Is it just me or has the world gone crazy?
 

I just made the terrible mistake of returning to a BMW GS forum and actually reading a few topics posted there. It's not new to me that users there seem to be more concerned with looks of their superdupermegaexpensive bike & gear than anything else. After all that was one of the reasons why I swore never to return. However, some have managed to take it to the next level by actually asking about how to maintain, service, clean and polish their panniers (!!!!) so they still look new after two or three years. I actually had to read it twice to realize they were really talking about aluminium panniers, and how some GS riders seem to clean and polish them together with their bike after every rideout... now, the crazy thing was not somebody asking that question but the fact that immediately he received several answers how others do it, what they use to keep their panniers new and shiney, etc.

Out of interest I kept reading and looking for older threads, and realized that either the world around me has gone crazy or I have. Granted, there were no wannabe adventurers among the freakazoids (for those not getting this reference I'm referring to Ted's rant about wannabe adventurers in the Charley & Ewan thread) but your regular sunday-afternoon-ice-cream-parlor-posers who obviously need a fully equipped brand-new GS Adventure for that dangerous all-paved 2km trip from the heated garage (no kidding, there's people who actually have a heated garage for their GS so it won't "freeze"...) to the local strip.

Am I crazy for not having a heated garage, for not cleaning and polishing my bike after every rideout and for not being concerened about the looks of my Tesch aluminium panniers? What happened here, has it always been like that? I'm new to the GS world and used to ride a '89 Tenere until last November, so this is all very unfamiliar to me.

It's along the same lines as that ikea/apartment theory from the film fight club.

Consumerist society is close to reaching the appalling but inevitable outcome - Where people devote 100% of their time, interest and energy to their possessions, rather than to doing things.


It's the whole root and nature of 'first world' society, culture and history that is to blame.

Why do you care about what other people do with their bikes??

Couldn't care less.

If people want to polish their panniers, collect stamps or read books that's fine by me. Having a hobby is healthy and if it can make people get out of the sofa and do something with their hands it's excellent.

People have washed and polished their bikes and cars more or less for 100 years. It's nothing new with that, just like the need of don't understanding other peoples hobbies. :nono:

Don't get me wrong, I really don't care what they do in their free time. It just struck me as odd, that's all.

Is it really suprising? When you pay top dollar for something that you are not really using to it's full ability, then it makes sense to keep it in tiptop shape to retain the resale value, so when everyone jumps ship to the new Super Tenere (aparently to be shown in Turkey this month) they can sell it all, and buy nice new overpriced stuff for the Yamaha...

Personally, I preffer the 'used' look, less apealing to the toerags than nice shiney ones.

Each to their own though.


Curiously though, how do you service a metal box?

Well, you cared enough to look at a bunch of threads about it and then post here, so... In any event, just let it go--the bottom line is that some people are just like that, and if you don't like it you don't have to deal with them, speak with them, or, ahem, read their posts.

I'm sure your Tenere was a great bike, as are the GSs, whether or not you polish your panniers.

But there are plenty of BMW bashers on this site, and I'm sure that we'll hear from some of them with all of the usual crap.

:sleep1:

It is very easy to go down the slippery slope.
This year I have finally bought myself a £100 nice shiny primus omnifuel stove to replace my ten year old £10 gaz stove. Also a new sleeping bag! Not content with that I have finally bought a satnav. My excuse for this is that I intend to cook a little more instead of just heating food and hope the satnav will guide me through some cities as I try to avoid paying at the peages.
I am even contemplating buying a new camera on the excuse that I have my first grandchild expected in June!
I do plan to stick with the Enfield but never say never :)

I have a heated garage. What's wrong with that?

Motorcycle "Adventure Travel" is a relatively new mass market phenomenon, in part set off by the recent Ewan & Charley "Long Way Round" films. This combined with slick marketing from BMW has brought thousands of new "Adventure Riders" jumping on board. Many are first time riders, most are fairly comfortable and apparently have free time to post in silly threads and share bike and pannier polishing tips. :cool4:

Hey, everyone has to start somewhere, whether its polishing panniers on their $20,000 starter bike in their heated garage or setting off RTW on a Postie bike. Takes all kinds.

