Fun. Newark is a good time. I say this very sarcastically. I lived there for a while years ago on MLK in the Central Ward and let me tell you, my 135 lb. German Shepherd "Sherlock" saved my ### more times than I can remember. It's kind of embarrassing that Newark is NJ's largest city and should be something we are proud of.
Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...
Discussion in 'Swift' started by DocWatson, Jan 3, 2013.
Page 77 of 165
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I bought a BMW R1150GS Adventure, otherwise known as a "GSA". It's not a bike I would have ever really considered before for a few reasons. It's expensive, I'm not familiar with the "boxer" type set up with the horizontally opposed twin cyclinders and additionally the bike has that image in some circles as being kind of yuppy. I'm definitely not yuppy but I do appreciate smart engineering and a solid build.
But as far as getting a bike that is purpose built for what I need from it, there's not much else out there. There's a couple of bikes by the big 4 Japanese that are similar, there's a couple of Italian made ones and there's the KTM Adventure, Husaberg and a few others but nothing I found had everything I need.
I avoided the KTM's and the Italian bikes due to the fact that it would be harder to find parts if I needed them in the middle of nowhere. Plus they are expensive. I could find parts for the BMW a little easier although not as easy as one of the Japanese bikes. So the BMW falls somewhere in the middle of the Italian/KTM//Husaberg group and the Japanese bikes when it comes to finding parts out of the country.
Initially I was really looking at the Suzuki DR650 since it is a single cylinder, air-cooled thumper that would be easy to work on and easy to get parts for. It's tough and it's even more off-road worthy than the BMW or similar bikes. Plus it's lighter and more fun in the dirt. But the issue with that was that I would have to add the extra capacity gas tank, get the subframe under the seat welded and reinforced to carry some weight with the saddlebags and I would have to add any other accessories like heated grips, engine protection, etc. and that was going to add up. Plus it would have to be in the shop more to get this stuff set up. The same thing goes for the Honda XR/XL's I was looking at and the Kawasaki KLR. I was actually starting to get kind of set on the Kawasaki KLR right before I found this BMW. I"ve always liked the KLR. But I didn't find any of these bikes already set up for what I needed. I wouldn't mind getting the bike set up myself, actually I would rather do it that way, but considering the starting price of one of these other bikes plus the time I would need to set it up and the extra money, the GSA just makes it easier. Plus the GSA has more displacement, more power and more comfort.
The BMW has everything I want although it is much heavier than I planned and more expensive. The positives on the BMW GSA is that it has a whopping 7.9 gallon gas tank already on it from the factory. It is built to carry weight with the subframe already pretty sturdy. It carries something like 600 lbs of gear plus rider(s). It has all the engine protection installed including the skid plate and engine guards. It's got the factory aluminum panniers and rear case on it and they lock with the ignition keys. 2 setting heated grips and hand guards. Aftermarket, higher windshield. Super comfy seat plus some kind of fancy seat pads already installed. PIAA off road lights in addition to the standard hi/low headlight. And a bunch of other things.
The GS isn't as dirt-oriented as the other bikes but it is definitely set up to ride comfortably for long distances. That appealed to me since most of my riding out of the country isn't going to be hardcore single track off-road stuff. It will be mostly tarmac and then some packed dirt, maybe a few stream crossings, ruts, etc. I"m going to throw some streetable Continental knobbies on there for the trip.
The setup on the BMW is set up for a purpose. I hear the engine is bulletproof and good for 100,000 miles plus. It is easy to maintain (although very expensive if I have the dealership do everything - I won't). It is shaft driven which I"m not too familiar with. But as I understand it, there is less maintenance than a chain drive like I have on my other bike. The shaft drive is more expensive to service when that time comes.
I can't wait to get my hands on the repair manuals the seller included with the bike so I can learn about this particular motor and set up. It's pretty much a proven design that has been around for a long time. This model year is a 2003, according to the frame and the BMW mechanic the seller used, but the title states that it is 2002. I think it is the 1st year of the Adventure model although GS's have been around since about 1980. It was the same exact bike used in the movie "Long Way Round" with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman.
