RLINK For REVER
Do you travel to distant lands or perhaps just to the Starbucks around the corner? Well, either way, I have just the thing for you, especially if you like that extra sense of security along the way. Several years ago, I was introduced to the REVER motorcycling app, which tracks your rides and shows you local rides in your area. There is also an ability to share your routes with others.
More recently, REVER introduced a motorcycle security tracking system, which connects directly to your motorcycle. This system syncs with your telephone and sends you updated alerts if your REVER unit detects movement, vibration, or a low battery. So, imagine if you were hanging out in a less than desirable area… you can have some reassurance. Should someone attempt to steal your ride, or take parts off, you can run outside and handle business… or just call the local authorities.
I’ve been testing the generation one (1) version for roughly eight (8) months now and have observed a ton of positives and few negatives regarding the system.
The main positives are obvious, including the aforementioned ability to receive alerts via text messaging for security purposes. Something else that is worth a mention is the fact that you can upload your routes and also live share your routes directly with family and friends.
The only serious downside I’ve noticed about this unit is the battery current draw. I run this in parallel with the BMW audible alarm. Through testing, I have learned that when the motorcycle is not being ridden daily, the current draw is very intense, and will cause your battery to be so low that you cannot start your motorcycle. This will occur within approximately four to five days. Now, keep in mind I am running two systems, so if you only use the REVER system, you will likely have different results. I like redundancy and I like my coffee black.
If you already have the REVER app, you probably pay for the premium membership, which unlocks all of the features. This system is one of the included features with that membership. The device retails for $250 and I will post a link below.
On a side note, the generation two (2) system has been released. It is all-inclusive and takes up less room. I found out that when running my Rally seat (which is how I did my install video), I can install the system quickly and easily. However, when switching back to stock or my other aftermarket seats, I could not fit the unit in the same location and needed to reroute it further back under the tail section. This added a little more inconvenience and an extra 30-45 minutes to the install time.
If you are not mechanically inclined, I would highly recommend allowing your dealer to install the unit, which will probably run you 1.5 hours of service.
I look forward to seeing further advancements of this system and hearing positive outcomes from theft prevention and recovery!
Ride safe and see you out on the road.
Posted in Gear Review & Thoughts and tagged #adventure, #alarm, #bmwmoa, #bmwmotorrad, #explore, #klim, #madeforadventure, #makelifearide, #motorcycle, #spiritofgs, #travel, #xladv, rever, rlink by admin with comments disabled.
Muc-Off cleaning solutions
Hello, my fellow riders! Whether you’re a Moto guy/gal or bicycle rider, I’ve got some awesome cleaning supplies to introduce today!
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been keeping things “old school” with liquid soap and water when it came to my vehicles or two-wheeled machines. I was never one of those guys that went out and thought about a soap specific cleaning aid. If soap and water were good enough for my old man, then they were good enough for me… right? Well, yes and no. Over time, companies like Muc-Off developed specific products which help clean up and protect our most prized possessions.
I was given the opportunity to review Muc-Off’s snow foam and high performance waterless wash and I have to admit I was skeptical at first.
Video of product in action – Youtube
The snow foam is a PH neutral pre-wash solution. Yes, you heard me right: You spray it on over the mud and grime, wait about five minutes, and spray it off without having to scrub the bike. I actually have a high pressure sprayer of my own, which I used for this, but they do have a compact portable unit, which I will discuss in a later review. The formula is designed to significantly reduce the possibility of damage to paintwork and protects wax treatments.
Now, for the waterless wash, this is your go to spray-on/wipe-off for those in-between heavy wash days. If your bike is dusty or lacking that shine, spray this on and wipe off with a microfiber cloth for a nice, quick and easy clean. I’ve used this on my truck, moto, and mountain bike and it works great. The price is pretty comparable to what you would spend in a automotive store and if you sign up on the website, they send out a coupon code for 15% off.
Keep checking back, as I will be testing the full range of their products in the coming weeks, along with the specially designed portable pressure sprayer.
Until next time, ride safe and I will see you on out there!
Posted in Gear Review & Thoughts and tagged #adventure, #bmwmoa, #bmwmotorrad, #camping, #campinggear, #explore, #klim, #klimgear, #klimlife, #madeforadventure, #makelifearide, #motorcycle, #mucoff, #outdoors, #review, #spiritofgs, #tires, #travel, #xladv, CRF250L, R1200GS by admin with comments disabled.
