What to Ride

Well...there's another two-wheeled vehicle at the 'rastus house. I've wanted a BMW F650GS Dakar for some time now, but didn't think I would buy one, especially since BMW halted imports of the Dakar into the USA several months ago. I was very happy to find a local rider with one for sale last week. It's a 2007 model with less than 2000 miles on it, in perfect shape, and the price was very nice; I couldn't pass it up. I took several hours off from work Monday and drove it down from the big city.

Now, keep in mind that, as dual-sport motorcycles go, it's not the largest nor the fastest by a long shot; I still travel slowly, but to a lot more places than I did before. These photos were taken at the top of a local mountain this morning, accessible only by a long, steep, and rocky dirt road. There is no way I could have made this ride on a scooter, though I have been here plenty of times before on a mountain bike. Today I did not have the time to ride the bicycle, nor, frankly, am I in decent-enough shape to enjoy the climb.

However, on the new BMW, it was a pleasure indeed. I enjoyed the cool, crisp morning and the lack of fellow travelers on the way up. I had no trouble handling the bike even at slow speeds and on sketchy surfaces. I'm very happy; the Dakar is exactly what I'd hoped it'd be.