Wintertime

It's been a very long and rather harder than usual winter here on Cape Cod. This area of Massachusetts has already had about 50" of snow (as compared to about 19" on average) so far this winter. Here on the Cape a lot of this has been in the form of snow/rain/sleet...and repeated cycles of freezing and thawing have created enormous ice sheets that make walking dangerous...never mind riding. Winter in the northeast is never wonderful motorcycle time. There are a lot of days simply colder than I want to put up with and freezing temps and precip make things even dicier. So what does one do? (Photo to left shows new bike hibernating unhappily in the garage.)

Well, for my part, some of the down time is spent planning trips for the better weather months coming up. And since my bike is new to me ... bought it used last August ... it's not quite set up exactly the way I would like it to be. So tweaking various parts of the bike and buying and installing some things helps to make the dark months go by a little faster. This latter activity is called "farkling" by some hard bitten moto riders. Check around a bit with sites like ADVrider.com and you will find that farkling a bike is somewhere between an obsession and sickness. It is especially prevalent during the off season. Some people prefer to manufacture their modifications (pennytech) and some simply go the mercantile route. Even if you're buying there's a ton of stuff available second hand and an amazing number of web sites that cater to that particular need.

So what changes have I spent time on this winter?

• A new windscreen was one of the first changes. The OEM screen was too minimalist for my riding style...the buffeting at highway speeds was not comfortable. A Wunderlich taller screen with greater adjustability was the fix for that.
  
• The second thing needing attention was the seat. For some reason, BMW is practically infamous for their uncomfortable seats. I purchased a Sargent seat because I'd used one on my previous bike and liked it. This one fit perfectly and so far is extraordinarily comfortable.
  
• The bike came with a pair of HID lights (Hella) but the previous owner had had them wired into the high beams. I like to have auxilliary lights on a separate switch...so another change had to be made.
  
• I also needed my GPS adapted for the new bike. This required a new mounting system and wiring the unit's power cord into the bike's battery.
  
• The bike also came with slightly knobby tires...I go on dirt roads, but don't plan on really gnarly off-road stuff, so road tires were a better idea.
• I have a Touratech tank bag that fit my previous bike that has served me very well. It didn't fit the shape of the new bike's gas tank. After some studying I devised a way to alter the shape of the base of the system. It now fits perfectly...no cost. This tank bag also accomodates panniers that are a wonderful way to pack items fairly low on the bike.
• The taller windscreen didn't quite fix the buffeting, so I'm trying a pair of "winglets" or wind deflectors which a number of people have suggested make a lot of difference. They're on, but not really tested yet.

And so far (Groundhog day) that's all there is for now on the farkling front. There will probably only be modest changes from here out. I've tweaked my cold weather gear a bit and bought a new pair of riding gloves...but those are minor things. I'm still considering engine/cylinder guards for the bike.

The other winter footle (look it up) I mentioned was planning trips. I'll save that for a later post.