Flying Tent
Next up for the adventure camping gear review series is the “Flying Tent.”
It is not an every day occurrence to hear about a tent that flies. Well, today is a new day and an Austrian company made it work in a pretty genius fashion. They combined the best features of a tent and the comfort of a hammock and transformed it into a Swiss army knife of camping possibilities.
I encountered this company a couple years ago when they were running a startup campaign, but did not take the plunge at that time because frankly, the price. The product comes with a hefty price tag of $299.99 and with so many tried and true tents on the market, it was difficult for me to justify taking a gamble on this new company at that level of investment.
My old, faithful tent and small pocket hammock had always done the job; however, this hybrid product definitely sparked my interest. On Black Friday 2018, the company released a special promo code, which brought the “Flying Tent” down to a slightly more reasonable price.
I placed my order and was pretty excited to receive the item. The first thing I noticed was the low, flat profile in its collapsed state. This made it simple to pack on top of the motorcycle top pannier. Removing the system and setting it up for the first time was definitely a challenge. Anything that comes with instructions and requires a me to watch a YouTube video is usually more work than I’m willing to do. However, I was able to handle it and it wasn’t so bad.
I know what some of you are probably thinking… “What if you don’t have any trees around you?” Well, that’s the beauty of this system. It’s a 3-in-1 shelter, so you can go from hammock, to ground tent, to poncho in a matter of seconds to suit your terrain. The major plus side is that the inflatable mattress and cot can be left at home when using the “Flying Tent” as a hammock. This saves a significant amount of weight and space on the bike.
The rainfly is completely removable, which yields great ventilation and fantastic star gazing. A mosquito net surrounds the entire hammock with a very large entrance.
So, if you’re still reading this, you can see that this product has a ton of pros. With regards to cons, I felt they could have skipped the small zipper pocket inside the liner by where your head rests to sleep. Next, the tree tie straps are very short for wider trees and you will likely need to buy larger ones. Also, the break down process, including stowing the item back inside the carrying pouch, takes some practice. Unfortunately the bag rips easily (I know this because mine ripped on the first attempt). I also learned that customer service is available, but was easier reached through Facebook than email. After addressing my concerns about the bag ripping via our favorite, old school social media platform, a replacement was shipped to me.
Here’s a recap of pros/cons.
Pros:
Fun
Versatile
Space/weight saving
All hardware included (stakes, guidelines, etc.)
Cons:
Zipper inside the liner where you lay
Storage bag
Small tree tie straps
All things considered, I’m satisfied with my purchase and love all of the options that the product provides. So if you will be flying (ha!) solo for upcoming adventures, this just might be the hammock/tent you’re looking for.
Till next time, ride safe!
https://www.flyingtent.com/america/
Posted in Gear Review & Thoughts and tagged #adventure, #bmwmoa, #bmwmotorrad, #camping, #campinggear, #explore, #motorcycle, #travel, #xladv, 2WheelAdv, hammock, tent by admin with comments disabled.
Helinox Chair One
Summer time is here and I am going to start it off with a multipart camping gear segment. For today’s review, I bring you the Helinox Chair One. I have had and used plenty of portable chairs over the recent years and they each have pros and cons. This one notably has a few nice additions over some other brands.
One of the first things you notice about the chair is its carrying case. It fits well, is easy to store, and comes with a molle style attachment system. It does not matter if you are on a motorcycle or hiking, you will appreciate having the molle attachment system for your gear.
Assembly is straightforward like all the rest except with this chair, you will notice a nice, thick connection hub and “DAC” aluminum connection poles for attaching the chair backing. The chair material is stitched well and has mesh fabric for ventilation to aid in comfort on those hot days. They offer a reasonable selection of colors to suit your fancy.
The price is competitive with other brands in this category right at $100. Helinox has won many accolades for providing innovative designs and offers a 5-year warranty for their products. Stay tuned for my head-to-head comparison with some of the top brands for portable chairs in an upcoming article!
Posted in Gear Review & Thoughts and tagged #camping, #campinggear, #travel, camping gear, Motorcycle accessories, motorcycle travel by admin with comments disabled.
Snugpak Gear Review
Is Snugpak the holy grail for compact camping gear?
From the tundra of the Arctic Circle to camping in your backyard, Snugpak has you covered with a wide selection of gear.
