Coop's Corner: Loaded

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Loaded

My first time getting the Himalaya loaded up for a weekend trip, in this case the always great Madison BMW Club's GR3 (Great River Road Rally), this their 44th event. A couple of years ago I joined the girls for a weekend up on the South Shore of Lake Superior. Last year, I had the KLR and on Friday it worked flawlessly. Going to the bike's Reserve fuel tap was a big mistake to the point that Mrs. Coop had to come down and rescue me.

There will be no more of that foolishness.

Informed again by the folks at NH4 Motorheads that my RE accessories were indeed still on the way (International Clearance), I could have found some sort of compromise to use one of many sets of soft saddlebags that are on the stack. Then I remembered the set that I've never used before, the Ortlieb Sport Bike saddlebags that arrived here courtesy of the Gift Certificate that I managed to score at one of the rally's a few years ago (Thanks Andy!). I had tried them once or twice on other bikes, wasn't satisfied with how they fastened, hung, made room for, etc. and then put them back on the shelf.

The other night I put them on the Himmi, really thought they fit well and decided to give them a try this weekend. There's a thick internal plastic panel providing some support, that inside wall bearing against the seat and edge of the luggage rack looks like it should provide enough of a barrier to keep the bags from swinging in where they don't belong. Flexible for load and capacity, both sides could stand better organization and have some reserve capacity, something I've found myself needing on my way home more than once.

There is capacity in the bags that I'm not using because as I've said for years now, I'm still getting good at this, refinement continues and actually is part of the fun.

I've packed the Moto Fizz bag like I always have, my "household" things for in the tent. Tent, related tent, tools, my chair, odds and ends that don't need to be inside go in the bags. The setup works great for our rallies; once the tent, footprint, fly, poles and stakes are out, lots of room for Misc. to take along as we go out and explore. The 'Fizz comes off once the tent is up and stays there until it's time to break camp.

A revelation last year was using compression sacks (3) which has almost made the Moto Fizz duffel roomier than it needs to be. I've long since given up on packing the tent equipment in the original bag. Broken up into smaller parcels allows for more freedom of placement and the ability to fill corners that the larger, all-together tent, poles and stakes would not. Now the tent itself and my large industrial black garbage bag (my rug in the vestibule so that I don't have to kneel or sit on the grass) get compressed in one bag, the fly and footprint in another and finally my sleeping bag in one of the higher quality, absolutely waterproof compression sacks. I buy tents that have short poles and normally, the poles will fit in either the 'Fizz on top or if done just right, in my other soft bags. With these (now redesigned and distributed solely by Touratech) Ortlieb Waterproof MOTO Speed Bags I have room for even longer poles.

I can get on, which is important, I can get off, there's enough room for even I to move around a bit and standing is still a viable option.

We'll put them to the test starting early tomorrow.

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On another note, this week I had some time so stopped in at GoMoto on the off chance my engine guards might have arrived. Out front was a black Himalaya, one with some miles, there I learned for its first service. Keith, the first owner of a Himalaya in Minnesota was there and a chance for us to meet and discuss the bike and plenty of 'other'. We both had knowledge of various accessory suppliers in India, found equal frustration in the cost of shipping from half way around the planet and I learned that Keith gets over to Bangalore numerous times yearly on business. His next Indian accessories are coming home in his suitcase. It was a pleasure Keith, keep in touch.

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Finally, the Ducati is gone.....

Josh kindly sent a check weeks ago, toyed with the idea of a Fly-N-Ride, solicited ideas from numerous sources on ADV's Hacks thread (many helpful, some satirically not) from enthusiasts potentially traveling this way and that, finally deciding to accompany his mom, deadhead a trailer from eastern Washington for a Road Trip. Offers of help, schedule syncing, willingness to go out of their way......those ADV Hack folks are a dandy lot....and appreciated. Heading west by first traveling to NE Wisconsin to retrieve some more 2 wheel'd merchandise, the Washingtonians will hopefully arrive home safe, sound and in great weather to put some more solid miles on the ST2.

Josh, Colleen, it was a pleasure to meet you both. All the best on this journey and those that follow.

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Really looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!!

6 comments:

redlegsridesMay 18, 2018 at 7:36 AM
Those bags look like they'll do the job on the Himalaya.

As to tent camping, methinks those days are long gone for me....tried it recently, and found myself missing waking up in heated comfort like when glamping in the URRV. I'm ruined.
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SonjaMMay 18, 2018 at 4:52 PM
I like the set-up with the soft bags, they look great on the Himalaya. Not sure about camping, but glamping made me go soft ;-)
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TrobairitzMay 20, 2018 at 10:51 AM
You have the RE set up pretty well for your first overnight on it without the trailer. Glad you can still get on and off with the bags, sometimes that is a challenge.

Were you sad to say goodbye to the Ducati? Hard to be sad when you are riding a new RE I bet.
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A stir among the cattle down near the river brought him round to face the swinging bridge he'd built years before. Someone was coming toward him from the bridge. Someone in breeches, but it didn't look like a man, somehow. What was a woman doing in his pasture this time of night?

He bent over the salt again; maybe if he paid her no heed she'd go on past and let him mind his own business. He heard her footsteps come nearer and stop. "Good evening," she said.

Her voice was smooth with book learning but friendlier than most, and somehow almost shy. When he made no answer she went on, "I've been sitting on your swinging bridge....I thought I'd like to say thank-you...." Her voice stumbled a little, then she tried once more.

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The unfamiliar voice laughed a little. "That's what Emerson said: the grove belongs to the man who walks in it with an open heart....On that basis I guess I've owned part of your woods for a good many years.....". She made a final effort. "I've always wanted to thank you....."

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She helped him out. "I know about that, a little. This afternoon I saw......." Her account of a thing she had really taken time to look at eased him, and he answered with telling of the badger den at the foot of the swinging bridge.

When she had gone, he turned to watch her. After a moment she stood clear and unmoving against the sky. You could hear the sounds of the river where she stood. She was one that could stand still long enough, he thought, really to hear what a body was saying, or a river.

Then she walked down the farther side of the slope and was gone. ------Margaret Snyder from A Chosen Valley

Fall was the end of harvest, end of the growing season, a burst of color and sun-warmth before killing frost turned the land gray and cold. Fall was a moody time, full of both life and death, a time when we were reminded of the power outside of us, reminded that the seasons happen to us. We do not invite the change to come.-------Ben Logan, from The Land Remembers

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We were also cautioned about journeying far from home. As an example of the dangers, the town had a badly crippled lady named Lucy, who as a girl had traveled to New York City. As she traveled along a sidewalk, sightseeing, she was struck by the outstretched hand of a suicide who had leapt from high above. Her spine had been shattered and for the rest of her life, she was to walk bent forward at the waist, tapping the sidewalk with two black canes. Whenever the subject of travel to a big city was raised, someone would say, "Just remember what happened to Miss Tripp." ---- Ted Kooser, from Local Wonders

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As the very proud father of three former ponytail wearers, hopefully I can get away with this....."For the past few years it's been fashionable for young women to wear ball caps and to snap the strap on the back under their ponytails. I like the looks of that, their shiny ponytails jauntily swinging, but it's hard not to think of the rear ends of horses. There's a piece of harness called the crupper that goes just under a horse's tail to keep its nose down. If the horse lifts its head to look for a way out of whatever predicament it's in, the crupper tightens and hurts the horse. But it's foolish for parents to think that a ball cap might keep a young woman from running away. Anybody can see they're made for running." ------Ted Kooser, Local Wonders

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