Alps 2011 + 8
In total we had spent 5 nights at the Hotel only to be told that the bike couldn't be repaired for another 10 days. We couldn't possibly see another 10 days out so we made preparations for checking out.
Each of those five days we had a good breakfast on the IC whilst lunches we paid for. The highlight of the lunches as far as I was concerned was the soup! The finest soup I had ever tasted anywhere.
Each of those five days we had a good breakfast on the IC whilst lunches we paid for. The highlight of the lunches as far as I was concerned was the soup! The finest soup I had ever tasted anywhere.
A taxi was arranged to take us to the airport at Bergamo and we boarded our flight back to the UK.
A week or so later I got the call to fly back out to Riva del Garda to be repatriated with my bike.
A taxi took me from home to collect a hire car which was laid on for me so I could meet my flight at Gatwick and fly on to Bergamo. At Bergamo I had another taxi laid on for me which was driven by possibly the most aggressive road user I have ever been driven by.
I arrived at the repair centre, settled up my repairs bill for numerous carburettor parts and wasted no time hitting the road.
My route home would take me north to Merano and then on to Stuttgart for an overnight stop in a Hotel. On the approach to Stuttgart, and after so many miles in very nice weather, the heavens once again opened , but far worse than the storm in the Dolomites the week or so before. Visibility on the E52 was nothing short of horrendous at little more than 50 metres. I arrived at the Hotel soaked through , as was my iPhone, wallet , and anything else that was in my pockets.
The following day would be the big one in terms of mileage - Stuttgart to Calais/Dover to Dorset in the same day. I had already taken extra but unpaid time from work and so needed to be back home for the Saturday in order to have a rest day before work the following day. The 'iron butt' challenge had begun!
I set off at 08:15 , lost perhaps a half hour in total with wrong routing after my sat-nav lost the will to live any longer due to under seat vibration killing off the charging regulator, and arrived home at 22:00 that evening. There would be no more camera work for the entirety of the ride home from Riva del Garda to Dorset.
The F650 performed absolutely faultlessly all the way home over the two days which involved the autoroute and motorways from Stuttgart to home almost all the way and at speeds of between 80-90mph, where permitted!
A week at home and I had decided to fill my cup back up, by some weird kind of consolation, and take a demonstration BMW F800GS out for a test ride at my nearest BMW dealer , CW of Dorchester.
To my cost I quickly found that the test drive didn't end there - no, I signed along the dotted line and would collect the F800 the following week on a p/ex deal with the F650.
I didn't like being let down by my wheels at a time when I needed it to perform mostly, besides, I am not getting any younger and have never had a new vehicle in my life - the times they are a changing!
In fairness the old single cylinder BMW F650 is a fantastic little bike and to be doubly fair , the problems I had could have happened with any bike. You simply can't go about replacing everything on a vehicle before a major adventure , it isn't practical , especially as there were no previous symptoms of anything being amiss.
I forgive the F650 for letting us down and should I ever be in a worse position than I am today, which isn't 'comfortable' by any stretch of the imagination, then I would have no hesitation in considering ownership of one of these little gems again.
Gone but not forgotten...
A week or so later I got the call to fly back out to Riva del Garda to be repatriated with my bike.
A taxi took me from home to collect a hire car which was laid on for me so I could meet my flight at Gatwick and fly on to Bergamo. At Bergamo I had another taxi laid on for me which was driven by possibly the most aggressive road user I have ever been driven by.
I arrived at the repair centre, settled up my repairs bill for numerous carburettor parts and wasted no time hitting the road.
My route home would take me north to Merano and then on to Stuttgart for an overnight stop in a Hotel. On the approach to Stuttgart, and after so many miles in very nice weather, the heavens once again opened , but far worse than the storm in the Dolomites the week or so before. Visibility on the E52 was nothing short of horrendous at little more than 50 metres. I arrived at the Hotel soaked through , as was my iPhone, wallet , and anything else that was in my pockets.
The following day would be the big one in terms of mileage - Stuttgart to Calais/Dover to Dorset in the same day. I had already taken extra but unpaid time from work and so needed to be back home for the Saturday in order to have a rest day before work the following day. The 'iron butt' challenge had begun!
I set off at 08:15 , lost perhaps a half hour in total with wrong routing after my sat-nav lost the will to live any longer due to under seat vibration killing off the charging regulator, and arrived home at 22:00 that evening. There would be no more camera work for the entirety of the ride home from Riva del Garda to Dorset.
The F650 performed absolutely faultlessly all the way home over the two days which involved the autoroute and motorways from Stuttgart to home almost all the way and at speeds of between 80-90mph, where permitted!
A week at home and I had decided to fill my cup back up, by some weird kind of consolation, and take a demonstration BMW F800GS out for a test ride at my nearest BMW dealer , CW of Dorchester.
To my cost I quickly found that the test drive didn't end there - no, I signed along the dotted line and would collect the F800 the following week on a p/ex deal with the F650.
I didn't like being let down by my wheels at a time when I needed it to perform mostly, besides, I am not getting any younger and have never had a new vehicle in my life - the times they are a changing!
In fairness the old single cylinder BMW F650 is a fantastic little bike and to be doubly fair , the problems I had could have happened with any bike. You simply can't go about replacing everything on a vehicle before a major adventure , it isn't practical , especially as there were no previous symptoms of anything being amiss.
I forgive the F650 for letting us down and should I ever be in a worse position than I am today, which isn't 'comfortable' by any stretch of the imagination, then I would have no hesitation in considering ownership of one of these little gems again.
Gone but not forgotten...
Replaced by the F800GS...