BMW forums vary widely too. You can easily find one that is suitable to your "style", from the acerbic, sarcastic ADV Gspot to various BMW club forums like OTL and dozens of others.

New riders will naturally go through a learning curve and for sure changes will happen as time and riding miles go by. Look at the thousands of BMW riders on ADV who came in as BMW believers and in 6 months were "experts". Most never rode out of the USA and some had very limited riding experience before getting a new GS. Funny thing is how many of these same guys have now bailed out on the BMW and gone over to new kid KTM and their trendy 990 Adventure, SE or 690 bikes.

Most of this crowd will never be travelers like seen on HUBB and most would never ride their KTM (or BMW) anywhere solo to dangerous places.
Hey, at least they are riding and keeping the industry going and hopefully banging up the panniers some.

So levels of commitment vary. As do levels of wealth and ability to trick out your bike or take off on a year long ride somewhere. So the GS is flavor of the week for a few years and now something else takes it's place. Next year, somebody else may take over the Adventure Crown.

Some guys like dicking with old bikes and some want brand new ones. Some like driving side hacks and others like Enfields' or old bMWs or ancient British things.

But around here it seems to be that travel is central reason as to why riders hang out on HUBB. All the rest is fluff. Lots of ways to skin a Cat. Hey, my lawn mower is a two stroke! :smiliex:

Don't blame me LOL !!!

I have no problem with the wannabees who are on the path to becoming "doers" We all have to start somewhere. I was wet behind the ears and bought all the bling when I started out too.

I just get wound up with the ones who are going blatently going nowhere with a load of bullsh*t excuses but still try and walk the walk and talk the talk... It's so fake and lame. I have no time for false people.

Too harsh ???????

OK, rant over !! :eek3: :innocent:

Not Just a Bike or BMW Thing?
 

Maybe it’s not just a BMW thing but a German one?

There’s quite a few on a certain forum I frequent who drool over abominations such as this thing

Some days I laugh (some on there you can have a laugh with, others get abusive) some days it doesn’t bother me and I take no notice…………..BUT when these “experts” start pontificating about how you need ORC this (just replace Tourat*** by the sound of it) , heavy duty that, blah blah and how "superior" all this stuff is it can get a bit irritating.
Takes all sorts and all that, but I don’t really want to be tainted by association because I have and use a distant cousin to one of these.

You been at the german beer Russ:rofl:

Beer?
 

Not yet:innocent:

But after a few gallons it'll look pretty good:rofl:

I would love a heated garage to keep my bike in its so cold in my shed iv not been and done all the little jobs i wanted to do this winter which i admit involved some polishing and making some shiny alloy parts i do like my bike to look gleaming but that does not stop me from riding in crappy weather or venturing off road my years riding moto x quite often involved getting there with an immaculate bike only to throw it down the track during the day just because its shiny dont mean its not used ROB:D

Yes, it can be a little pathetic, but really it is no different to some owners of other dual sport bikes, or sportsbikes for that matter (Dynojet stage 3, and Akro full system, but virgin knee-sliders and wide chicken strips... etc). Just shake your head and walk away...

I do think that some travellers are a little offended that pretenders crowd the otherwise exclusive club of overlanding biking, especially if they're then tarred by association as a wannabe themselves.

Personally, I take solace in the knowledge that I have travelled and seen wonderful things and plan to do more and if others are satisfied by buying lots of toys, so be it: one less set of tyres to spoil my own road to adventure!

