Two Rallys

Lynn and I left for Asheville, North Carolina on Tuesday of last week. The initial part of the ride was in the rain, but once we got further south into Kentucky, the weather became better. On Wednesday, we spent the day riding the Blue Ridge Parkway (excellent road for motorcycles!) and touring some of the nice roads in the Smokies around Asheville, even thought it rained part of the time. On Thursday we arrived at the BMW RA rally, as they opened up. This involved driving from Asheville to the rally in some thick fog. At the rally, we managed to sign up for the first BMW demo ride that went out. Lynn and I got to try out the R1200C. Nice bike, very comfortable, a lot of low-end power, good handling, but not for me. The new F650CS was there and we are of the opinion that the bike looks better "in person" than in the pictures, although Lynn prefers her F650GS with the new lowered seat from Wunderlich (which lowers the seat about 2 inches). We had our bikes painted, Lynn's F650GS with a bold scheme fitting the personality of her bike, and my KLT with a dual scheme matching the dual personalities of the K1200LT. Those of you who did not see the paint jobs at the rally can see them at Tristate's Open House this weekend or at the charity poker run on Sunday. On Friday, we attended the Wings Over the Smokies (Gold Wing) rally. This rally, with over 5600 riders in attendance, had dozens of vendors, selling everything from trike kits to jerky. We met Julie selling her t-shirts there. That night we rode a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Motolights sure came in handy in lighting up the road. On Saturday, we returned to the BMW rally. There were more people at the rally. The North Carolina Highway Patrol was there with two of their R1100RTP bikes. They led a large group of us in a parade through the town, which ended with everyone parking around the courthouse and visiting with the town's residents. A lot of them showed up to see the parade and to talk to the riders. Anyone who had some ties to Ohio noticed our plates and came up to talk to us. I can honestly say the residents of Morganton, North Carolina are a friendly bunch! Later that day, we attended the official unveiling of the new F650CS, with the head of the BMW design team speaking. The presentation was bad. The speakers could not be heard in the back rows and no effort was made to resolve the problem, even though several people spoke up complaining that they could not hear. The slide presentation failed and the speaker ended up rambling until the problem was resolved. Not the kind of presentation you would expect from an executive from a major company like BMW. We have to give kudos to the BMW Demo Team as they were very friendly, went out of their way to answer everyone's questions, and gave a good demonstration of how the bikes handle. One ride leader performed tight circles with the K1200LT, dragging the peg on the ground as he made the circle. I was impressed. Following this, he got off, laid the bike over and demonstrated how one person could easily pick this heavy machine up. The other guy used a R1150RT for the ABS demonstration, which involved making a panic stop from 60 mph. I was really impressed with the wheelie he popped going out to the road. In addition, the technicians traveling with the Demo Team assisted us in tightening up one of Lynn's saddlebags that had come loose. Good rallies, nice area to travel to, great people everywhere, and the week ended too soon.