7 Lakes Drive - 1st Ride

this morning i only had a short amount of time to ride. i had to be home by 10am as my wife had to leave around then and i had to be with the baby at home. i tried to leave around 5am so i could have a good amount of time out there by myself. 

i wasnt sure where to go by my self as it would be my first day ride by myself (not including my daily commute). i decided the night before to head up north to Bear Mountain, have breakfast, then follow 7 Lakes Drive on the way back home…..

i got a late start in the morning, about 6am. it was fairly windy and still dark. there was also a nice chill in the air. i was mildly putting my cold gear to the test. everything worked out well but i could tell that as the season gets colder, ill need more gear. specifically a heated vest, hand covers (or bark busters?), a more advanced base layer, proper socks, a better windshield, a full head balaclava (i currently have a half face), and ear plugs. it was a really noisy ride with only 15mph winds.

i stopped at the palisades state line look out point around 7am which was just when the sun started to come up. it was a clear day compared to my last visit so i took a few photos, texted my wife that i was ok since i didnt see her before i left, ate my granola bar, threw on an extra layer thermal top under my coat, and continued off to the bear mountain area.

i stopped by a little diner right before the park to grab a quick breakfast around 745am. it was the perfect stop and id go again. i snuck in a “selfie” while passing a mirror in the diner. rare i get photos of myself so why not.

i came up 202 and hopped in the park. followed 7 Lakes Drive all the way through it. for some reason my navigation tracking app stopped working at the bottom of the park but you can get an idea of my overall route for the day. the missing part was my taking 87 home back to the city.

the drive through the park was incredible. i need way more time there. such a perfect day for it too as the trees were all turning. 

i had to be home by 10am so as soon as i got out of the park i took 87 down to the palisades, stopped for a quick gas  stop and then home by 10:06 AM. 140 miles total. great day. i really wanted to be home by the time i told my wife so that i could fit in more of these early morning sunday rides in the future without her protest. im hoping to get more time in that park, it was so nice.

So I went to BMW today. I noticed my bike was missing the accessory socket even though it showed on the original invoice. I took it in. They checked the vin and confirmed it should have it. Then checked the bike and confirmed it wasn’t there. How odd. It’s a factory option and they forgot to put it on ?

Anyway the real point to this story is that I test drove the F800GS while at BMW, and now I got the itch.

Am I crazy about thinking to upgrade so early? I’ve only had the 650 for 3 months / 2200 miles.

It was sooo nice. To scratch the itch or let it subside? That is the question.

2222 miles in 3 months. Not bad. Also I need to clean the bike.

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Finally getting around to my MSF training. Today was day 1. I especially liked the emergency braking exercise. Looking forward to day 2 tomorrow.

https://www.ridemss.com/msf-motorcyclescooter-basic-ridercourse/

First Day Trip w CitiBeemers

a little on the wet side but overall a great ride. i left my house at 645am and got there at 745am. the last few miles before the stateline lookout meeting point was SO foggy i could not see 10ft in front of me. i rode the shoulder for the last .5 mile as i wasn’t familiar with the road, and so i was going really slow… was a bit nervous a car would come from behind me at a faster pace and hit me if i was on the main highway going 20.

i was the first one there, so i snapped a few photos of my bike with the new side cases. that white haze behind me is a cliff, the hudson river, and i assume was upper manhattan or the bronx.. but… we just see a white haze.

after about 45 minutes we had a total of 6 guys ready to ride….a few really nice bikes showed up including a brand new red ducatti multistrada. more photos after the break.

we took the backroads up to Rockwell Cycles which took about an hour. they took it slow due to the wetness of it all, which worked out for me since it was my first ride out with the big boys. lots of twisties, and i could imagine it being a lot more fun in the dry weather. the trees were starting to turn as well … but i could barely enjoy them due to the fogged up visor.

breakfast was great, i met a lot of old timers, we talked tech (iOS vs Android), and gear. great people. they didnt seem to mind that i was half their age ;)

after that i went down with one of the group members to his house to check out his tv / home network so i could make a few recommendations on how he could improve his setup. he also went over my bike and gear and gave me a lot of great advice. after that he drove me out to the main highway to get me started on my journey home. getting home took about an hour and was fun in itself, but not as fun as the twisties from earlier.

i got home around 2:45PM. 6:45AM - 2:45PM and around 145 Miles round trip. fun fun.

the best part was that my new pants and neck wind blocker worked great. i didnt try my new cold weather gloves on this trip since it wasnt really cold out, just wet. my body was 100% dry at the end of the day from head to toe. mostly thanks to rev’it and TCX boots. the boots would have been better a little taller but then i would have looked as weird as the old fogies i was with. i might have to invest in taller boots for future rids, but the TCX sure are great for the city daily grind.

a few more photos:

my wifes first outing on the back of the bike in brooklyn. she came out in jersey a couple times for ice cream or brunch, but brooklyn on saturday night with a bit of highway involved is a different beast. she enjoyed it but was a bit chilly. she looks cute on my bike. 

Rounding out the winter gear...

