19 Days on a Nine-T

Hey Guys,
I just returned from an 11 state tour of the western US and thought everyone here might enjoy the trip. I packed up my BMW scrambler with enough gear for every season as well as supplies for off the grid camping and rolled out of Wisconsin. I had about 6k miles on the bike and no off-road experience with it yet but had dressed her up with Hepco-Becker panniers, Wunderlich hand guards, engine guards, throttle lock and windshield.
Colorado is one of my favorite states and was my first destination. Cinnamon
Pass and Ophir Pass are known for their rookie-level terrain. Since I was a newbie at off-roading this machine and riding solo, I chose those two mountain passes as my first experience. Exceptional scenery but the downhill was less than kind on the Telluride side of the Ophir summit. Lake City to Silverton took about 2.5 hours including my photo opp stops. Silverton to Telluride took about the same due to my crashing and bashing downhill adventure. There is one section of super loose large rocks that are not motorcycle-friendly but the rest of the ride is spectacular and includes a few small but fun water crossings.

Love this route, you hit a lot of good stuff.
Looking forward to seeing more.

And then...I began to roll a tad bit out of control the first corner I simply layed the bike down...the second was more of a downhill slide half over the handlebars type dismount. Had there been an audience I believe they would have given my performance a 10.

Looks like a brilliant trip and great pictures,looking forward to the rest of your adventure!

Great photos, those shots are amazing. What camera did you use to take these? Asking because I'm going to upgrade my cell, thinking of one of the new camera phones that are supposed to take better pictures (want to pack as light as I can). One more: Did the Nine offer enough protection (wind / crash)? Something else I've been wondering about.

My back was just beginning to feel better after my recent trip to Utah... and picking up the loaded bike a few times... after seeing those pics, I'm having sympathy pains in my back!

Great pics!
Looks like a pretty awesome ride you had.
Show us some more pics please!

Stunning photos!

I really like your bike's setup. It looks perfect for traveling. And your photos and the scenery are beautiful. Silverton is my all time favorite place. I have a Silverton sticker on my GS's luggage and I often think about the area. I'm looking forward to your report.

Love it! Always loved the 9-T and looks like a great trip.

A picture's worth a thousand words.

Thanks for the visuals and brief descriptions.

You and your bike look great and happy.

Thanks for sharing your ADV.

I'm in for the remainder of the story.

Ride on!

Believe it or not, this was just the old iPhone 8....the colorado skies were clear and the sunshine made for the excellent backlight. The Nine-T did not start out with enough wind/crash protection however, Wunderlich offers an amazing amount of aftermarket parts that did. Taller windshield, handguards, and engine guards...

Next stop Utah... After a day's rest and a visit to Urgent Care to make sure nothing was broken, I continued onto the desert. It does not matter how many times I ride or drive through this state, I swear I never see the same rock formation twice! And, the endless dirt roads leading off into the canyons keep my head turning like a squirrel on crack! The Bears Ears is a nice easy roll to the top of an incredible rock mountain offering splendid views and several side trails. I stuck mainly to the gravel and paved roads being a tad gun shy after my tumble in Colorado. But, still managed to see amazing things along highways 95 and 24. Capitol Reef NP is always a lovely ride.

After two nights in the tent in Utah, I was headed for "The Loneliest Road in America," and straight through Nevada to Benton Hot Springs CA. 167 miles between services doesn't leave a bike much opportunity to go exploring but I found the scenery and solitude along the highway quite welcoming. Next time I'll bring extra fuel to go off on the side roads to the Lunar Crater and many lava flows.

California's weather and scenery couldn't have been better, I found Benton Hot Springs and it's one lonely cafe/gas station. They were out of gas, luckily I didn't need any, the Nine-T does amazing on fuel, generally 180-200 miles per tank. The Hot Springs Inn is a historic little motel offering campsites with private soaking pools or rooms with shared soaking pools. The food is incredible and there are several pieces of history hidden in the hills. This little stop is also only about 65 miles from the gates of Yosemite and worth a night's stay.

Some great riding. Thanks for posting.

Great photos and RR.
Keep them coming.

Lovely report. Nice to see 'my' bike being used properly. And not cowering in the garage away from all the road salt... Sigh.

Nice report. Looking forward to the rest.