Bella Coola and Beyond: 9 days in and out BC on 2 F800GSs

[Garry_88]

Hi guys,

Been following your trips since the last one down south, truly amazing, even with the engine issue. My wife and I live in Edmonton and ride BMW as well, we just finished a 7300km trip though southern BC, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Your latest trip has given an idea for the Sept long weekend, Barkerville here we come again, this time the fun way, gravel roads please.

I have one question for you, what is the size of the seal line duffle bag and where did you get them from?

Thanks

Garry and Josée
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=808349

http://www.gajo.smumug.com

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by squonker

What a fantastic ride report! Your photos are spectacular, the black and white ones especially so.

Gracias! I've been reading your Northern Vancouver Island report these days... very good stuff! thanks for sharing ... Naomi and I enjoy our 'morning tea' ritual too but we're not as hardcore as you to have it throughout the day... we may be missing big time though...

Here's a few of B&W shots that I didn't post. Enjoy!

Originally Posted by gunnerbuck

Great report, it helps to have the good weather to go along with the riding... What a great part of the province, so different than what's on the coast and so little travelled that the regions remains a last frontier...

So true! BC is HUGE and there are many more places in our bucket list to visit in the future... The vistas and roads are as good as the ones we saw and rode down in the Andes... IMHO

Originally Posted by THX_337

AWESOME!!
Nice RR.
Labor day week can't come soon enough for me. I can hardly wait for my ride in the area. I almost took the Pavillion road last year from Kelly Lake. Now I wish I had. Thanks for the description. It will happen this year. I guess I will be ending my ride up there just as the next big BC Trailride will follow right after labor day weekend (over 100 people signed up!?!)

BTW: If you practice good camp etiqutte, regading food, cooking and storage, you should never have any problems with bears. I also carry a road flare along with my bear spray... if I have a problem bear that won't leave, the idea would be to light the flare and blind them a bit. They can't see very well to begin with. In all my advenutres up north, I've only had one bear(s) in camp (a mom with 2 cubs). They wouldn't leave when we made noise, but ran when I used my headlamp with the flashing mode enabled.

Yep, we don't keep any foods nor scented products (toiletries, etc) in our tent when we are in bear country. They all go in one of our Pelican cases. If a bear wants to destroy the case, that's okay... they are cheap .
We also have two small super bright LED flashlights with the 'strobe' setting that would even scare & confuse an alien...

Originally Posted by TOTim

You were correct when you said you don't have to leave BC to have an amazing trip. Great report with even better photos.

One of the few times I'm right...

Originally Posted by Garry_88

Hi guys,
Been following your trips since the last one down south, truly amazing, even with the engine issue. My wife and I live in Edmonton and ride BMW as well, we just finished a 7300km trip though southern BC, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Your latest trip has given an idea for the Sept long weekend, Barkerville here we come again, this time the fun way, gravel roads please.

I have one question for you, what is the size of the seal line duffle bag and where did you get them from?

Thanks

Garry and Josée
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=808349

http://www.gajo.smumug.com

Dirt roads is definitely the way to go
The SealLine duffle bags are 40 L. and we got them @ Ocean River Sports in Victoria.
Cheers guys
Alberto.

[stickman1432]

Thanks for taking me along on this epic lazy stroll in BC. The report of Bella Coola was very intriging and the dirt roads are the only way to go. Each day I kept up with your route following it on MAPSOURCE..........outstanding roads and knowing the way to go from your hard copy mapbook is a great plus.

[Carl Spackler]

Thanks for the inspiration.

Three of us left Seattle last Wednesday and camped at Woodlands Thursday night. The next morning, we left for the short ride to the ferry at 8:45. When we pulled out of the campsite, my friend's bike died going up the small paved road. No idea what was wrong. I rode on to the ferry and was told we have to be there by 9:45. By the time I got back, he had his plastic parts off the R1200R. He noticed he couldn't hear the fuel pump. We goofed around with a wire and the hot lead from the battery. Stuck the other end in each of the apertures of the wiring harness. Eventually, we heard the pump clicking. Taped everything in place and crossed our fingers. Made it to the ferry with 10 minutes to go! When we got to Bella, we found a boat shop and picked up an SAE connector. A little goofing around and we had a hookup that had to be disconnected every time he stopped the bike. BUT, we made it back to Seattle safe and sound on Sunday.