My only main concern is how complicated this bike actually is. Like I said, originally I wanted a very simple set up like a single cyclinder, 600cc "thumper" that was air cooled. Less to go wrong and less to replace on the road should something happen. The BMW, on the other hand, is air/oil cooled so there is an oil radiator which complicates it. Shaft drive is more complicated. It has ABS which is something else that could break although one good thing is that the ABS can be disengaged - good for those times descending down a slippery hill off road and you want to ride the back brake down. ABS would mess you up in that situation. The bike overall is more complicated.
Something else I liked about the GS is that it has a centerstand and a regular kickstand. If I get a flat tire it is much easier to pull the wheel off and patch the flat with the bike on a centerstand than trying to find a rock or wood or something to balance the bike otherwise.
This bike I got was babied. And with all due respect to the seller, the bike was never used the way it was designed to be used. That is good for me. I don't see why people would buy a bike that can take you around the world and is set up for it yet they only commute on it. That's one expensive and underused commuter. But hey, that's me and only my opinion. Not my business how someone uses their bike but this bike is so specifically built to do one thing and do it well. Why not use it that way?
So I'm really anxious to see this bike in about a week. I know I'm going to spend about a good hour or two just crawling under it, climbing all over it and touching everything. I'm really curious about this boxer type engine as I"ve always been a motorhead. I would ride a scooter if that was my only option (although there would really have to be no other options, but still...). This is by far the nicest thing I've ever owned in my life and might just be nicest thing I'll ever own. That is fine with me. I would rather have a bike more than anything else anyway.Last edited: Mar 27, 2014
DriverToBroker Thanks this. -
Back at the Columbus terminal. I got a load this morning that had me bobtailing about 225 miles out near Indianapolis to pickup and then coming back the same way near Columbus to drop. I think total miles today were somewhere around 471.
When I went to pick up the trailer near Indianapolis I was told by the security guard that there was a bunch of us Swifties there to pick up a bunch of trailers going to the same location. It didn't matter what trailer we took. Since I wasn't already assigned a trailer on my plan, I didn't care either.
I was given a trailer number, told to drive around back and hook up to it. These were all high value loads. I began to hook up to it when the yard jocket drove up, in mid-conversation on his hand-held radio, and told me that I was to unhook and grab another trailer around front. I would be switching trailers with another Swift driver. I thought this was odd since we were basically being doled out random trailers anyway and they were all going to the same location. Odd. So I unhooked, drove around front and spoke to the security guard again. He pointed to the trailer I was to hook to. It was an Intermodal trailer that the other Swiftie was hooked to before. I passed this driver on the way to the front of the building going the other way, he was obviously going to go hook to the trailer I was previously attached to. I noticed this driver hooked to the Intermodal when I first arrived at the shipper. I mentally noted that it was odd that he was hooked to this trailer and that he was kind of just sitting there. In retrospect, I'm guessing he was calling someone about whether he should take the Intermodal.
I began to hook to the Intermodal trailer and was suspicious why this other driver had unhooked from it and was taking my trailer. Something didn't seem right. I called my terminal and spoke to a driver manager about this issue and he was to get back to me. After about 15 minutes I became impatient and called my terminal again. This time I spoke to my old driver manager and after some deliberation she said it was find that I hook up to this Intermodal. So I pulled up the landing gear and pretripped it noting that there were no side blinkers on the trailer like the regular dry vans have. Then I got a call back from the first driver manager I had spoken too. He stated that he just got off a conference call with 200 other driver leaders and that there was no way I was to take the Intermodal trailer. He said it had something to do with the Intermodals intended purpose and something about it going to a different state, from Indiana to Ohio. I didn't argue it and unhooked from it. I started to get cranky though as now about 1 hour and 20 minutes had passed and I was about to hook to my third trailer at this location. I wanted to get rolling and get this delivered already.