I wrote about my Initial Gear earlier this month, which mostly consisted of warm weather equipment. well its getting colder out, and im going on my first non work related day trip this sunday so i want to be prepared. being equipped with more rain / cold gear, along with my new side cases, i should be ready for anything.

my jacket was a 3 season that should hopefully last through the winter, but current gloves and helmet seem to not cut it in the cold. i also needed pants so i can protect myself in case of a fall, and stay dry in the rain. i went with rev’it gear once again. they make great stuff… im a fan. and again, all from union garage. here’s what i got:

rev’it enterprise trousers in black. they fit well, go over my day clothes, and are water proof. they are also padded at the knees and upper thighs. im not sure how they’ll do in the summer heat, but i wore them for a bit around town today. it was 75 out and it felt fine. more important though is rain and winter.

Next up, i got a pair of warmer gloves. My current rev’it gloves are great but are not meant for cold at all. i went for urban style gloves that arent too long, and are easy to get on and off. between those and my heated grips i should be ok. they are the rev’it carver gloves.

did i mention they work with iPhones, just like my other ones :)

the last thing i bought is for my neck. my current helmet is great, but again really geared for summer. the entire under chin area is wide open so it gets cold quickly. i bought a wind blocker for my neck. the rev’it karma windcollar. i should have bought a second helmet that is geared for the winter, but its not in the budget. this is a nice hold over.

Installing the GIVI E21 + Side Brackets

woo hoo! they came in yesterday and i installed them the second they arrived.

the side cases are the E21’s by GIVI. the side mounts are also by GIVI, model PL188 specific for my bike, the G650GS. Here’s how i installed them:

if you just want to see the results scroll down to the bottom.

the PL188 came in a little fabric GIVI bag. nice touch.

3 main parts were inside. the left and right side brackets, and a rear bracket that helped connect the two with the rear of the bike. it also came with a little bag of hardware and instructions.

the instructions werent really instructions. im starting to see a trend here, some companies just dont care to give proper step by step instruction. the givi instructions was more just a bunch of information laid out on a page. it did the job.

the rear bracket is really easy, connects with two screws to right above the license plate, to the sides of the reflector.

the side mounts were a little tricky to understand at first but easy enough once i decoded the map. i mean instructions. on the back rear white plastic (fairing?) is a little white circle that pops out. use a very thin small flat head and be gentle. pop that out and you will see a screw. you do not have to remove the seat or the other screws on the white plastic (oops). remove that screw and save it on the side as you wont be using it again. save for the future. it wasnt easy getting that screw out. it was very tight and my largest hex bit would not turn it. i ended up going to the mechanic around the block and use used a socket wrench to loosen them for me.

the top of the bracket slides in between the white plastic and the screw hole underneath. the instructions show to use plastic spacers, but … none came with it. i just screwed the new givi screws in all the way, using the washer that came with the original bmw screw. i peaked underneath to make sure they weren’t doing any damage by going to far when screwed all the way without a space. it was fine. i left the screws a little loose so i could have wiggle room when matching up the other 2 screw points.

there are 3 total screw points for each side bracket. one we just went over, the other attaches to the rear givi bracket we attached earlier. that ones super simple. again leave it loose until all 3 are locked in. the third location is behind the passenger foot peg. it actually attached to the foot peg assembly.

the rear side of the foot peg is hollow. we need to put two pieces together to form the female end for the screw. its very similar to a wall anchor, when you insert the screw in to those pieces, the inner piece expands and the outer part then grips the interior of the peg holding it in place.

what was tricky for me is that i couldnt get the screw to thread properly once i put those pieces in the foot peg. the little cone shaped one seemed to fall deeper in to the foot peg. i realized soon that i needed to first push the cone in to that cylinder with some good pressure first so it would stick in place so once inside the peg it wouldnt try and escape before getting .. screwed. so .. push them together good first.

then slip that little sucker in to the rear side of the foot peg. line up the bracket with the foot peg and insert the screw. tighten with your hand as much as you can until its nice and tight. then tighten the other 2 screws on the mounting bracket. then come back to that foot peg screw and tighten it good with a wrench.

repeat on the opposite side, then get your bags ready!

i wasnt sure at first how to tell which side was which, and from what i tried, it worked both ways. i noticed that the top portions of the case are slightly smaller on one side over the other. so its not the sides or bottom, but the top that flips open. the smaller part should face forward. i think.

the bags snap on relatively easily. the key needs to be in the lock, and in the unlocked position. slide the bottom of the case in to the two grooves on the bottom. then press and hold the red button down (lock in unlock position) and push the case in to the rubber up top. you wont hear a click, you just need to push good and then let go of the button. pull on the case after to make sure its in good.

thats it! you’re done. now i can fit rain gear, jackets, pants, laptop bag, tools, and other misc with ease. my top box is pretty much just for my helmet now that i have these side cases. i used to swap my laptop bag and helmet in top box but could never fit both.

ive had them for one day now and love them. im still experimenting with lane splitting, but im not too nervous. when i lane split its usually though stopped traffic anyway. the bags are pretty much slightly bigger then my handle bars. my bike is looking doofier then ever now with all these cases but its all part of the adventure.

im heading out on my first non work related day trip ever this sunday and im excited. getting out with the citibeemers club somewhere above the gw bridge. these cases should really help.

a few photos of them in use:

Go anywhere. Just go.

New side cases arrived!