I brought the MML 3 Softie Smock and the Tactical 2 Sleeping Bag along on a recent adventure. The MML 3 Softie Smock is a pullover, insulated jacket, which is extremely compressible for convenient space saving during packing. The fabric is super comfy and kept me warm throughout my trip. It is rated from 0 celsius comfort to -5 celsius low. Thus, it keeps you warm in some of the coldest climates. While at Prudhoe Bay, I only needed to wear an under shirt and the MML 3 Softie Smock while exploring the Arctic Ocean. This created a perfect combo, along with my riding jacket for the outwear, for my trek to the far north.
MML 3 Softie Smock at the Arctic Ocean
The tactical series of sleeping bags gives you everything you need and nothing you don’t. I was on the quest to find the most compact, space saving sleeping bag which would still provide me with the low temperature rating needed for my trip. I found the cost to be reasonable when comparing it to other brands, which attempt to compete with its size and temperature rating, but cost significantly more.
Tactical 2
Compressed size
Something that I personally feel strongly about, and place my full support behind, is a company with traditional values and heritage. To my knowledge, Snugpak is one of the last companies of its kind which still engineers and produces several products at their vintage mill dating back to the 1800’s in West Yorkshire, North England. Because of this, the products come with reassurance that the price you are paying is supportive of workers being paid a fair wage to produce a quality product with pride instead of a bunch of machines doing the job.
So again I ask… is Snugpak the holy grail for compact camping gear? Why yes, yes it is.
To view the full US product line, click on the link below:
http://www.proforceequipment.com/product.php?brand=snugpak
Dalton Hwy
Posted in Gear Review & Thoughts and tagged #adventure, #camping, #campinggear, #clothing, #motorcycle, #outdoors, #snugpak, #travel by admin with comments disabled.
Golden Tyre GT723 Review
So, probably one of the most controversial topics I could blog about is motorcycle tires. Coming back from Alaska, I swapped out my K60 Scouts in Montana for Golden Tyre’s just released GT723s to continue some off-road riding in Idaho and Utah before heading home.
Before I ramble on about my experience, I would like to share the below paragraph which was sourced directly from the Golden Tyre website.
“The GT723 was originally designed as a purebred race tire for the most demanding rally stages on the planet. Its perfect balance of grip and road manners have created a confidence inspiring race tire that is now used as the best adventure tire on the planet. Adventure riders throughout the world have found that the exceptional grip and durability has been paired with an unmatched level of longevity not found in traditional race tires. Adventure riding covers a wide variety of terrain and the GT723 has you covered anywhere your adventure leads!”
So does this tire live up to their ad? Well, that’s debatable and is based entirely on your riding needs. I’ve broken this down into three sections: The good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good (which is actually great) – Off-road riding with this tire on my R1200 GSA was amazing! I tackled a variety of terrains including super slick mud, rocky sections, gravel, hard-pack, and the dreaded sugar sand.
The Bad – On-road capabilities are what you would expect with a full knobby tire. Highway speeds will be reduced initially, but improve after the tires have had a chance to break-in.
The Ugly – Holy heck, these things are scary when they are first mounted! The knobs flex a lot making you second guess yourself.
Right after I left the dealership, I was riding two-up and fully geared. As soon as I began driving, an uncomfortable feeling came over me as I felt very little control over the bike on the road. The tires have full knobs which caused a great deal of flex and difficulty with safely maneuvering the bike due to the amount of weight on it. After checking into the hotel, I removed my panniers and did some solo riding around town on the pavement to get a better feel for them. They improved slightly, which gave me hope.
The following day, my passenger flew home and I continued to Wyoming to visit Yellowstone National Park before hitting Idaho. My highway speeds were initially limited to 65 MPH due to almost experiencing a fishtail feeling in the handlebars, which continued to worsen with more speed. I did not want to chance losing control of the motorcycle on the highway, so continued at a slower pace for roughly 200 miles. I eventually started to notice slightly less feedback on my handlebars and was able to gradually increase my speeds. After traveling for another 400 miles, I was able to open the bike up to 90 MPH without having that feeling of losing control.
I made my way down to Idaho where I met up with the guys at KLIM and stripped my bike of excess weight. We left KLIM HQ and rode off into some great terrain, which put these tires through a series of great off-road riding tests.
It didn’t matter what terrain we encountered: Slipperier than snot mud, rocky single track, or gravel, these tires were excellent. The ride was almost everything I could have hoped for to get an accurate account of exactly what these tires could handle.