I went back to the security guard perturbed. When I went to him the first time, at the time they told me to hook to the other trailer, the security guard at that time pointed out that the Intermodal trailer was the one I was to hook to. I asked him why the other driver unhooked from it and why that driver was taking my trailer. The security guard stated some stupid reason about I was preferred to take this Intermodal trailer. Now that I was told by the driver leader to not take it under any circumstances I was annoyed that this guy had kind of hustled me. He knew that the other driver had refused to take the Intermodal and was dumping it on me.
I hooked to the third trailer and left with a quickness but not before getting a message from someone unknown stating to hook to the Intermodal again. I replied that it was too late, that I had a new trailer I was now hooked to and sent that trailer number. I resent my loaded call with the revised info and got the F out of there. The rest of the trip back east towards Columbus was pretty uneventful. It went smoothly from that point forward as my truck sailed along somewhere between 63 and 64 mph. Not sure why my truck has been running faster (according to my GPS), but it is a beautiful thing. -
Nice choice with the Bimmer. What kind of liter sport bike did you have before?
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Thanks.
I still have it and keep it at the Sumner terminal. It is a Suzuki GSXR1000. -
Doc, have your read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? If not, then that would be a good read for your adventure. Perhaps Motorcycle Diaries as well (also out in movie), but that gets more political.
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I also just read Odyssee to Ushuaiu a book about this young guys bike trip down to the tip of S. America. Not a bad book.
I got bit by the motorcycle touring bug years ago when I picked up Ted Simons book Jupiters Travels. It was about his travels all over the world on an old Triumph (if I remember right). Great book. A few years later I read that he was going to be up at the Touratek place in Seattle to give a slide presentation on his motorcycle tours. I grabbed my old 600cc thumper and hauled ### up to Seattle. I got a chance to meet him and get a couple of his books signed. Pretty cool and it set my mind in motion even more to do some similar traveling.
I gotta get back to Zen and finish that.Last edited: Mar 30, 2014
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Im parked behind the Office Depot and Walmart here in Kernersville, NC. My live unload isn't due until 1400 tomorrow about 78 miles south of here in Sanford, NC. I parked last night around 9 or 10 so i should have a 34 in by tomorrow morning after 0500.
I took this load down from Illinois near Chicago. I knew i was gojng to be very early but i didn't realize I was going to have so much extra time. Luckily there is a place called Cookout nearby with free WiFi and pretty decent food. It's kind of like a 5 Guys chain with charcoaled burgers, pork sandwiches and the like. That's where I am now posting this.
So I'm curious how I should work this upcoming situation. My little brother just told me that he plans on having his bachelor party in Orlando in early May. I plan on going of course. I have a home time scheduled in Virginia this coming week, so the bachelor party is about 4 weeks after this home time.. Originally before my little bro told me about his bachelor party I was planning on taking a very short home time out in Washington to pick up my birth certificate out of my storage. I need it to get my passport done and get that thing rolling. I can't apply for my international drivers license until I have my passport.
So I'm curious whether Swift can work it for me to take a 1 day home time out in Washington between the time I have the home time in Virginia and when I go to Orlando one month later. Even if it meant just a few hours during the day, I just need to get into my storage and pull that document out. I guess I can ask my driver manager and see what he thinks. I really don't want to wait another 3 weeks to a month to take a separate home time out in WA just to pick up a document.
Quitting sucks....bad...
Trying to quit smoking again as I have been every freakin single day for the past 6 weeks consistently, and much longer inconsistently. I hate failing and I hate failing every day even more. I know I have a great chance of success if I can make it past the first 3 days when most of the physical withdrawals subside. Its funny how the mind works. Its as if there are 2 competing personalities fighting each other inside my brain when nicotine withdrawal kicks in. It starts almost from the time I wake up and the dialogue between the two opposing sides, the evil addicted side and the quitting side, usually goes something like this:
Evil side: "Ahh, good morning, time to smoke"
Quitting side: "Shut the f up. We quit, were not smoking"
Evil side: "Quit today? Theres got to be a better day to quit. You shouldn't quit today because (insert any number of insane excuses here)"
Quitting side: "Shut the f up! C'mon time to get ready and get rolling"
Evil side: "Okay sounds good. Let's get going. Maybe we should stop on the way and pick up a pack..."
