sprocket i/o

Today was the Spring Open House at BMW Motorcycles of Atlanta. When I found out about this on advrider.com, I sent an e-mail to some of my riding buddies to see if anyone wanted to come along and try some new bikes out, as well as stop by the local Triumph dealership. Today was the first day to go over 70°F this year, so it wasn’t hard to convince some friends to come along: Young, who rides a Yamaha YZF-600R, and Marc, who rides a Honda RC51 and Honda VFR750. Not the typical riders you would find at a BMW dealership.

They were serving brauts & hamburgers, which was part of the reason we all went. Afterwards, I bumped into Dave (BMW R1200GS), who I’ve gone dual-sporting with up in the mountains a few times. We talked a lot of bikes and our adventures, and then I settled in and tried out the BMW G 650 Xchallenge and BMW G 650 Xcountry. Marc tried out the BMW G 650 Xmoto and R1200GS, as well as a Husqvarna SM610. Here is Marc on the Xmoto:

Tested: BMW G 650 Xchallenge

I’m not sure if it was just the way this one was setup, but the height of the xChallenge was like that of a skyscraper. At 6′ with a 32″ inseam, I could only keep the tiptoes of one foot on the ground. The Xchallenge was parked so close to the G 650 Xmoto, that I could not lean it to the right far enough to lift the kickstand up with the left, so I had to have someone else do it for me. I was able to at least shift out of neutral by myself, however. With the stock seat, it felt like I was sitting on a log:

Once on the road, the Xchallenge was surprisingly smooth, even with the knobbies mounted. I wasn’t allowed to take it out over 5,000rpms, so it was hard to really gauge the true character of the engine. With the seating height, I felt like I was on top of the world. It’s much the same feeling you get when driving a Hummer H2, but with less armor around you. I was pretty happy with the Xchallenge unless I was sitting at a stop light, then I hated it. The muscles in my left foot strained to keep the bike up properly. In retrospect, I could have probably leaned it further to my left to avoid the stress. In any case, this is not the bike for stop and go traffic. It did turn into corners very well though.

The Xchallenge is just a really big dirt bike that happens to have with optional ABS. If I did more offroad, this would certainly be the one for me. I’m not sure it makes the best commuter for city traffic however.

Tested: BMW G 650 Xcountry

Let me start by saying that I really wanted to like this bike. I’ve been half heartedly looking at my options for a second motorcycle, and this looked like it might be it. The Xcountry has a classy, subtle look to it. It’s also very lightweight and designed to go offroad from time to time. I knew that it would be a lower bike than my Dakar, but I didn’t expect that Young, at 5’6″, would be able to flat foot it. The Xcountry reminds me more of an F650CS than an F650GS, to be honest.

I’m not sure if it was strictly psychological, but the G 650 Xcountry felt a bit more cramped. It has the same smooth engine as the Xchallenge, but geared to feel like a moped more than a grunty thumper. With it’s lower height, the bike felt great in stop and go traffic, but the lack of wind protection made for a lot of work at speeds over 45mph. The bike seemed like a very practical commuter that would be fantastic in the Georgia Mountains, but not something I would feel comfortable with on the freeway.

The Xcountry would be a fantastic first bike for someone, but it felt awfully dull overall.

Tested: Triumph 1050 Tiger

After hanging out at BMWMOA, Young and I headed over to Triumph of North Georgia to try out some of their bikes. I was itching to try out the Triumph Tiger 1050, and Young wanted to try out the Sprint ST and Daytona 675. Sadly for him, they didn’t have either in stock, so we both went out on a demo ride with the Triumph Tiger 1050. Here is me with a shit-eating grin on a black one (the fastest color):

I’ll say it up front — the Triump Tiger 1050 just oozes awesomeness. Turning out of the dealership, the Tiger felt like it ‘steered funny’, but that was only because I was steering it like my Dakar.  I was  soon delighted by the torque when I gave it some throttle. The one I rode didn’t have the stock exhaust, and had a beautiful throaty, yet subdued sound to it. The engine vibes were fantastic, as was the practical upright seating position.

Shifting into second, my lack of throttle finnesse caused the Tiger to try and lift a tire into the air. Throughout the demo, I felt thrilled and terrified at the power of this beast. I got more comfortable with the turns and shifts as we went on, but it was still a bit weird. The Tiger has one hell of an engine, that’s for sure. The only thing I didn’t like was the rear brake control, there just wasn’t a lot of feedback from it.

Young liked the Tiger a lot too, but we both agreed that a model with a smaller size and displacement would be optimal: Like a Triumph Tiger 675 model. If I knew I never wanted to take a motorcycle offroad, I would have brought that Tiger home. There’s just too many fire roads and gravel tracks to go and explore, and I’ve only one bike to do it. I’m not sure I’ve ever rode a bike that caused me to smile so much.

Going Home…

By the end of the day, I felt a bit disappointed that I had not yet discovered a bike that I like better than my Dakar. It felt good that I had such a great motorcycle for me already, but there is still a lot I would like to change about it. I am looking forward to the day that the BMW F800GS arrives in the states. I’m not sure if it’s going to be the one for me, but it’s the top candidate for now. Until then, I’ll just be content with having the best motorcycle in the world: The BMW F650GS Dakar.

More photos can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/helixblue/MotorcycleDemoDay