Heated garage
 

Bloddy hell, lol I would be happy with just a garage. Its crap working on the bike on the patio when its cold and wet and you cant feel your fingers. maybe thats why I put six holes in a new inner tube replacing a soddding slow puncture!!:rofl:

oh SH~T
 

thank god you did not go on the goldwing forum.. they have vids on how to polish one of them.. Mine only got a wash and polish after it was serviced... so once a year and thats if I can be bothered.. even took it of road on the west highlandway and used all winter... saw lots of shiney bmw gsas...

will be at the scottish 6 day trial nextweek and following on the wing and watching bmw riders walk to the special stages while i ride off road..

As Ted says each to their own.

Oneworld bike

To old to die young. to young to care..

I too find it strange that people (mainly BMW owners) add rugged travel accessories to their already fully loaded "adventure" models based entirely on appearance. Usually these accessories are only deemed good looking enough if several like minded box hill posers have posted their agreement on the forum. Most of these owners, by their own admission, have no intention of doing any kind of overland travel and therefore have plenty of time to polish their panniers and keep everything in tip top condition.

I rarely fit accessories to my bikes and never based on their appearance but usually after weighing up cost to benefit. I also tend to use my bikes rather heavily (although not as heavily as some people I know). Reading the shiny accessory threads makes me realize I'm murdering the resale value of my bikes so I think it's just best to ignore them.

You live in Norway. You get real winters. You need a heated garage for when the bikes parked there, a heated sump for when it isn't and probably heated things we can only imagine! The guys we are talking about live in places like Surrey where the only thing they need to heat to make it work is what passes for beer there abouts.

The Sunday afternoon ride and polish guys have simply adopted a style of bike that might also fit in here. They can't ride their CBR999RRRRRRRR's like track racers do. The fact their Harleys had forks twenty feet longer than the "MoCo" intented and a 25cc petrol tank did not lead to rebelious behaviour unless you count wearing an orange official HD tie to the office on dress down day. The BM GS and tin boxes are just part of a uniform like the chaps and green one piece plus Shoei combo were. They obviously enjoy their shopping and comparing shopping and cleaning their shopping and do no harm, but the resemblance to some of the people on here is only skin deep.

I have to avoid Triumph Bonneville sites. The endless threads on how to stop your exhaust going blue (mines blue right up to the rusty bit) and what brand of oil to buy (they put letters on to tell you what sort it is you know) and if it's OK to wear an open face helmet (it is if you want to) simply leads to me getting annoyed and saying things I regret afterwards. If I were a GS rider who used the bikes abilities I'd have to come away too.

Andy

Speaking of saying things I regret afterwards.......

....... what really gets me is that the people to whom Magnon refers are full of such pretentious pomp that they actually deign to put themselves above so-called "lesser riders" who have travelled farther than they could ever imagine, in all sorts of inclement, inhospitable and adverse conditions on "lesser bikes".

I love nothing more than rubbing their nose in it by doing more, with less, and more often. :smartass:

Having said that, I am now very close to purchasing my 1st GS :innocent: - not for the supposed offroad capabilty, but because of their ability to swing through the nice tight twisty stuff with nary an effort. :cool4:

I find the pretentiousness and inverse snobbery in this thread rather hilarious. Why does anyone care how I ride or farkle my bike? Why should I care what you think about how I ride or farkle my bike? Why would you want to rub my nose in anything? For chrissake, lighten up, would you?

I'll Bite....

Any ex army out there that can rember how to polish alu mess tins? They look just like stainless steel when you have finished.. (to much time in the glass house....oooops:rofl::eek3:)

If they ask me nicely and put a few hundred beer tokens in my hand I'll show them..........NOT. A sunday adventurer can do the time in colly to learn and a GSA never looks good until its covered in mud and been dropped several times.

As for my Goldwing still not been washed since Oct 09......

More time riding less time washing and polishing.... Nothing against GSA owners but to many at the ssdt... But you should have seen their faces when they saw me at the stages miles off road sat on a dirty wing:rofl::funmeterno::funmeterno::funmeteryes::of ftopic: and they had walked 2-3 miles in their bmw clothing covered in sh:censored:....... Maybe I'll wash the wing Tomorrow. But then again tomorrow never comes lol

Oneworld Biker
To old to die young. To young to care.

