One Week Later - First Service

I picked up my brand spankin' new R1200GSA last Saturday on June 18th and was scheduled for it's first 600 mile service on Saturday June 25th.  Since it's just about 300 miles from the dealer to my house that meant I rode it home and 6 days later, I rode it back to the dealer to get that all important (read expensive) first service and oil change.

The plan was for me to ride up to Nephi, UT and spend the night.  Basically, staging so I could be at Harrison Eurosports in Sandy, UT when they open at 9:00 am.  I left home Friday afternoon with the temperature hovering around 106. All was good, the new beastie bike fits me well and I headed out. 

I wasn't 40 miles into my trip today when I was literally run off the road by some bitch who decided my lane looked more fun than hers. I hit the brakes the same time I hit the rumble strips and laid on the horn. Upon recovery, I sped up next to her and beeped until she looked at me as she mouthed "I'm sorry" to which I responded with the universal two finger look in my eyes, see me sign. She almost killed me. Watch out people, they ARE out to get you.

Funny, I didn't panic or get butterflies in my tummy.  I just reacted with evasive maneuvers without even thinking about it.  It did make me angry, though.  She simply did not look.  There was no reason for her to change lanes.  I was in the left lane, she was in the middle lane and there was a third, truck lane on that section of I-15.  There was nobody in front of her.  I don't know.....   Oh well, I managed to continue on the journey and easily made it to Nephi by late afternoon.  Eric had fixed up a hydration system for me and that was a blessing!  I was able to keep hydrated and only had one stop in Beaver, UT for a late lunch.  I'm loving the 7.9 gallon gas tank!

The next morning I was up early, grabbed some high carb brekkie and headed toward Sandy.  Fortunately, that portion of my ride was uneventful and I pulled into Harrison Eurosports about 8:40 am.  There were a few peeps already there and I just hung out until they officially opened and I could get in for the service.  Eric arrived not too long after I did.  He had brought a new rear tire with him so he pulled off the wheel in the parking lot and took that and the new tire to the service bay to get it mounted.

I snapped a few pictures of the plethora of bikes at Harrison Eurosports.  I know my last blog was meager on bike pictures because I was just too excited about MY bike.  So, here is some eye candy for you.

They have BMW's

 They have Triumph's

 They have the contract for the Utah State Troopers!!!

 They have Ducati's

Since the service was going to take a few hours, we had arranged to meet a friend and fellow rider, Lydia Jones who lives in Salt Lake.  She arrived in her car and after some chit chat we jumped in the car and went off for brunch.  We had such a delightful time with her and our time together simply went by too fast.  So fast, in fact, that I forgot to take a picture :-(

After our meal, back at the dealer, we were just about finished with the service and Eric's tire had been mounted.  While I went though the service details and paid the bill, Eric put his rear wheel back on the bike.  Not too long after that we were off on another adventure!

Both of us were sick and tired of slogging I-15 so I planned a rural mountain route home.  We did take I-15 south about 40 miles and then headed east on Utah Hiway 6.  We then made a right turn onto UT 96, a scenic byway.  We took a quick stop at the beginning of UT 96.

Selfie shot - I see I'm still wrinkling my nose, I have to work on that :-)

It was lovely!  The weather was perfect, warm but not triple digits.  Very little traffic and wonderful scenery!  It has been a long time since I was last on this highway and I'm glad we rode it.  This is Utah's central mountains at their best!

We stopped to take a few photos.  I forgot to bring the GoPro :-(  The twisties were awesome as we rode through thick forest.  We passed many mountain lakes.

 Another wrinkle nose selfie!

We turned right onto Utah 284 and then left (south) on UT 31.  It was glorious!  We spotted a Ranger Station and decided to stop and take a look!  This was a very interesting, informative place.  They had an exhibit about the CCC that we enjoyed.

 There was an outhouse!  The cabin had indoor plumbing but apparently, it didn't always work but the outhouse always worked!

 Here is the Ranger cabin.

 A little bit of trivia.  One of the White House Christmas Trees came from here!

 Hey, I took that beastie bike off pavement!  hahahaha

We meandered our way down off the mountain and Eric took some action shots.

We popped out of the mountains in Huntington, UT and then went south on UT Hiway 10 to the tiny town of Ferron, UT.

 We spent the night at Gilley's.  We got a cute little cabin.

 Although it could use some TLC and updating, it was quite pleasant.

 We had burgers at the Grub Box.  We didn't go to the nursing home ;-)

The next morning, Sunday, we got up and loaded the bikes and headed south yet again.  We had word from other riders than UT Hiway 72 was tar snake hell and not a fun ride.  Too bad, because that's the way I wanted to go.  But, the riders had been on that highway only a week or two earlier so we took heed and instead rode to Interstate 70 and headed west to Salina, UT where we had brekkie and a very nice conversation with a couple who were close to retiring and thinking about getting a touring motorcycle.

Another 10 miles or so on I-70 and we headed south again on UT Hiway 24 and then onto UT Hiway 62 through the tiny town of Kingston.  Finally, we hit UT Hiway 89 which we rode for several miles to Circleville, UT where we stopped at this tiny cafe for some Huckleberry ice cream, ymmmy!

We continued on Hiway 89 to UT Hiway 14 where we went west again across Cedar Mountain to end up in Cedar City. We took a quick break at the junction of Hiway 89 and 14.
 

Since we were both really tired of I-15, we continued through Cedar City on UT Hiway 56.  With very little traffic, we made good time.  From there we took a shortcut to Enterprise, UT, then down Hiway 18 to Veyo, UT (Home of the famous Veyo Pies).  Gunlock Road would take us to Old Hiway 91 and home.  Unfortunately, a Sheriff turned onto Gunlock Road just ahead of us, booooo!  Gunlock Road is a very fun, scenic and twisty road and we love to ramp it up but with the PoPo in front of us, well, we rode the very sedate speed limit of 40 mph.   Oh well......

It was delightful to arrive safe and sound at home again and park the bikes.

So, this trip was about 780 miles and I now have 1100 and change on the new steed.  Oh, I almost forgot to tell you what I've added to the beastie bike!  First and most important was the hydration system designed by my honey, Eric.  It works perfectly!

 I added a little belt bag to the back since I don't yet have a tank bag.  It worked like a charm!  It holds the things I used to carry in the aux fuel cover like earplugs, my 3 cell Maglite, mini first aid kit, tissues, etc.  I also put the rubber ducky on and....

The most important Bambi Killer Voodoo doll!  LOL, poor thing, look how dirty it's face is which was the only part showing before in the aux tank cover.  The rest of it looks new :-)  I'm so glad I found a good place to park Bambi!

The only other addition at this point was some bar risers that give me relief from leaning on my wrists.  On the list of things to add are a side stand plate, maybe some radiator guards.  We've ordered some key blanks so I don't have to use the flimsy switch blade key for the luggage.  Oh, highway pegs are on the list and already ordered.  After a few hours I really need to stretch my legs out.  I'm considering a custom seat.  So that's about it.  This bike is so feature rich that I really don't need to add much to make it comfortable for me.

As always, thanks for following along with me.  I hope to get some more riding in soon and I'll be posting for your pleasure!

Cheers,
Cletha