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A Ride up North - James Bay
- Thread starter sburns
- Start date
Mad Mike
Well-known member
I’m a big believer in laced wheels. 5 years back I was returning from a long days ride, me on a Ninja 250 the fellow riding with me on a GS. We hit a road grind edge on Woodbine south of Keswick, he lost a rim… I got a jolt but was fine.
Ive hit a few good obstacles on laced wheels over the years, never let me down.
Ive hit a few good obstacles on laced wheels over the years, never let me down.
I have it figured out what to do before the next trip up there.
BMW R1200GSW/R1200ADV (Water Cooled) 2013-2018
Woody's custom spoked motorcycle wheels for the BMW R1200GSW/R1200ADV Water Cooled are lighter and more durable than stock motorcycle wheels. Superlite Hubs are Superlaced to Excel Rims for the strongest custom spoked motorcycle wheels available for the BMW Water Cooled R1200 GS and BMW Water...
woodyswheelworks.com
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Get a Vstrom?I have it figured out what to do before the next trip up there.
BMW R1200GSW/R1200ADV (Water Cooled) 2013-2018
Woody's custom spoked motorcycle wheels for the BMW R1200GSW/R1200ADV Water Cooled are lighter and more durable than stock motorcycle wheels. Superlite Hubs are Superlaced to Excel Rims for the strongest custom spoked motorcycle wheels available for the BMW Water Cooled R1200 GS and BMW Water...
And why would I do that?My only issues were wheels and tire choice.
Ok quick summary of our trip.
June 25 we left left Toronto and met north of Orillia.We rode as a group to Val D Or in the sometimes very heavy rain.One of our riders did not make it out of Toronto due to his new to him Tiger 1200 having electrical issues.He decided to take his 2008 BMW K1200GT which was totally unprepared for the ride with 2100 kms of dirt involved.Overall a good day.
June 26 Left Val D Or in the rain for Chibougamau .Good roads up and we got surprised by a QPP running radar in a very desolated stretch while we were not wasting any time.Got to Chibougamau and had a tough time getting lunch due the fact most of the business’s were closed.Even the Tim’s was closed and deserted!We continued to the North rd and took our resiquite picture at the beginning.The Road for the 1st 100 kms was awesome with hardback dirt and long sweeping corners and great vistas and our speed for the most part was well over 100kph and weather really improved at this point with the rain stopping.
100 kms in there was a lot of fresh gravel which changed the character of the road.I found the going quite tough and really felt like I was ready to crash many times but I did survive it after a bit of regrouping and removing the bags.The real issue was the 80/20 tires were not suited to the loose gravel conditions.
The conditions changed very soon after and I was ok once again.We continue to Nemaska for overnight.Arriving at Nemaska we go through the gate house and we’re welcomed warmly.Arriving at the community centre at about 8.00 pm we discover we only have half the rooms we reserved due to missing keys so we ended up bunking together.The big issue was that our arrival at 8 means that only place to eat was closed at 6 so no food!
As it was fuel was needed we headed to the gas station and just happened to run into the Grocery store manager who said he would open up for us to get food.So we ate at the Community Centre common area which was great and our bonding continued.That was a very good day!
to be continued
June 25 we left left Toronto and met north of Orillia.We rode as a group to Val D Or in the sometimes very heavy rain.One of our riders did not make it out of Toronto due to his new to him Tiger 1200 having electrical issues.He decided to take his 2008 BMW K1200GT which was totally unprepared for the ride with 2100 kms of dirt involved.Overall a good day.
June 26 Left Val D Or in the rain for Chibougamau .Good roads up and we got surprised by a QPP running radar in a very desolated stretch while we were not wasting any time.Got to Chibougamau and had a tough time getting lunch due the fact most of the business’s were closed.Even the Tim’s was closed and deserted!We continued to the North rd and took our resiquite picture at the beginning.The Road for the 1st 100 kms was awesome with hardback dirt and long sweeping corners and great vistas and our speed for the most part was well over 100kph and weather really improved at this point with the rain stopping.
100 kms in there was a lot of fresh gravel which changed the character of the road.I found the going quite tough and really felt like I was ready to crash many times but I did survive it after a bit of regrouping and removing the bags.The real issue was the 80/20 tires were not suited to the loose gravel conditions.
The conditions changed very soon after and I was ok once again.We continue to Nemaska for overnight.Arriving at Nemaska we go through the gate house and we’re welcomed warmly.Arriving at the community centre at about 8.00 pm we discover we only have half the rooms we reserved due to missing keys so we ended up bunking together.The big issue was that our arrival at 8 means that only place to eat was closed at 6 so no food!