After leaving Idaho, I continued to travel on the road to Utah to attend the 2017 BMW MOA Rally. The tires continued to perform better on the road over time, and I experienced a lot less road issues than I had at the beginning. I want to say that my overall mileage with the tires was between 900-1,000 at this point.
I left the MOA Rally and returned home to complete my testing of the tire in some of the most challenging terrain one can find… Florida sugar sand! I figured I would drop the bike a lot so I removed all my panniers, and mirrors in preparation for the inevitable fall(s). I met up with my buddy, Alberto, from Florida Outdoor Adventures, at Croom Motorcycle Park. He assisted me by videoing this experience for your viewing pleasure. Before I embarked on this challenge, I dropped my tire pressure on the front down to 27 PSI and the rear to 30 PSI.
For those that don’t know, Croom is a large fenced-in park for motorcycles, ATVs, and Side-X-Sides.
After the camera gear was setup, I headed off and started my run in the big open sand pit, which looks like something out of Star Wars. It was quite entertaining seeing everyone stop in their tracks to watch me attempt this. It was probably the first time anyone has seen a 600 lb. motorcycle in the park, let alone in the sand pit!
Once in the sand pit, I was 100% focused. I took Big Bertha around, hit some large whoops, practiced starting from a dead stop, and managed to leave with all of my extremities intact, due to a miraculous lack of falling.
Follow the link below to witness the pure amazingness that was Croom:
Who do I recommend these tires for? Someone doing serious off-road riding. These are purposefully built tires for the ultimate off-road challenge. I might go as far as saying that these are the best off-road tires I have ever experienced.
If you’re interested in purchasing these tires, below is the link to their website:
https://www.goldentyrewest.com/adventure-rally
Posted in Gear Review & Thoughts and tagged #goldentyre, #GT723, #klim, #motorcycle, #offroad, #review, #tires, #travel by admin with comments disabled.
KLIM TK1200 Karbon Modular Helmet
Hi there!
As Mrs. 2wheeladv, I am #blessed with the opportunity to travel the world two-up, and have also had the privilege to start testing out some gear of my own! What better time to do so than on the 2017 Arctic Circle or Bust Tour?
I traveled for a total of 2.5 weeks and spent 12ish days on the back of the Beemer. I took in the breathtaking sights, sounds, and smells of Alaska, The Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, and Montana. It went from freezing cold rain to hotter than the Canadian wildfires, so I had a wide range of experiences.
Rock climbed to the top of a glacier and ticked off a few friends in the meantime? Check.
Rode the Denali Highway in all its dusty glory? Check.
Saw a deer saunter through our campground? Check.
(Deer said, “No pictures, please!”)
Tested out the new Klim TK1200? Double check.
Not gonna lie, it was a bit daunting to test out a new helmet on such a long journey, but it worked out swimmingly with zero regrets.
Pros:
-Lightweight and did not get caught in the wind (thus, no sore neck). I did not experience wind turbulence as I have with other helmets.
-Great at temp control due to the easy to operate vent adjustments (kept cold air out and cool air flowing during hot days).
-Loved, loved, loved the transition lens (one less screen to have to finagle with and kept my fair skin protected from the sun, as well).
-Chin strap clasp was easy to hook and release in a jiffy, which was much more convenient for me when hopping on and off the bike to see the sights, as compared with the annoying traditional loop and lock strap on the Shoei and most other modular helmets which have cramped my style in the past.
-Quiet helmet when compared to my previous modular helmets.
-Reasonably priced at $599.99, especially considering all of the features that this helmet has to offer.
Cons (which were not really cons, but rather minor, personal preferences):
-Difficult for me to wear my cheap-o earplugs due to the snug fit around the ears/cheekbones when pulling the helmet over my head. It is unclear if the issue would have been improved had I brought along a pair of those fancy, schmancy custom ear plugs like the hubs wears.
-Fogging would have been a major, but fixable, issue in the cold rain if I had been driving (anti fog spray or pin lock would be needed, which I did not bring along on this trip).
Overall, it is a versatile helmet and is also good looking too. 😉
Till next time, ride safe!
With our new Colombian friend.
Posted in Gear Review & Thoughts and tagged #adventure, #bmwmotorrad, #klim, #klimgear, #klimlife, #klimwoman, #motorcycle, #TK1200, #travel by admin with comments disabled.