I don't care how many doodads you put on your bike, or how far you or anybody else rides Motoreiter, until such time as you start to dump on others.

Once I get dumped on (and let's face it there are many more GS snobs than there are inverse snobs) then I certainly feel I have the right to deflate their ego by proving their misconceptions to be exactly that - misconceptions.

In one of the groups I ride with over half ride 1200GSes, but only one has done any serious travel on it. For the rest, they are ridden maybe once a month with one longish (5 day) ride each year. It all started with just one GS rider then all of a sudden the others jumped on the bandwagon and now (sadly) it is becoming a case of ïf you don't ride a GS then you are one of the rest, and the group is splitting in two.

.... as for lightening up Motoreiter, don't forget we are in the "HUBB bar"... :cool4:

I ride my GS to Starbucks...:whistling:

http://trex63.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...38_V69fV-L.jpg

hi all,

i'm one of those people who had great joy in blinging his 1200gs instead of traveling it was a substitute i guess. converting the dream into bling because i wasn't ready to leave.

i sold the beemer in '08 and went on a 1.5 year trip on a cheap yamaha tt600r. no regrets.

i returned and looked up my friends in the dutch GS scene. and at first was appalled with the bling / gadget culture, but realized i used to be one of them. although the majority never goes anywhere, i got inspired by the few people who actually did go places.

last week i started with a job after exactly two years. you know what? i just bought a GS again. a pretty old 1100, but still...

save travels / happy recovery ;-)

Ah, Starfux, knew I hated them for a reason... snopes.com: Starbucks Charges 9/11 Rescue Workers $130 for Water

I'd rather drink pi$$.

Hi Tr/Ted

Why should you get wound up if others aren't to your liking? Why bother? Who cares?:scooter:

To be honest, I really don't care in the slightest !

It's like walking into a pub called the "Real Ale Rock Pub" and finding it's country and western night sponsored by Fosters. The Sex-in-a-Canoe drinking line dancers won't get why you want a pint of Sheep S***er and Death Rider by Anthrax on the Jukebox and you won't stay long. It is pointless to be annoyed and there is nothing wrong if fake Aussie Sheep **** and the Man In Black is your thing, but it's human nature to get annoyed because the label didn't match the contents (in your opinion).

I view the Bonneville as a nice simple, easy to get along with bike that'll do anything quite well, others want to play James Dean or Steve McQueen. I think they might as well get a dress and play Danny La Rue, they think I should get a video of Ray Mears, the Grilled Bear Bloke or (God Forbid) the actor and his mate and go forth and multiply.

Life would be boring with out these minor differences. The trick IMHO is to laugh and walk away (or better still find common ground with the ones who are prepared to admit that what's right for them doesn't work for you).

Andy

Now that is the ticket :thumbup:. Unfortunately, a lost art, mastered by only a few...:wink3:

Well, I'm not ready to blow Starbucks off because of the article in the link you posted.

Most of the world was not prepared for what was happening that day. No corporate guideline or procedure was in place to deal with this unthinkable atrocity. People were dumbfounded, helpless, confused.

Other corporations reacted in a similar way like Starbucks. I had a personal experience with a rent-a-car company, who threatened to press charges if I didn't return the car as scheduled to the location stipulated in the rental agreement. I was stuck at a trade show in Las Vegas and drove 2,000 miles back to Atlanta, GA, collecting co-workers along the way, taking them home. I told the rental car place to "stick it".

As it turned out, all rent-a-car companies ended up not charging customers for "exotic" drop-off locations or excessive mileage. But, at the time, they did not know how to deal with the situation in the beginning either.

In the end, corporations are run by people. People, who in my opinion are entitled to make mistakes, especially when they correct them later. In distress situation, people cling to what they know. Only a minority of a few blessed folks can think on their feet without orders, guidelines and directions when disaster strikes. Could Starbucks have reacted faster? - properly they could have.

Just my $0.02 on that subject...

...and, cheers !