Had a fantastic trip. Best thing I saw was a wolf crossing the road 50 yards in front of me with a large bleeding fresh kill in his mouth. Very cool.

Thanks again for the inspiration!

[betitolara]

The last and unplanned day of our trip. We had hoped to be home, done and dusted yesterday but it wasn't meant to be I guess. My aunt and uncle had put us up for the night but now it was time to go home. We had both reached that point.

Emergency camping spot: Uncle Rob's front yard

First thing in the morning we called BMW roadside assistance. I'm glad we have it, but last time I checked I didn't buy a Harley; I had never expected to us this service so often. The tow truck came promptly and we said goodbye to Alberto's bike as it was taken off to Island BMW. His rear wheel is a mess, and it's scary to think of what could have happened last night as we drove down the highway.

Bike luggage goes home, bike goes to ER


Glad I have the rolling cases! I knew one day they would come in handy!


Towing time


Even rolling the bike was scary.... the rear wheel was wobbling like a drunk andean campesino on a Monday morning

We packed a bunch of his stuff onto my bike, and he carried the rest. I left my aunt and uncle's house riding solo, a weird and unfamiliar feeling. Thankfully my uncle was able to drive Alberto and his stuff to the ferry. It all worked out in a sense because we both made it home safe and sound, just the garage has an empty F800GS sized space.

Heart broken.... the honeymoon is over after 2 yrs... this relationship has fallen apart

It's sad when your bike doesn't make it home, but it is hard to complain when you are safe and we really had an enjoyable road trip. Now... where's the nearest KTM dealer?

Naomi rides home alone... weird feeling not following behind her

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by stickman1432

Thanks for taking me along on this epic lazy stroll in BC. The report of Bella Coola was very intriging and the dirt roads are the only way to go. Each day I kept up with your route following it on MAPSOURCE..........outstanding roads and knowing the way to go from your hard copy mapbook is a great plus.

Good stuff! but I hope you didn't go around in circles in the Churn area... like we did

Originally Posted by Carl Spackler

Thanks for the inspiration.

Three of us left Seattle last Wednesday and camped at Woodlands Thursday night. The next morning, we left for the short ride to the ferry at 8:45. When we pulled out of the campsite, my friend's bike died going up the small paved road. No idea what was wrong. I rode on to the ferry and was told we have to be there by 9:45. By the time I got back, he had his plastic parts off the R1200R. He noticed he couldn't hear the fuel pump. We goofed around with a wire and the hot lead from the battery. Stuck the other end in each of the apertures of the wiring harness. Eventually, we heard the pump clicking. Taped everything in place and crossed our fingers. Made it to the ferry with 10 minutes to go! When we got to Bella, we found a boat shop and picked up an SAE connector. A little goofing around and we had a hookup that had to be disconnected every time he stopped the bike. BUT, we made it back to Seattle safe and sound on Sunday.

Had a fantastic trip. Best thing I saw was a wolf crossing the road 50 yards in front of me with a large bleeding fresh kill in his mouth. Very cool.

Thanks again for the inspiration!

You are very welcome! glad to hear that you guys made it safe back home despite the bike issues

That wolf for sure faces high competition with all the bears in the area... he did well, eh?

[stimmer6253472]

enjoyed it
thanks

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by stimmer6253472

enjoyed it
thanks

De nada amigo!

[lovemoto]

Have such a wife is really a kind of enjoyment, beautiful travel beautiful scenery is really enviable.

[lakota]

really enjoyed the report. thanks!

[toothy]

Excellent, thank you.

[Uncle Evil]

I was through some of those areas on my way to Inuvik in July . It's soooo beautiful there.
Please let us all know what the end result of the rear hub failure is .

Thanks guys .

[betitolara]

Originally Posted by lovemoto

Have such a wife is really a kind of enjoyment, beautiful travel beautiful scenery is really enviable.

Naomi is AWESOME! .. I'm a lucky muchacho

Originally Posted by lakota

really enjoyed the report. thanks!

Originally Posted by toothy

Excellent, thank you.

many thanks! the juicy bits are still to come!

