Tour 2009 Update

Look what has arrived.

My luggage for the tour. A pair of Buell factory saddle bags specifically designed for the bike. Should do the job nicely I think. I got these for $59US and they came all the way from Argentina - what an amazing thing the internet is.

The bike goes in for its 1st service tomorrow. Took quite some time to get the initial 1000km's up, in fact not quite there however need to get this done now in readiness rather than try fit it in at the last minute.

I have revised my trip. Motowhere yet again won't save my map... grrr. Click to enlarge this.



There is a cyclone off the coast north bringing rain and I guess I am going to be getting wet tomorrow. I want to get my new riding pants tomorrow afternoon at BMW across the road Harley (both run by Morgan and Wackers) so a break in the weather would be welcome however unlikely...

Yes I have decided to get the BMW City pants. Reason being all reviews state BMW's armor is the best comfort wise and wraps around your knee to stay in place which none of the others do. The actual pants are made of a blend of materials with nylon woven in and are not as strong abrasion wise in the seat as Draggins or other Kevlar lined ones which put me off however the more research I do the more I come to think that this focus on seat of pants is partly a marketing thing and that knee and hip armor is most important followed by adequate abrasion resistance with attention to comfort so you will actually wear them all year round.

Real world crash reports perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly point to riders not that often being involved in slides along on their bums. Rather the knees and hips and ankles are the common contact points as are hands, elbows and shoulders. I think we get the idea from watching those GP stars low side that we would do the same however unlike the race track most accidents occur in other circumstances with very different surfaces. So after reading some reviews I think the BMW pants will be strong enough for some sliding yet balance this with the best in knee and hip armor to deliver a superior garment than the Kevlar lined jeans or textile pants with traditional Knox hard armor which tends to move around too much.

Anyway to move on how about a superb car video to watch. Yes whilst I find normal sports cars bordering on mind numbing compared to the intense experience riding a motorcycle this is something half decent!