I have a heated garage, but almost never wash my bikes, except in preparation for maintenance. I don't care what they look like...I'm more intrigued with what the surrounding countryside looks like when I'm out riding.

Lol (as they say in txt-land)
 

These kind of 'discussions' all end up on here, don't they? And I think it's all been covered, but to me, buying a new BMW with all the trick parts and never using it for what it was designed for is just the same as buying a watch that tells the time in 45 countries, a computer that has the same memory capacity as Stephen Hawkins or a mobile phone that has so many applications it can probably make tea.
And we're all guilty of that, aren't we.

Touratwat warriors in pristine clown suits are a subject for pity ,BUT are a good source for little used second hand bikes and gear .
All in all, they should be encouraged .

Very true... My Arai Tour-x cross came from such a rider. Brand new, £130 :thumbup1:

"Selling my brand new Tour-X as it doesn't match my new luggage - Only worn once from the Ewan and Charlie book signing day"

I like that one Dodger....very true.......let them take the depreciation before they sell it to us ! :thumbup1:


The way I look at it is, that let them farkle away with there machines, each one on a shiny GS means theres one less cage driver out there pulling out/turning in front of us without looking/indicating/checking blindspots etc - and at the end of the day I still wave to anyone I see coming the other way on a bike.

I'm surprised at the level of hatred for Touratech stuff. I dont have any myself as the prices are ridiculous, but why do people get so vicious about it? It's like some debates on BMWs. Is it an antiGerman thing? I hope not: that would also be nasty.

T/tech doesnt do clown suits I think,or waxed cotton, but they might if vintage enthusiasts asked them.:scooter::Beach:

I can only speak for myself but I think many will be in agreement:-

As overland bikers, we tend to like and look out for other overland bikers. Novices or experts.

Touratech and BMW overcharge and exploit us with their rediculous prices and bullsh**t "must have" marketing.

Those who know better are just looking out for those who don't !! One could say just trying to deter would be overlanders from wasting half their travel budget on overpriced useless crap or on bikes that are really not designed for anything but going for frothy coffees.

The BMWGS site has no crap on it and there are only about 20 regular riders that plan ride out's and post on that site.

maybe you mean uk gser or gs uk site's ?

I think most bike forums have a large number of Kn'bs on them.

But,live and let live ,you don't have to meet them and ride with them.
:rofl:

That said I spent today cleaning the spokes on my bike and thinking of buying a £1000 Klim jacket....{ my arse }

stay safe

Dazzer

Well, gee, that's a rather patronizing attitude. To say that BMW bikes and a lot of TT gear is "overpriced useless crap" or "not really designed for anything for going for frothy coffees" is simply ludicrous. You really consider that helpful to anyone?

Sure, a lot of people go overboard on TT stuff, or indeed bike prep in general, but if you want to help other bikers, give detailed comments about what does and doesn't work (like the recent report on the BMW 650 not faring well in Africa), rather your exaggerated, useless ranting.

Do you ride a 1200GS ?? Probably !

And if you think TT isn't WAY overpriced and mostly totally useless "image accessory" junk then we're never going to see eye to eye !

Patronising ? I don't think so..... i was just answering Caminandos question. Just my opinion. No one has to listen.

And aren't we in the HU Bar ?? It's not intended to be helpful or unhelpful to anyone !

Ride safe ! Ted

actually, I have both a GS and a GSA (different locations), love them both...

I would agree that in many cases there are better choices than TT (including buying nothing), but sometimes not. And sure, some of their stuff is not particularly useful, but the same is true of most of what we spend our money on. If I can buy some hard part for $50 that will reduce the chances of me breaking down in the middle of nowhere in Russia, in many cases I'll do, because it beats the alternative.

Tourated.
It did not take alot of working out that he rides, or has ridden a GS1200, its in his profile!

I once had a set of TT panniers that I loved, the only reason I got rid of them was that I could not get a sensible price on a piece of shite called a F650 Funduro until I advertised the bike with the panniers.