Closed: 2011 Rally Initial Planning

[Rob]

It's about that time again! We should start discussing a F800 rally for 2011. Last year, where we left off, the following ideas where floated:

- Have it in conjunction with the MOA rally in Bloomsburg, PA
- Have it out west
- Have it more North, potentially around the finger lakes

Your thoughts are very welcome here. Now is the time to start planning.


Big props to Brendan for pushing me on this. I nearly forgot!

[ohg59]

For fairness sake, I would say out west this year given it was an East Coast affair last year.

[nelsonburns]

I agree it would be fair to have it out West - but then we couldn't go, so personally, I'd prefer the East. Though we'll be going to Bloomsburg, I prefer separate F800 rally to combining it with the BMW MOA.

What happend to the possibility of the Ozarks? And I like the sound of the Finger Lakes, but what about the Adirondacks? I haven't ridden there, but seems like they'd be better riding than the Finger Lakes and must be lots of places to stay.

[notacop]

Out west, gives you a chance to do a kilo day and join the Iron Butters. Anyone can stay close to home.

[Roadpizza]

The Colorado National monument near Grand Junction, Colorado would be a nice spot....kind of in the middle of things too.

[steve n rose]

You could always come down this way?

[SPX]

The Colorado National monument near Grand Junction, Colorado would be a nice spot....kind of in the middle of things too.

I like that location!

[santa fe rider]

The Colorado National monument near Grand Junction, Colorado would be a nice spot....kind of in the middle of things too.

I'm with Philip and Josh - beautiful area and nice location for us westerners.

[SPX]

Another nice thing about the Colorado Monument is that Grand Junction has a BMW dealership, so repairs, maintenance, etc could be easily accomplished.
http://www.gjktm.com/

The dealership is quite sizable, and has very friendly staff.

[RadMan]

Grand Junction, would love it but it's 3000 kliks away. A bit too far this year. Finger Lakes would be doable.

[BrENDURO]

Colorado sounds pretty good. I'm not sure I could make it that far out due to my work schedule but I'm not ruling it out completely!

[glenn2ns]

when?

[Roadpizza]

The end of August would work for me.....I have to be at a wedding in Chicago early part of September. I could make it to Colorado and fly to the wedding, return to Colorado and make a the trip back home...but, that's me.

[Roadpizza]

How about dueling Rally's...one East, one West.

[glenn2ns]

Phil,
The continental railroad comes to mind. . .one party starts at the Atlantic. . .the other party starts at the Pacific - both parties meet in Lawton Oklahoma at Norms on 7th Street (he's hoping no one checks to see if there is a Norms on 7th Street in Lawton)

[notacop]

so repairs, maintenance, etc could be easily

What, we got newer bikes, you a fix already? You didn't leave home with fresh tires?
Kinda all depends if you mean a Motel Rally or a grovel in the dirt rally. Grand Junction area does have a lot of great roads to ride.
There are multi day ride routes usually scheduled for the MOA rally. It's all a matter of organization. Who's the 1st volunteer to bust his butt?

Roadpizza has a good idea, those of us on the west coast can meet at his house and the other side can go to Robs house.

[SPX]

You didn't leave home with fresh tires?

Anything to save a few bucks on CA sales tax, and misc fees that go with tire changes!!

[notacop]

Yeah but, when you buy tiers on the road you are subject to pay what the market will bear. Any one ever found bargain tires when stuck in some little town 200 miles form the big city?

[Rob]

One of the guys I've ridden with will pre-pay for a tire along the route. Call up various dealers. Strike a bargain. Make it a waypoint.

[notacop]

I bought a new tire from one of the vendors at the the MOA National and strapped to the bike for the rest of the journey. Looked like the Beverly Hillbillys. I had a extra set of rims for my RT-P so I always had a fresh set for the start of a long trip.

[Bluesabre]

How about dueling Rally's...one East, one West.

Like that idea... West and East Rallies. For East, thinking the Lake George, NY area would be nice.

[ohg59]

Dueling "Rallies"

[Wild Bill]

Dueling rallies same week, one group from the west travels east, one group from the east travels west, we rally where to two groups meet. The group who travels the most distance makes the other group buy the beer for the remaining days of the rally.

[notacop]

PBR.

[donm]

Is there an owner's map on here that shows where the F owners are located? If most of us interested in the rally put our tac on our 'hood' Rod et al can do a bit of a market study to best serve the client base. Two rallys seem like a good idea but Rob's will have to divide forces to serve both. Rob, do you have zip code info on the forum membership so you can analyze 'US'?

[BrENDURO]

Is there an owner's map on here that shows where the F owners are located? If most of us interested in the rally put our tac on our 'hood' Rod et al can do a bit of a market study to best serve the client base. Two rallys seem like a good idea but Rob's will have to divide forces to serve both. Rob, do you have zip code info on the forum membership so you can analyze 'US'?

https://f800riders.org/forum/usermap.php

It appears as thought it is currently only displaying users that are online. I believe it used to show all users.

[Roy Barnes]

How many riders Last yeatr? Maybe twice as many this year and they are selling F twins like hot cakes.
How about Oregon. Good riding for both pave and dirt riders. I like John Day or baker City. Look at late August as the temps are starting to fall and the weather is great.

[notacop]

I'll probably be in John Day for the Chief Joseph in June. Nice place.

[Rob]

https://f800riders.org/forum/usermap.php

It appears as thought it is currently only displaying users that are online. I believe it used to show all users.

