BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I will be putting any thoughts I have on my new website in my journal, (freeing up bandwith around here for my babbling) so if you have nothing better to do and want to see what I'm up to go check it out!
I also will be doing a digital journal live from the road on my upcoming trip, as often as cell service will allow... You will be able to track my progress live in google earth via SPOT Satellite Messenger.

Cheers!

Joe

http://www.chitownrider.com

kewlio!

Awesome ... can't wait for the trip and tour reports ... when I die I want to come back as ChiTown !!!

Chi ... can you tell us what band you are touring with ?

- Dad (3 kids in college, mortgage, minivan, life insurance, 8-yr old motorcycle, yada yada yada ...)

ChiTown wrote:You will be able to track my progress live in google earth via SPOT Satellite Messenger.
Cheers!
Joe
http://www.chitownrider.com

Good blogsite.. looking forwards to more.

The SPOT Satellite Messenger mention got me to go to their website, copy some links and forward them to SWMBO. I'm leaving on "Don's Birthday Ride" on Monday into the wilds of West Virginia (not a straight road to be found!) so it would be fun to see how well it works, and perhaps a safety item since cell-phone coverage in lots of WV is about unknown. We'll see if she bites.. she was asking me what I wanted, so..

deilenberger wrote:

ChiTown wrote:You will be able to track my progress live in google earth via SPOT Satellite Messenger.
Cheers!
Joe
http://www.chitownrider.com

Good blogsite.. looking forwards to more.

The SPOT Satellite Messenger mention got me to go to their website, copy some links and forward them to SWMBO. I'm leaving on "Don's Birthday Ride" on Monday into the wilds of West Virginia (not a straight road to be found!) so it would be fun to see how well it works, and perhaps a safety item since cell-phone coverage in lots of WV is about unknown. We'll see if she bites.. she was asking me what I wanted, so..

Once she's se she can track you realtime......
Good luck and Happy BirthDay!

USMCDad wrote:
Chi ... can you tell us what band you are touring with ?

I'll be on tour with Journey, Cheap Trick, and Heart.

I'll leave this posted until it gets out of hand.... if you see I'm coming to your town and want to come out to the show send me a PM or email off my site, here's the dates... Members and SO only....


http://pollstar.com/tour/searchall.pl?C ... st&PSKey=Y



My parts are all here, I'm off to finally finish the bike!

Days agò I've posted a picture of the prototype of my Rear wheel drive housing's protection slider, today the definitive version have been delivered to me.

Comments are welcome.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ziobato/2591522122/

ziobato wrote:Days agò I've posted a picture of the prototype of my Rear wheel drive housing's protection slider, today the definitive version have been delivered to me.

Comments are welcome.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ziobato/2591522122/

How much? Do you need a US distributor (I know someone - well a few someones - in the business..)

I love what you are doing Ziabato.
I love Cheap Trick also ChiTown.
Mark

Done and done.

WOW!!!
Chi, you went completely "eretic"!

Comments
White wheels & valves covers are absolutely original and amazing!
Reflective stripes on frame are a littlle messing-up the rear end, even thought, in order to be more visible, they acceptable for your coming-up adventure purpouse.
Outstanding Ohlins & Akra give a very agressive look to your machine and great handling improvement (you'll see).

Compliments! IMHO, stlylewise, it's a full 8 (just because of stripes). About machine's functionality it's a 9.

Please, post more pictures into sun light. Tanks.


P.S. When your tour job will end, I suggest you to paint in black the pillion's pegs & brackets.
Can you tell about seat?

ziobato wrote:WOW!!!

P.S. When your tour job will end, I suggest you to paint in black the pillion's pegs & brackets.
Can you tell about seat?

I already have kicked myself for not getting the footrests done.... the cost would have been minimal. someday in the future....

As for the reflective tape - it's absolutely invisible during the day and really gets peoples attention at night in the city - I've been told. I understand what you mean though, but really if it keeps some soccer mom in a big SUV on the phone from killing me I don't care.
The seat is a Rick Mayer custom that I bought from another member here.... I think it's ugly as hell, but it is very comfy for me and a passenger or makes it easy to strap a bag on the pillion.
If anyone wants to trade for a Sargent to get better pillion comfort I would....
Again, function over style.
Thanks for the 8 rating, coming from you that means a lot.

Hei! Because of picture quality, I missed the new stuffs on the handlebar (I'm not just talking about Variolever ).

Please, post a better one as soon as possible. Thanks

ziobato wrote:Hei! Because of picture quality, I missed the new stuffs on the handlebar (I'm not just talking about Variolever ).

Please, post a better one as soon as possible. Thanks

This is all I can do at this hour....

Dang your bike looks cool! The white makes it pop.

Freakin' Amazing!



And totally unique!

Thanks guys, here's a few more pics....




















Tools for the road, I also have the stock pouch filled ready for all maintenance or repairs. Remeber Murphy's Law?......
The fused 12v plug is for a small power inverter I wired into the battery to charge my MacBook on the road.











OK, enough posing for the camera all naked, clean, and pretty.... Time to get working.

Joe - looks great.

Question - it looks as if the Ohlins has raised the rear suspension up.. it appears the rear tire is on the ground when on the centerstand, which means mebbe 1-1.5"? Was the front raised up the same amount? Just wondering 'cause I can tell almost immediately when I change the height of the rear with the preload adjuster - on how the bike turns in - and how stable it feels "at speed"..

Just curious - did you order stock length or something else?

I ordered them stock, no changes in height.
The street isn't too level in the pic.... maybe that's it.
I did get my first taste of the Ohlins today, riding around quite a bit. I look forward to dialing them in. Today I went for a 20 mile ride with my luggage on, and the bike rode nicely. Very noticeable compared to the feel of the stocks when loaded - the were sprung for me + 40 pounds of gear. Huge difference.
I'm trusting that they set my shocks up right, I haven't had time to measure the ride height yet.

Be interesting to measure the fully extended length vs stock. I see a lot more air above your tire than I do on mine (about 5" more, but mine was lowered 1") It just was really noticeable to me.. your license plate is well above the rear tire. Mine lines up about 2" down on the rear tire, and taking 1" off for mine being lowered.. The rear suspension ratio is 3.1:1 - changing the length of the shock 1" will change the suspension 3.1"..

I would encourage setting up the shocks at least for preload/sag before you leave. It can make a big difference in comfort.. and shouldn't take too long since you have the hydraulic preload adjuster on the back (as long as there isn't too much preload from the factory.) If you want any hints on doing it (hopefully some instructions came with the shocks..) just ping me. I fiddle (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) with my suspension all the time, trying to find the impossible ideal of total comfort, lower seat height and complete control... I actually suspect I'll never achieve all 3, but I keep trying..