First, the bike.
It's in near-new condition in every way. I've taken it fully farkled, a BMW vario topcase, and Hepco Alum panniers, 31l on the exhaust side and 40l on the other. I've got the bag liners also, for easy in and out at the hotels. I've never travelled with the bike for any period of time. But I have comfortably brought what I needed for 6 days & 5 nights + some extra, so I can definitely say with confidence, that these cases can take me anywhere I want to go.
The bike rides great. It's lighter and more agile than my 1200GS, and with 85hp or so on the lighter bike, it def can giddyup when you want it to. The suspension is comfy, big front tire takes all the bumps in stride. I've been riding a lot of twisty roads, and have been spending a lot of time in 3rd and 4th...which have good power to keep me moving out of the corners.
My only complaint could be the stock seat. I'm beginning to think that this is a BMW wide issue, as I've never been impressed with the stock seat on my 1200. I guess that's why there are so many aftermarkets available. Oh well, I've got a Hammam scheduled in Istanbul, so that should take care of that.
Now to the Turks, their roads, their driving.
Defensively aggressive or aggressively defensive, potato/potatoe, whatevs. That's the way you drive in NY to get by. Same goes here in Turkey. Every jerk behind the wheel is on the phone, looking to pass you, slamming down a Dunkin Donuts coffee coolata in NY, same goes here in Turkey.
The roads.
Are generally in as good or better (see no potholes) than in the US. What really needs to be taken into account are road hazards. I have come across, in 2 days and 650km on the road, no less than the following "in the middle of the road."
A herd of cattle (8), a flock of sheep (30, with a shepherd, does that still count?), numerous goats, turtles, lizards, small children, old granny babushkas riding side saddle on small engined slow moving scooters, farm tractors pulling double trailers of hay (like long distances, this tractor is my pickup/suv kind of distances), scooters with (4) people + a laundry basket on them, smashed watermelons, and some VERY CONFUSING signage. Like coming to a crossroads, and the sign points one way and it says "Antalya", and the sign points the complete other way and says "Antalya." It's like the apex of the universe, how can the same place be in 2 totally different directions?! It can all be summed up in the below photo, a Turkish stop sign. 'Nuff said.
It's in near-new condition in every way. I've taken it fully farkled, a BMW vario topcase, and Hepco Alum panniers, 31l on the exhaust side and 40l on the other. I've got the bag liners also, for easy in and out at the hotels. I've never travelled with the bike for any period of time. But I have comfortably brought what I needed for 6 days & 5 nights + some extra, so I can definitely say with confidence, that these cases can take me anywhere I want to go.
The bike rides great. It's lighter and more agile than my 1200GS, and with 85hp or so on the lighter bike, it def can giddyup when you want it to. The suspension is comfy, big front tire takes all the bumps in stride. I've been riding a lot of twisty roads, and have been spending a lot of time in 3rd and 4th...which have good power to keep me moving out of the corners.
My only complaint could be the stock seat. I'm beginning to think that this is a BMW wide issue, as I've never been impressed with the stock seat on my 1200. I guess that's why there are so many aftermarkets available. Oh well, I've got a Hammam scheduled in Istanbul, so that should take care of that.
Now to the Turks, their roads, their driving.
Defensively aggressive or aggressively defensive, potato/potatoe, whatevs. That's the way you drive in NY to get by. Same goes here in Turkey. Every jerk behind the wheel is on the phone, looking to pass you, slamming down a Dunkin Donuts coffee coolata in NY, same goes here in Turkey.
The roads.
Are generally in as good or better (see no potholes) than in the US. What really needs to be taken into account are road hazards. I have come across, in 2 days and 650km on the road, no less than the following "in the middle of the road."
A herd of cattle (8), a flock of sheep (30, with a shepherd, does that still count?), numerous goats, turtles, lizards, small children, old granny babushkas riding side saddle on small engined slow moving scooters, farm tractors pulling double trailers of hay (like long distances, this tractor is my pickup/suv kind of distances), scooters with (4) people + a laundry basket on them, smashed watermelons, and some VERY CONFUSING signage. Like coming to a crossroads, and the sign points one way and it says "Antalya", and the sign points the complete other way and says "Antalya." It's like the apex of the universe, how can the same place be in 2 totally different directions?! It can all be summed up in the below photo, a Turkish stop sign. 'Nuff said.
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