Gary...
Ken, with his wife...
Ken, with his wife...
I'm really happy for you Ken and Gary. Great safe rides both! 8th place for Ken . . . awesome! Gary's a finisher and there were a lot of starters who didn't make it.
After you both get back home and are rested settle down with a glass of beer/wine whatever you like and read the daily reports and blogs written while you were gobbling up the miles, while your memories are fresh. It's Part 2 of the iBR enjoying your experience again as you read what others wrote while you rode.
I look forward to both your next posts with your new, well deserved, 3 digit IBA numbers!
Shuey
At this level I think it is mostly the rider and not the bike that you're riding...I'm looking at the final standings. Looking at the gold medalists, first 22 riders. Of 22 riders 14 were riding BMW, 4 Honda, 3 Yamaha, 1 Kawasaki. BMW was REALLY dominating. Coincidence? Or BMW is becoming "the best tool" for long rides?
Have to agree with that. Half of this year's top 20 are GSes, and those also happen to be the "in" thing these days. Go back a decade and the dominant model was the FJR.At this level I think it is mostly the rider and not the bike that you're riding...
Not the tool, but knowing how to use it.At this level I think it is mostly the rider and not the bike that you're riding...
I agree to disagree.....it takes both. It takes a good bike and a rider who can do the miles and be a good planner. The winner Jim Owens has been the best for the last 8 years on a BMW R12RTAt this level I think it is mostly the rider and not the bike that you're riding...
That's probably because the "myriad problems" are over-hyped on internet forums, especially Honda internet forums. I think Honda has had it's fair share of recalls lately including VFR1200 final drives and the beloved quirky NC 700 has had a few. If you look at the home page of this forum you will see many more posts dealing problems of the aged ST than in the past. Some days, I'd say that it dominates the headlines of new posts. I know this analysis is anecdotal at best since I haven't applied any statistical analysis to my hypothesis. The same anecdotal evidence that is applied to statements such as BMWs having a myriad of problems. NO bike is perfect and they each have their quirks and issues........nothing new.We also need to look at the relative breakdown (and percentages) of the various brands of bikes that started. How about Dylan's performance on a 40 year old Goldwing? Both the rider and the bike came through. The fact that Honda is not supporting (and updating) the ST any more probably has a lot to do with rider's choosing their mount. I find it interesting that the myriad problems with Beemers has not (apparently) deterred guys from buying them.
And nobody walked those 11,000 miles either!!!Well, the bikes don't ride on their own so I would say it's 100% rider.. IMO