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my first rally

being on the road early works out fine for me. i am so used to being up early (4am) for work that i had planned on being out the door and on the road between 6-6:30 each day. i have learned that if i put in 75-100 miles before breakfest i can then ride latter into the afternoon before i need to stop for lunch, hence i stop latter for supper which means i can do some long days without much of a problem. getting gas when it is available instead of waiting and hoping to find another station has always been my rule.

all this talk of this trip has me wanting to set up my camping gear in the living room, or at the very least going out to the garage and pack the bike just for fun.
 
WY rally

NYTM, if you are going to be camping at the rally, but motelling it along the way out and back another alternative is to ship your camping gear to the Rally site via UPS. There will be a UPS store on site as a vendor that will enable you to ship your camping gear back home....along with all those goodies you bought from all the vendors at the rally.

Friedle
 
shipping all the stuff i buy back home via UPS is a great idea. in fact i think i will ship my towels/face cloths out/back so they don't take up what little precious room i have. i will keep my camping gear on the bike with me in case i find a place on the way out/back to camp.
 
Once, when I was out riding during the day, a huge storm blew my tent down, and made the inside a sodden mess. But the time I got back my friends had set the tent back up, dried the sleeping bag and wet clothes, and had everything else laying out in the sun to dry.

Nothing beats rally buddies, especially if they are Broccoli Riders!

Voni
sMiling
 
I shipped my tent and gear up to the Burlington rally (all 200 miles away). Lisa and I rolled in on a Friday night and the darn thing was all set up - and we just needed to find it. Your mileage may vary. :)
 
I shipped my tent and gear up to the Burlington rally (all 200 miles away). Lisa and I rolled in on a Friday night and the darn thing was all set up - and we just needed to find it. Your mileage may vary. :)

And someone else came, packed your gear up and carried it back on their bike in the pouring rain. :whistle
 
Hey now,

I used to own a "little F650GS Dakar" and it was BIG fun. A buddy rode his from Massachusetts to Prudhoe Bay and did the AK portion two up with his wife and camping gear!

Sure a K12LT might be a little better on slab but don't sell your 650 short. Enjoy the 65mpg.

Don't worry about your gear. As others have said you can ship you camping gear.

For the ride out I would suggest you consider staying at KOA campgrounds along the way. Many have small cabins that you can reserve for the same or less than a super 8. For the money If feel safer at the KOA and don't have to worry about being disturbed by the crack dealing in the parking lot.
 
F650

Hi Trashman
The 650 will work just fine. I've just returned from a 15K km trip to Cenral America.
A few notes:
Reduce the rear sprocket tooth count if your route is all paved, to bring the revs down. I think it is Touratech that has a 45t sprocket (stock 49t)
The bike will carry the load, no problem. Keep the heavy stuff down low.
I found the stock seat uncomfortable (it slopes down to the front, and soon it feels like you're sitting on the (faux) tank) and used a Corbin canyon seat - its hard but correctly shaped, and gets you butt further back on the bike.
The accessory outlet is in a bad spot. I located mine just behind the triple clamp, ahead of the battery, in the central plastic cover. I also added a lighter socket.
Dump the stupid steel rear number plate holder - before it gets devoured by the back tire.
The Tourance are good tires and wear well. Make sure your wheels are balanced.
Enjoy the ride!
 
i know the little 650 is more then capable as a buddy of mine has ridden his Dakar to Alsaska from our home town in NY several times. i am giving serious thought to putting a 45 tooth rear sprocket on prior to my trip. maybe i will swap out the rear sprocket when my bike come back from BMW (knocking in the engine) so i will have plenty of time to see if i like the change. several people recommended i switch the CC sprocket to a 15 tooth (stock is 16) saying i would like the added torque. it was nice but i really didn't care for it on the highway. i realized what works great for one person is not necessarily good for someone else.

the KOA campsite option is a very good one, and i had planned on looking into it. i am sure it is much more secure then some super 8 motel right off the slab.

i started looking at route planning and i think i will have time to ride approx. 50% slab 50% secondary roads on my way out. on the way back i had planed to head S/SE and come up through the southern states so as not to ride the same roads i took on my way out. luckily i have plenty of time to plan a route that will offer the best in terms of time as well as quality of roads.
 
maybe in, maybe out

NYTM-

I just bought a 2005 Dakar on Monday, and live in Monmouth County about 15 minutes from the Outerbridge Crossing. I am *thinking* about going to the rally, but am burning a LOT of leave on a trip to Mexico (flying, not riding, the wife won't ride out of country....yet) so I may not have the leave to go to the rally for the whole time. If I'm able to go, I'd like to ride out with someone. I'd like to get in touch off of the board to talk logistics, and see if we can pull something together. It sounds like you have a lot of stuff planned out well, this will be my first rally as well, I'm doing some reading on motorcycle travel (Gregory Frazier's book, for one) and think 2 heads may be better than one. Have you looked into the sherpa grounds at all or are you going to go your own way for camping at the rally?