And that's the way it goes until I silence the demons. The amazing thing is, and I know this beforehand, that once I break an all day quit by smoking that I will feel absolutely miserable. Not just miserable in the sense that I have once again failed but physically worse. Immediately when I have that first smoke after having quit for most of a day my chest immediately tightens, my throat becomes dry and voice is immediately raspy and I feel less energy. When I haven't smoked, like today, my mood is actually improved, I have more energy, more confidence (hard one to explain) and I feel a sense of accomplishment. If I give in to that part of me that craves and i smoke i will instantly feel that the anticipation of smoking greatly exceeds the actual enjoyment. Its predictable this way yet I still fail. Hopefully not today although I almost already failed once. I was picking up some things in Walmart and actually got onto that lane where they sell smokes. Its the only lane of its type in Walmart where you can buy them. I got into the line but the lady in front of me had 6 million items she was unloading from her cart onto the conveyor. My impatience won out over addiction but just barely. It bought me just enough time to reconsider my impending failure and get out of the store. Since that moment earlier today the internal battle has continued. My evil, addicted side is reminding me that North Carolina has some of the cheapest cigarette prices in the U.S. - even cheaper than Virginia. My other side is reminding me that I only have about 4 more days left before I get home time in Virginia and it would be awesome to be smoke free at that time for once. I don't think I have ever been smoke free around my parents since I started. The other 2 times I quit successfully in the past for a couple of months did not occur around my family. They did not witness it. This would be the first. So the battle wages on inside my head. I'm even debating how I'm going to get back to my truck passing by in front of Walmart without going inside. Its sick and annoying. That's addiction.
Its the hardest thing to quit. I think it is even harder for me sometimes because I started smoking so early at the tender age of 11. I actually had just barely turned 11 years old when my friend, whom was slightly younger, introduced me to tobacco. It wasnt the typical introduction either. I remember the circumstance exactly despite the fact that it was nearly 30.5 years ago. I never coughed like you see in the movies. I liked the taste immediately. I stayed part time smoker until about the age of 15 or 16 and then went full throttle with it. I remember at that time that it was easy to get cigarettes. There was no "over 18" law back then. And they were cheap - about $1.00 a pack if I remember right. A couple of weeks ago, embarassingly, i paid about $10.50 for a freakin pack of cigarettes in Washington state. I am stupid for paying this much but i guess I am stupid for paying any amount for these. Times have changed as far as price but the habit has lived on. Pisses me off all around. Pissed that the government in some states has taxed this habit so excessively yet doesn't tax other unhealthy behaviors to the same extent. I'm pissed that I haven't found the strength or will again to quit. I'm pissed that I have continued to smoke despite what it does to my health, the stink, the severe inconvenience of having my life dictated by the addiction in every way. I plan ahead to have smokes in the morning for when I wake up. If I don't have enough I have to stop the night before. I have burned everything smoking at one point. By far the toughest thing to achieve but it will be the most rewarding. Anyway....
On a lighter note, I have about 4 more days before I get my home time in Virginia.Last edited: Mar 30, 2014
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The argument never goes away ... it just moves into your subconscious ... I quit for the final time in 1991 ... had 3 one day, this time only relapses - not counting the 2 cigars on my daughters wedding day, that was only supposed to be one cigar - and I will still have dreams that I'm smoking to this day.
DocWatson Thanks this. -
Quitting heroin is much easier than kicking nicotine. Thirty five years ago I kicked heroin one day because I decided I was done, just done. I was a full on addict but I wasn't strung out sick or broke; I just decided I was done even though smack is the sweetest high of all.
I started smoking about the same age as you and the longest I quit for was a year. I've gone through all the self loathing you have and the discovery of all the bazillion smoker's moments. About 10 years ago I kicked the habit of trying to kick the habit and have been much happier ever since. Its my only remaining vice and I enjoy it.
On the other hand, you young man, need to kick that evilness for no other reason than fewer and fewer ladies want to kiss an ashtray these days. Can I have your leftover smokes when you do?
Frank
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