dylan takes a course of his own

Meanwhile, as I was "gearing up" on the little Honda 50cc, Dylan was taking a course of his own - on the track. Dylan has considerably more experience on motorcycles than do I and it shows.

Here are some shots of him on his Honda F4i taken at Race City Speedway in Calgary, Alberta.

This was Dylan's second track day of the year and his first course on a large, high-speed course. By the end of the day, Dylan was proud to say that he had worn his knee slider down so that it read, "oe Rocket" instead of "Joe Rocket". Since that time, Dylan has spent more time on the track and now his sliders don't say anything at all. That speaks volumes as to his improvement over the summer.

"Gearing Up"

The time came to take the "gearing up" course so I could learn to ride a bike. The classroom session was led by a rather tall man in his late 60s. He was a retired police officer and motorcycle cop. At first our class of 20 didn't know how to handle him, but as we would find out, he was hilarious with lots of old sayings and anecdotes to help make the connection between what our brains were trying to get our bodies to do. One woman didn't quite get it and she ended up with object fixation - on a flatdeck semi trailer. She went under it and got banged and cut up more than I had expected. (see the photo below - the trailer is in the background)

For the rest of us, after the first night on the bike we were able to ride around in first gear and stop. I was excited and a bit overwhelmed at the same time.

The week flew by with me wanting to get out of the office and to the course to get more practice in preparation for the test on Sunday. After every class I'd call Dylan and go over what I had learned and he would give me more information and advice. It was great to have another sounding board for some of the aspects I was struggling to learn.

Sunday rolled around and Dylan and his wife, Deanna came down to the course to watch me take the test. I was nervous and one of the first riders failed the test by toppling his bike on the first drill. However, I made it through. I earned my motorcycle license!

Here are a couple of shots from my motorcycle test - Taken Easter Sunday 2006.



more to come...

Let me get back to you

When I left off, Dylan had just proposed we ride motorcycles around the world. I'd never ridden a motorcycle before with the exception of one seemingly death-defying ride on the back of Dylan's bike. The idea of being hurtled down the tarmac at highways speeds on a four inch square piece of foam and vinyl was not my idea of a good time. However, I knew I couldn't say no to Dylan without attempting to learn to ride myself first.

Off to Calgary motorcycle dealership Bow Cycle we went a couple of weeks later. It was mid January and I needed some motorcycle gear; not because I was going to ride in -15 Celsius, but because I wanted to feel like I was making progress. At this point I can guarantee you that I looked like a complete idiot while I was sitting at home, reading books about how to motorcycle while wearing my brand new helmet, jacket and gloves. To me it felt like It was a few days before the first day of school.

In some ways I was going back to school. Dylan has always stressed the importance of safety, and I can't agree more. That's why, before even thinking about buying a bike, I took the week-long "gearing up" course from the Calgary Safety Council. Dylan took the course years earlier before riding his bike as well and told me it was one of the best investments he'd ever made. In retrospect, he was absolutely right.

After a couple of months of anticipation, the time came for the course. I was going to ride a motorcycle for the first time.

More to come...

"What Should I Do With My Life?"

That's the question my brother, Dylan asked in early January 2006. Dylan is my older brother by five years. I've always looked up to him because he's the sort of person who followed his passion right from the getgo. As a boy, he loved airplanes and was trained as a pilot before he could even drive. I wanted to be like my brother. However, we've grown up to be radically different men.

Along the way I found my passion - communications - and followed it. Dylan continues to be involved with aircraft and is one of the most intelligent "real world" people I've ever known. He since developed a strong passion for motorcycles and motorcycling.

That day in January caught me off guard. Being asked by my older brother, "What should I do with my life?", is not a question I could easily answer. So I responded,

"I have no idea, but if you go do something drastic, you'll figure it out along the way."

I expected nothing more than a sarcastic nod from him when I uttered what I thought he would assume was a cop-out answer. For me, however, I learned the most about myself when I packed my things and relocated to London, UK when I was 21. I lasted six months there but came home knowing who I was.

To my surprise he turned to me immediately and said, "do you want to ride motorcycles around the world?"

Dylan is passionate about motorcycles. I was not. Once, and only once I had ridden on the back of his Suzuki SV650s a few years earlier. The experience was completely terrifying.

What must have been to his surprise I responded, "Let me get back to you on that."

More to come...

And so it begins...

The purpose of this blog is to share the trials and tribulations of two brothers who have decided to ride motorcycles around the world in 2008. The trip will take us from Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We'll be stopping by some other places along the way such as England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Belguim, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Japan, United States and maybe even China.

In the coming days and weeks we'll share more about us, the motivation for the trip and how we are progressing in our planning to ride across about 25 countries in 120 days.

Stay Tuned!