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.

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"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!"

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.

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UK to Mongolia 2009, on a DR350

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.

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.

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"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!"

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.

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?

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HansP
All you wanted to know
about riding in Norway

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.

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!

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 !!

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

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.

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You been at the german Russ

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Chris
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"Never have a stupid argument with an idiot - he gets a lot more practice than you"
there I go again
not too hard really

Not yet

But after a few gallons it'll look pretty good

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