It did, but as we have 15,000+ users it would crash your browser if it displayed them all. There are quite a few of us just about everywhere, except in the heartland.

[Rob]

How many riders Last yeatr? Maybe twice as many this year and they are selling F twins like hot cakes.
How about Oregon. Good riding for both pave and dirt riders. I like John Day or baker City. Look at late August as the temps are starting to fall and the weather is great.

Last few years it's been pretty static at around 40-50 folks.

[Dunny]

that's because I've not been there.....

[ohg59]

that's because I've not been there.....

Instead of 4-5 if you were

[Dunny]

I left that part of the statement open to interpretation....

[SmithSwede]

The Colorado venue sounds good.

I would also suggest somewhere in Arkansas--fantastic twisty roads.

[bicyclist]

OK, so we're about where we were last year (or the year before?) where a group of people wanted to have it in Colorado. Unless somebody in reasonable proximity steps up to arrange a location, the same thing will happen that happened in the past, nothing.

I'll put in a plug for Athens, Ohio. It's a college town, so there are plenty of places to stay and to eat. Southern Ohio has lots of good motorcycling roads and if you don't like them, West Virginia is just across the border. And there's a dealer in town.

[SK Jewels]

Ok then, how about the Texas Hill Country? (south central Tx, north of San Antonio, east of Austin) Lots of great roads, plenty of venues for a rally, very biker friendly. Though most of the bikers are the HD type. Hey! Great place for a rally then, we can show 'em how it's done

[DH63]

bicyclist - Thank you. That would have been waaaaaay too self-serving for me to put that plug in. But....please, BE CAREFUL whom you discus southern Ohio roads with, OK?

We don't need to choke those roads with squids, wannabee squids, car squids (what do they call them?), street rods, car clubs, Winnabagoes, Honda-bagoes, H-D chicanes and LEOs.

Just sayin'. Thanks again.

[Bushwhacker]

The Colorado venue sounds good.

I would also suggest somewhere in Arkansas--fantastic twisty roads.

+1.

I vote for Harrison Arkansas.

Arkansas is very motorcycle friendly -

http://www.arkansas.com/outdoors/motorcycling/

PDF published by the state -

http://www.arkansas.com/outdoors/mot...ts_Ride_08.pdf

[notacop]

How about you can't suggest some place less that 800 miles from where you live? That's just a day ride.

[Wild Bill]

I like South Dakota, in early August before Sturgis or late August after that event. Lots to see, nice roads and sort of easy to get to from the east.

[BrENDURO]

Ohio sounds pretty good. I was up just outside Athens last October in Chillicothe. I'm not sure about Athens, but the roads near Chillicothe were FLAT! Plenty to do though and very pretty. The USAF Museum is a must if you're anywhere near that area and are at all interested in aircraft.

[NomadS]

If you do it in the summer i would vote for combining it with the BMW rally in PA. If in the fall would vote for a mountain state in September or a southern state in October.

I would also give more weight to the suggestions of those that have been to one in the past ( I have not been).

[Roadpizza]

I grew up in Findlay, Ohio. Flat ain't the word....boring, staight and a cop every 1/4 mile...

Ohio sounds pretty good. I was up just outside Athens last October in Chillicothe. I'm not sure about Athens, but the roads near Chillicothe were FLAT! Plenty to do though and very pretty. The USAF Museum is a must if you're anywhere near that area and are at all interested in aircraft.

[bicyclist]

Findlay's flat. Chillicothe's flat. The area around Athens ain't flat.

[Roadpizza]

You mean down around Mid-Ohio race track? ya, it is kind of nice down there.

[ibeabeemer]

Hi Rob,

I am new to BMW motorrad ownership and just wanted to put in a good word for a rally in the Finger Lakes. I live near Syracuse, NY so you can see my reason. As you may know, the roads there are not too twisty or hilly there but the lakes are nice. There are places to visit like; Watkins Glenn, Cornell Univ., the wineries, Bass Pro Shop, LLBean, Waterloo Outlet Mall and a BMW Motorrad dealer in Rochester. If not this year, maybe next year?
Good Riding!
ibeabeemer

[Wildeman78]

I like the idea of Northern Arkansas, Southern Missouri. The Ozarks are a nice place to ride, but it is less than 800 miles from me...

[bicyclist]

Hi Rob,

I am new to BMW motorrad ownership and just wanted to put in a good word for a rally in the Finger Lakes. I live near Syracuse, NY so you can see my reason. As you may know, the roads there are not too twisty or hilly there but the lakes are nice. There are places to visit like; Watkins Glenn, Cornell Univ., the wineries, Bass Pro Shop, LLBean, Waterloo Outlet Mall and a BMW Motorrad dealer in Rochester. If not this year, maybe next year?
Good Riding!
ibeabeemer

There's already a BMW rally in Watkins Glen put on by the Finger Lakes BMW Club on Labor Day weekend. http://www.fingerlakesbmw.org Excellent rally.

[AZ-J]

Flagstaff, AZ would provide great m/c roads, cool nights, and clean air.

[TheMeteor]

When and how does the decision get made on the various ideas? Being from the East, I prefer the East (my vote for Adirondacks/Catskills if looking for a venue change. I would not mind exploring more of W VA again either). Personally, my vacation time would not allow a ride West and back at this time. However, in fairness I do think the West Coast folks deserve a turn at the rally if there is interest and support on their part.

I guess timing is the other component which plays into it.