Originally Posted by Uncle Evil

I was through some of those areas on my way to Inuvik in July . It's soooo beautiful there.
Please let us all know what the end result of the rear hub failure is .

Thanks guys .

Thanks for asking U.Evil
My rear wheel bearings failed miserably and the whole hub, spacers, all bearings (left and right) had to be replaced. Also, the wheel was so out of alignment that the rear brake rotor/disk locked up and the rotor made a 'channel' on the brake-pad's safety pin. The pin had to be replaced, the pads were not replaced neither was the brake rotor (it has now a funny dark-ish color ). My rear brake never worked anyways. @ the 1,000 km service I brought it up to my BMW dealer, they 'checked it' but still didn't work. Then I brought it up again @ the dealer in Colombia (Ruta40) and still the brake didn't have any bite. Then, I asked my local dealer again to check the rear brake last summer... they did and yes: still bad

How do I know my rear brake doesn't work? when I ride Naomi's F8GS and test the rear brake is like ' wow! this thing actually stops the bike!'. I can literally 'stand on my rear brake' with all my weight and the bike barely slows down. Keep in mind, I use the front brakes 95% of the time. I only use the rear brake on very steep downhills on dirt and in case of an emergency stop.

That's part of my rant ... the other part of this rant is that my local dealer told me: not covered under warranty b/c of wear & tear and it's over the 7,500km (5,000 miles) warranty coverage... so okay, I asked them to give me a quote to get it fixed. In the mean time I went online (here and other F800GS forums) and learned that failed wheel bearings is a VERY WELL DOCUMENTED type of failure on the F8GS. And read about how several of these riders had theirs replaced under warranty, no questions asked (even if their bikes were over the 7,500km mark) So I called my dealer and kindly asked them what the deal was with the warranty thing. In the end, they told me that were going to 'try' to get BMW Canada to cover it under good will warranty, which BMW Canada did in the end

I am very thankful for their support and all .... but why the heck do I have to be the one pushing for warranty coverage on a very well known failure on a supposedly 'unstoppable' motorbike? Most times when I've had to get a warranty job done on our bikes, I had to 'fight' for it. I don't think it's right. If it's a known issue with the bike: make a recall or cover the cost of fixing it (when it fails) under warranty w/out a fuss. Mind you, in my case I almost killed myself on the highway when the bearings went

Doing some research online and asking - again: kindly - my dealer to look into covering things under warranty saved me ~$500

Wow... I wasn't planning on ranting this much! haha but still have a useless rear brake after they checked it for the 4th time a few weeks ago tho

Cheers,
Alberto.

[Danger4u2]

I enjoy keeping up with your ride reports, but you guys seem to have a lot of trouble from the BMW's and dealerships.
Next time buy 3 used KLR's and you will have 2 parts bikes, or 2 bikes to ride with 2 new friends, and money left for another South American trip.

The BMW dealer here in OKC closed. So it's a trip to Tulsa or Dallas for service. We went on a dinner run last Thursday out of town, at one of the refreshment stops, the 2 Beemer guys (F800GS/ GS1200) were bad mouthing the Tulsa dealership. Same kind of comments I heard about the OKC dealership. The F800 guy was bitch'n about the recalls. Didn't want to trailer it to Dallas but didn't want to let the Tulsa store work on his bike.

The OKC BMW dealership had an attitude toward anyone pulling up to their shop on non BMW bikes. I should say that was my experience at the OKC shop. Might be why they are no longer in business. The day I went out to buy a Gold Wing I was treated with the same attitude at Maxie's Honda. From there I went to BMW OKC. I very well could have been driving BMW but NOT with their nose so high in the air they couldn't see me. Left there and went to OK Honda. Great sales guy. He suggested before I ride the Gold Wing I should test the VTX1800 and see what I thought. I drove away on a shiny new Midnight Black VTX1800.
BMW needs to wake up and take care of their customers. Get rid of the attitude. Don't judge the customer by the bike they ride in on. Yes, I was riding a junky bike, that's why I was at your store Einstein.

The only way you can kill a KLR is to :
1 Don't change the oil
2 Crash them
3 Let it get stolen

[chelo5sur]

I followed youride from Canada to argentina , and following this one too.
As usual , amazing mix of pictures.
Thanks again for sharing.