For the experienced rebel-rally-rousers-

Is it usually packed wall-to-wall people or is it spread out nicely?
 
NYTM-

I just bought a 2005 Dakar on Monday, and live in Monmouth County about 15 minutes from the Outerbridge Crossing. I am *thinking* about going to the rally, but am burning a LOT of leave on a trip to Mexico (flying, not riding, the wife won't ride out of country....yet) so I may not have the leave to go to the rally for the whole time. If I'm able to go, I'd like to ride out with someone. I'd like to get in touch off of the board to talk logistics, and see if we can pull something together. It sounds like you have a lot of stuff planned out well, this will be my first rally as well, I'm doing some reading on motorcycle travel (Gregory Frazier's book, for one) and think 2 heads may be better than one. Have you looked into the sherpa grounds at all or are you going to go your own way for camping at the rally?

For the experienced rebel-rally-rousers-

Is it usually packed wall-to-wall people or is it spread out nicely?
It sounds like there will be plenty of room at Gillette, almost always spread out for miost of the Nationals I have been to (16).
 
That's a relief, coming from New Joisey, I'd like to go to a place where there's some room to breathe!

I'm going to check out these sherpa businesses, I'm JUST starting out to travel via motorcycle (have always done strictly day trips) so being a newlywed and new home owner, my budget is a bit tight. If I can save on having to buy a lot of luggage AND equipment, this might be the way to go.

Anyone have experience with them?:ear
 
This is extremely good advice. I like to be on the road between 5 and 6 (earlier if need be) and finish up at 2 or 3. Unpack, dip in the pool, big dinner, a few beers, walk back to the hotel and asleep by 9. YRMV, but this is a good plan.

Have fun on your bike and your trip. You'll have a blast at the rally.

The only thing I ever had stolen at a rally was my soul when Kbasa took my picture!

Indeed. I try to pack all my junk the night before so I can wake up and be on the road in 15 minutes. I don't shower until I get to my room at the end of the day.
 
I shipped my tent and gear up to the Burlington rally (all 200 miles away). Lisa and I rolled in on a Friday night and the darn thing was all set up - and we just needed to find it. Your mileage may vary. :)

IIRC, you can thank me and joe for that.:laugh
 
Countdown from 2/14/08

At approximately 5:00 p.m.

Rally Countdown is also exactly 154 days.

Rally Countdown is also approximately 3,696 hours.

Rally Countdown is also approximately 221,760 minutes.

Rally Countdown is also approximately 13,305,600 seconds.

But who is counting? :laugh
 
Anxious Paul?? :rofl

On the security matter I can say that thus far on every rally I have attended, I have never seen or heard of things disappearing. Misplaced stuff yes, but always found by the owner(s). Common sense helps here too, as you should keep valuables locked (topcase) up or just out of sight.
Have fun at the Rally!!
 
That's a relief, coming from New Joisey, I'd like to go to a place where there's some room to breathe!

I'm going to check out these sherpa businesses, I'm JUST starting out to travel via motorcycle (have always done strictly day trips) so being a newlywed and new home owner, my budget is a bit tight. If I can save on having to buy a lot of luggage AND equipment, this might be the way to go.

Anyone have experience with them?:ear

Careful, Sherpa tents are considered placed close together, though you'll have room out in front for parking your bike, etc. (at least with my service). I do provide earplugs though :)

I have typical pictures of setups on my website (url can be found in my profile or on the 2008 rally page). There's also a pic in the thread link posted just below.

If you are looking for a big clear area to yourself, Sherpa may not be your solution. Camping on your own with an area just to your own, you'll very likely have to hike a ways to the main parts of the rally, as real estate is a bit 'more valuable' closer in. This may even mean a hike to a local porta john, depends how well they spread those out.

For comments on Sherpa, you might check out this link:

http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?t=19037&highlight=sherp%2A

There's plenty of mention of the service on this forum, you might consider searching "Sherpa" and look around for threads posted around about last year's event.
 
I apologize for not clarifying. With my reference to "room to breathe", everything where I live is jam packed with people i.e. lines, crowds etc. I realize that accomodations will be crowded there, my question/reference was to the atmosphere, i.e. was it like being at a concert where people are all in one place or are activities spread out among the grounds-vendors, food, etc.

I checked out the references, I think this may work for me, now to calculate my leave status. . .
 
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