Sometimes you have too much adventure.

Live and learn and that is the important point, that you come away alive.

Sure there are going to be lots of snipers with "helpful" criticisms but I admire your honesty and will publicly admit to some pretty dumb moves myself over the years, usually announced by the statement "hold my beer and watch this".

I don't offroad too much on the big road bikes but I take my Rokon and Argo down some nasty trails out on the harsh Canadian Shield forests around my hunt camp so I can identify with your experience. No cell service where I go and it may be days before another person shows up on those trails.

Glad your okay and that you shared.

PS. Get a SPOT Messenger, it will give you and your GF a great deal of comfort when you (as you should) take another, but better prepared stab at these roads. You will hear that they are crap...from people who I suspect did not read the manual. I have owned one for several years and although never used in an emergency, can state from experience it does work (tracking, I am okay messages, etc).

I also own a satellite phone, one of the Globalstar models. They sell a cheap plan because the have spotty service due to incomplete satellite constellation but it does work if you wait for the birds to arrive and there is an upside to 2 way communication.

Either way, sat com of one sort or another is great.

I think the big BMW is perfect for the kind of riding you do. Hey, it got these fools around the world so it can't be all bad:

2ridetheworld.com



I have the Delorme PN-60w with spot. Every time I'm back from a ride I go on the web site to make sure the tracking function worked, and sure enough, I can pull up a neat little map that shows all my locations at ten minute intervals with little numbers on them. Any rescuer or spouse or whoever can look at this and see where you were going and where you stopped. The being able to send text messages one way is nice too.

I also carry this EPIRB for a backup:
http://www.rei.com/product/815753/acr-electronics-resqlink-406-gps-personal-locator-beacon

Gus,

Does the GPS come with spot built in or are you talking about the GPS and a separate SPOT device?

I use a top box for everyday riding. Quite popular in Europe but not in N.A. I guess it's not 'manly' enough for the weekend warriors. It also makes it easier to ride around traffic jams etc. without having to worry about scratching some persons car.

One thing I have learned about riding these big 'adventure' bikes is that they will get you into trouble a lot easier than they will get you out of it.

My contribution to making your next adventure a little safer would be to add some chemlites to your packing list. They're cheap, won't expire by the time you get around to using them, come in various colors/sizes/durations, and don't eat batteries like flashlights, cellphones, etc.

Okay guys. Here's a fun game.

Seeing the photos that are here, and looking closely at the hidden side in the recovery video. What do you think the repair estimate is from the dealer?

Sorry I forgot to get pictures when i recovered it, but I'll tell you this.

It had a cracked turn signal lens, a small scuff on the windshield, the crashbars and head cover were scatches/dents, possible valve cover crack, scuff on final drive, dented aluminum side panel, cracked fork reflector, scuffs on the front wheel.

Note, this bike started the first time, and drove onto the trailer.

When I got back into riding, I specifically chose a very simple, inexpensive, lightweight bike... a KLX250. I can pick that bike up all day long, and because it is so lightweight, I can take it pretty much anywhere. The other plus is the fuel system - simple, easy to troubleshoot, and no fuel pump to die on you or act flakey.

Glad the OP survived the ordeal. I would venture to say that he might have actually enjoyed the whole thing, AND rode out instead of walking, if he was riding a more appropriate bike.

Why would you bother with fixing any of that except for the turn signal (~$50) and the valve cover (buy a used one from Beemer Boneyard). If you're going to ride the pig off road, you're going to scratch and dent it. Fact of life.

I wouldn't.

Absolutely not. The insurance company would though.

So we have one at 50$ in damages.

I forgot to say that the panniers were a it squashed. They sell replacement corners at TT for like 30$. I would have pounded them out and repaired.

I also would have used a bit of touchup paint on any scuffs but its not me estimating the damages. Also I'm not allowed to work on vehicles in the parking lot because I live in a utopian society where nothing breaks.

Great story and write-up. I've been mulling over whether to get the R1200GS or the F800GS for my stable. Maybe they're both too big? Anyway - I now know that it's not going to be the 1200.

Anyway, this is one hell of a story to leave to your children and grand-children - congratulations.

Personally, I've made a commitment to use the phrase "it’s like Satan beat a ditch in the ground with his dick" sometime over the next 30 days. Well done.

To hell with that! They'll get their $ back one month at a time.

If it isn't fatal to the motor/transmission and doesn't affect safe operation, it gets put on the low priority list for fixing. I certainly wouldn't contact my insurance company about it. Insurance is a tool to cover your ass in the event you damage someone else's stuff, not your own.

I pay for full coverage. I was on a public road. The bike is this years model, it's also financed for 3 more years.

The insurance was renewed this month for 12 months. It'll be awhile before they start collecting increased rates. If they are insane, I'll switch companies.

This is all a moot point. This point is the estimate.

I reckon I could have gotten back to it's previous condition for under 1500$, what do you think BMW wants?

Knowing very little about the bike, and never having owned one. I'd take a WAG and say $3500.
I'd get the used $50 part and leave the rest as scars from your adventure.

I ride alone most of the time, on road, off road and no road.
On smaller lighter bikes and in the eastern forests that are much more forgiving than where you were.

I ride pretty slow, because for one I'm slow and another I am on my own.

