Got out and road today anyways...

Was way too cold, but I needed a few things from the store. Decided take the long way around.

Three bikes in the garage, and the one with heated grips won... Besides the VFR is still waiting on a few parts. Roomy was at work, so I'm sure he didn't mind at all. :smile:






Just so you know, about $60 bucks in groceries will fit quite nice in BMW bags.

 

I've been gone to long. I don't recognize the top pictures location, because of that large silo/tower/??? on the hill? The other two don't look familiar at all. Please help this old man to remember. Beautiful beemer too!!!

 

Surf Beach, by Vandenberg AFB. Just a few minutes (at 115) just outside of Lompoc.

 

Thank you, I thought I was losing it. I spent very little time in the south county. Avila Beach was about as far south as I went most of the time. Silly as it sounds I didn't know Vandenberg had a beach? Thanks again.

 

Vandenberg has about 35 miles of beach actually. Not all publicly accessible though.

 

I've always been envious that you have a VFR and a Blackbird since that was the two bikes I had it narrowed down too when I bought the VFR, but now the roommates Bimmer as well, I should have been a pilotout:

 

The Blackbird is my roomie's. Since he got the K1200 he hasn't ridden it but once. He bought it new in 2000 and we're working on it as a restoration project right now, plus it's my ride while I'm upgrading the VFR. Going to be using the Blackbird as my touring bike and the VFR for commuting and fun. Can't wait to go coast-to-coast in June.

 

Oh so your just too good to ride with us...I see how it is...

 

I'd be interested in your impressions of the beamer vs the VFR. I put an offer on a beamer (which wasn't accepted obviously) and then rode the VFR and decided wow ... really liked the VFR better so I guess in retrospect, the bmw dealer saved me a good 10 grand ... :smile: I'm also a bit envious It would break my heart to have all three of those bikes to ride .... out:

 

Well cold and my ass didn't get out of bed til way after noon. Roundtrip to Sac and back killed me.

 

They're very different... The VFR won't do 175 with luggage on. Too bad.

I've maybe ran two tanks through the BMW. It's really quite amazing. Nearly 190hp, so well thought out, it just wants to go and go and go. The suspension is pretty amazing, it doesn't dive the whole bike just squishes to the ground when you brake. At the push of a button, you can go from suspension that feels like a goldwing to a setup solid enough to track with...

It's a lot like the VFR in the fact that it does everything VERY well and very predictably.

Of course it doesn't sound anything like the VFR, or the Blackbird for that matter. And shifting around town makes people dive to the ground cuz it sounds like a gun going off. It's probably the clunkiest transmission ever built. I'm sure they had a reason for it.

I'll have to get my buddy to post more about comparing the 3 bikes, he'll know the right words to explain it.

 

Thanks ... pretty much my feelings. I also found the beamer heavier feeling and it didn't flick quite as easily from corner to corner. But it did haul a$$ and the front end was a bit unbelievable ... less feel than I'm used to .... but hey, I got to liking the honda brakes so the beamer front end would have been easy to get used to. But then for 10 grand, I can travel AND buy a lot of stuff; even if it is a beautiful bike ...

 

Nice to see some folks are able to get out...thanks for sharing, gives me hope...