A long time ago, in a garage far far away. That’s usally how these things start, isn’t it?
To tell this story properly I’d need eight root beers, one bag of marshmallows, a greasy drop light, and a full rack of slow smoked pork ribs. I’ll try and make due without any of them, but pork ribs are really good.
Back in 2014 I was cruising home from work as I often did, and still do, on a motor bike. I had just returned from a family reunion in Oregon at the Cus Bay dunes. Having packed my street helmet in the tent trailer where it was unreachable, I grabbed my shiny new bright orange dual sport helmet. If you’ve seen my reviews or read my ride report, it’s become a staple of my riding life. Well this day was the first day I rode the streets with it. It was also they day I got creamed by a pickup truck. Wear your seatbelt kids.
After an ER visit, Physical Therapy, and some emotional distress compensation, I was shopping for a new bike. Adventure was the name of the game. And you can’t play “Adventure” game without an adventure bike.
ATTENTION: This next paragraph contains information about my personal life. If you have heart issues or history of stroke please consult a physician before continuing!
A bit about myself at this point. Each year my wife and I take turns deciding what to do for our anniversary. I like camping and my wife likes traveling. Our 2015 anniversary was upon us and we decided that getting a big adventure bike and riding the California coast to San Diego was the thing to do. She really had to twist my arm though to convince me. Funny side note, we almost didn’t have a bike for the trip. These things take time you know.
Everybody in the whole world knows that BMW makes adventure bikes. So does KTM, but alot of people think that is a Japanese brand for some reason. Anyway, the R1200GS was consistently rated with top marks for balancing street and dirt, and the Adventure model holds nine gallons of fuel. Since I hate filling up on gas this made good sense to me. Also, I could actually afford one at this point and figured I should get one now before something else came up.
After many months of research and searching, I found one locally at the Peninsula Motorcycle in Gorst, WA. As of this writing that wonderful shop has closed it’s doors. A moment of silence in remembrance.
I wheeled and dealed and verbally jousted my way to a succesful purchase. After adding the crash bars back on, a huge top case, and doing some service work, she was a two up riding machine. The rest, as they say, is history.