As it was fuel was needed we headed to the gas station and just happened to run into the Grocery store manager who said he would open up for us to get food.So we ate at the Community Centre common area which was great and our bonding continued.That was a very good day!
to be continued
June 27.We left Nemaska for Relais 381 on a very nice morning.5 of us continued westward on the North Rd to the Billy Diamond Hwy.The 3 other guys backtracked go the Hydro junction and worked their way to the East Main rd that dumps you on the highway just north of the 381.
We were going a a good clip but the dust was an issue for visibility and dust was building up on the inside of my Sheilds which further compounded the problem.The road was pretty smooth with the odd hole here and there and you could get good speed.
Well I got caught out on a row of stutter bumps when there were a few holes in the middle.I had a couple of good hits and noticed my front tire pressure had dropped to 2.0 bar and then the low tire pressure warning came on.So I stopped and saw the rim had 3 good hits on it.The chase truck soon arrived and we decided to load the bike on the truck but with 4 people there was no way to get the 600 lb bike up the ramp.
So the one rider who was behind me went on to get the others to come back to help load the bike.We continued on to Relais 381 after many delays due the construction on the BDH.A quick lunch a the 381 and we continued on the Radison.We checked in at the Auberge Radison and had dinner down the street at a restaurant that quite a good meal.Not a great day but I was still glad to be there!
to be continued
We were going a a good clip but the dust was an issue for visibility and dust was building up on the inside of my Sheilds which further compounded the problem.The road was pretty smooth with the odd hole here and there and you could get good speed.
Well I got caught out on a row of stutter bumps when there were a few holes in the middle.I had a couple of good hits and noticed my front tire pressure had dropped to 2.0 bar and then the low tire pressure warning came on.So I stopped and saw the rim had 3 good hits on it.The chase truck soon arrived and we decided to load the bike on the truck but with 4 people there was no way to get the 600 lb bike up the ramp.
So the one rider who was behind me went on to get the others to come back to help load the bike.We continued on to Relais 381 after many delays due the construction on the BDH.A quick lunch a the 381 and we continued on the Radison.We checked in at the Auberge Radison and had dinner down the street at a restaurant that quite a good meal.Not a great day but I was still glad to be there!
to be continued
June 28.The Macgyvers of this group decided they wanted to try to repair the rim.They banged it somewhat straighter but when it was inflated,we found a long crack so the gig was over.
I contacted BMW Roadside assistance to pick up the bike and get it to a dealer down south.They called me back with the arrangements made to have it towed to Toronto Motorad which they said was the closest dealer at 1600 kms away.I left the keys at the hotel and it was picked up the next and at the dealer the next day.
The other guys went over to Chissabi while I made my bike arrangements and continued to James Bay.We could only get 4 tours of the power plant so the rest went for some local riding.I took the truck for a self guided tour of the Hydro installation which was great as I did the tour 2 years ago.Still not a bad day!
to be continued
I contacted BMW Roadside assistance to pick up the bike and get it to a dealer down south.They called me back with the arrangements made to have it towed to Toronto Motorad which they said was the closest dealer at 1600 kms away.I left the keys at the hotel and it was picked up the next and at the dealer the next day.
The other guys went over to Chissabi while I made my bike arrangements and continued to James Bay.We could only get 4 tours of the power plant so the rest went for some local riding.I took the truck for a self guided tour of the Hydro installation which was great as I did the tour 2 years ago.Still not a bad day!
to be continued
Or one of those pesky KLRs that can do that run without having to make excuses later on and only costs a small fraction of the beemer. Nah that makes no sense.
Whew...not a big BMW fan myself, but that's stand-up performance on the roadside coming way up to the top of the JBR to service that one. I suspect a lot of other roadside assistance deals would have been quick to say "That's outside our service area, sir" and wash their hands of that one.
They sent a truck out of Amos which is about 800kms to the south.This service is a good reason to ride a BMW as it would have been a $3000 tow by our reckoning.
Looking back on the earlier photos now, those rims do look pretty flimsy.
Is this a case of BMW thinking that these bikes will spend more time decorating the parking lot of Starbucks versus actually being ridden in the areas you see in the advertising, and some (like yourself) actually ride them in?
Is this a case of BMW thinking that these bikes will spend more time decorating the parking lot of Starbucks versus actually being ridden in the areas you see in the advertising, and some (like yourself) actually ride them in?
bigpoppa
Well-known member
after reading this I feel bad for @Lightcycle and all his shenanigans
or just one more reason to get that KLR
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