Shit happens, you got out ok and learned a lesson from it.
Bike is scuffed, you are sore but otherwise fine.

I ride around looking for roads that I have not been on a lot, has worked out for me as I have an LC4 and a 200EXC.
But I don't have to ride either one to work or do 100 miles of slab.

I'm thinking about getting a SPOT because if I mess up and get hurt in the woods my dumb ass will probably be bear food.

Aside from drunken quad riders I normally have the woods and trails to myself until hunting season comes in, and the chances that I would be easily found are pretty slim.

Even the bad day you had is better than spending your life sitting on a couch thinking about what you could have done.

The Delorme PN-60w with SPOT are two devices, but the spot specifically bonds to the GPS unit and they work together. On the GPS you can then tell the SPOT what to send as far as texts or checkin messages or tracking or emergency call for help.

Both very reliable, run on AA Lithium batteries (or alkaline in a pinch) and durable (many dousings, bangs and mud soakings). I keep the GPS on a holder on the handlbars and the SPOT is clipped to the top of my backpack so it has a clear view of the sky while it transmits tracking info. Also, in case I fall off the bike and can't get to the bike, the SPOT itself has a red button on the side so you can send an "EMERGENCY/911" message out even without the GPS unit.

But like I said, the key to the tracking feature is having someone who will know that you're overdue, and then has access to your SPOT account to look in and tell rescuers where you were.

In addition, the PLB is in my pocket (in case the backpack comes off) and it does one thing, calls for help, but with a very powerful signal that transmits it's GPS location to a different satellite than the SPOT uses.

I also run my boat offshore quite a bit and hike so these two units serve lots of duties.

I REALLY DON'T EVER WANT TO BE ON THAT SHOW "I SHOULDN'T BE ALIVE"...

Since you're the only one that bit. 3500$ is a reasonable number. My estimate of 1500$ or so is a reasonable number. 50$ is low balling it, but would get it back on the road.

HOWEVER. Between the BMW Service Manager and my Claims adjuster, they came up with the sum of.... $11,000.

$11,000... The only way I can figure that they came up with this number is that they chose to replace every single scratched part. Insane! I haven't gotten the itemized invoice yet, but I can't wait. I'm assume almost none of it was engine related. The one thing I do know is, that my scuffed final drive and front rim? Yeah, they are replacing them... WTF?

They've already okayed it, and getting ready to cut the check minus my 300$ deductible, and the bike will be back in ~2 weeks-ish.

After my ordeal, I recommend 'something' spot or not, in addition to your phone. I would have probably been alright because it is hunting season right now, but it was still scary.

You're right though, even if you go out and do something stupid, it's still better than wasting your life on the couch.

Ok, I get it. Unconditional love. I have an old vintage that's broken down so often, I've lost count & embarrassed me in front of friends/family, smokes like a chimney, so hard to start, etc etc but I persist in fixing it, getting it trailered home when it breaks down on a ride, spending money buying parts from overseas, etc and it all doesn't make sense. But I have an inexplicable 'bond' to it like you have a 'bond' to your GSA and riding dirt with it.

You nailed it. Have a look at this URL with a photo of 5 people in Kane Creek UT, struggling to move a F800GS. Crazy!
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=377766&page=109
And that's the smaller 800 not the GSA. Like trying to drive a 60 seat passenger bus up a mountain track, IMHO.

You're right of course - it is just that most riders I have seen aren't good enough to handle a GSA (or indeed any 600 + lbs bike) on what would be very easy dirt riding for a smaller machine.

My buddy low sided his K1200LT and destroyed the fairing, saddle bags, etc. The bike was mechanically A1 - but the insurance wrote off the bike. I guess $5,000?

Great post Snarky, thanks.

$11,000, submitted and approved by the adjuster. I was left speechless. I actually had to call her back after I regained thoughts to ask her questions.

Thanks for posting your story. It's one everyone who rides in remote areas should read, especially those who ride heavy bikes alone.

I do a lot of riding in remote areas of eastern Oregon but the bike I usually take weighs 180 lbs so I can lift it over obstacles when necessary. The tool kit has about every possible thing I could possibly need to fix the simple bike, 2 spare tubes, CDI, chain tool, spare section of chain, bike pump, etc.. Always a quart or more of water. Cell phone is useless here too so I usually carry an aviation radio figuring eventually a plane will fly over and I can ask the pilot to contact someone.

So explain how this would work, I buy an expensive bike, insure it, then ride it off road, scratch things, insurance pays out huge money to fix the bike and I can repeat it as soon as I get the bike back?
Say every week?

Does it work that way with say a jeep?
I get a brand new one, go off roading and smash the thing up on rocks, I get a new one and sink it in a swamp and I get a new jeep, on and on?

Well, for one I was documented on a marked road by the Otero County Sheriff.

Two, you only get one, next time they'll likely drop you.

Three, this was their preferred facility, and the assessment of their agent.

And yes, if you fully cover a new jeep, insure it, and unintentionally drive off a cliff (while being on a road), they'll cover it. They are betting you wont do that.

May I also add that this bike also had 8500 miles since March with no issues and was a long term customer with 2 previous bikes with no claims? Plus I'm licensed, MSF course trained, and also had zero problems when I was an auto customer with them? I had more miles on this bike than some riders put on theirs in 5 or 6 years.