drewvanracer
Well-known member
Im just now taking the time to post some pictures from my September 2007 trip through Colorado and Utah. During this time of year our temperature varied from 25 to 98 degrees. My brother wrote the following story for his local BMWMOA. Sorry for the picture placement. I hope you enjoy.
5 Vans for the 4 Corners
By Marvin Van Vlymen
It is 4:00 p.m. on Friday September 7th. The bikes are loaded on the trailer, the RV. is ready and we are prepared to leave for Colorado Springs. You might ask, why the RV.? Well, three of the five of us are in our upper sixties, two in their mid-forties, and we're going to be out for two weeks. So we decided to use the RV. as a central location in case of illness or bike trouble.
As it turned our, it was a good choice. The trip out was not without incident. In St. Louis, we spent one and a half hours in a huge traffic jam in a pouring down rain. A short time later the alternator belt broke and we spent one hour in a church parking lot putting on a new one that we had with us. About half way across Kansas, the shift rod on the transmission came loose while we were sitting at the gas station.
After being on the road for twenty-four hours, we arrived at our campsite in Colorado Springs. After unloading the bikes we put our camping gear on the bikes, preparing to leave Sunday morning. The weather wasn't very cooperative either, as it rained during the night and was only 40 degrees outside. We took a few minutes to have our devotions which we did every morning. There is a cold mist as we make our way south to Route 50 at Canon City. After breakfast at the Coyote Coffee House, we headed west on Route 50.
We were making our way toward Monarch Pass, which is at an altitude of 11,312 feet. The bikes are all running great. There were two BMW motorcycles, a R1100R, a R1150RT, a 650 V Strom, FJR1300, and a VTX1300, we will hear more about the bikes later. The day is cool but dry as we headed for Gunnison and lunch. Just west of Gunnison is Route 149 south. It is one of the most beautiful Roads in Colorado. If you get out that way, make sure you take a ride on it.
After spending the night at South Fork, we headed toward Durango on Route 160. Again the weather turned cold and wet. At Wolf Creek Pass, 10,850 feet, there is a heavy fog and snow on the roadside from the night before, time to be careful.
Leaving Durango, we headed north on Route 550, the million-dollar highway.
It was cool but sunny and the road was, well, like a million. Next stop is Silverton and then on to Ouray, which is where we had lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Great food but too much of it, we could have split a meal and still had plenty. After lunch, it was time to head for Moab, Utah. The trip was about 130 miles and there was not one single gas station in sight. As we were riding, we saw very few cars. We arrived at Moab about 5:30 p.m. and found a nice campsite for the five of us that only cost us $50.00.
It is now Tuesday the 11th, four days into our trip. After a good breakfast at Denny's, we rode the canyons at Arches National Park all morning.
While we were there, a tour bus full of kids from Japan came in. They loved the bikes and took a ton of pictures.
Dead Horse Point is another must see if you ever make it out there. Heading south on Route 191, we ran into more rain and finally stopped at the little town of Blanding. Pulling into a store parking lot, we asked a man where we might find a campground. He looked at us like we were nuts and finally pointed to a huge sign across the street. The sign read, CAMPING.
I went in to sign us up, which turned out to be my job for the entire trip. It cost $24.00 for five tents and it even had grass. The showers were clean, Shell Gas, food and a laundry mat only 100 feet away. The Lord was taking good care of us.
The next morning, we prepared to get a good early start after a good nights rest.
However, my brother, riding the VTX-1300, put two-stroke oil in his gas instead of top oil. The bike would not run. Off came the tank, and five gallons of gas went on the ground, so much for our nice early start. One and a half hours later, we were heading west on Route 95. The next 135 miles, we crossed no man's land, no gas, no nothing, but a great road for bikes. During this ride, my brother and I decided to change biker. He rode my ll50RT and I rode on his FJR. We were riding at 70-75 miles per hour and the first thing on my mind was, "how can he ride this thing this slow?" I went by him at 100 miles per hour and rode the next several miles at 120-130 miles per hour, what a blast. It was fun, but if I rode a bike like this everyday, I would most likely kill myself.
We spent the next few days riding the canyon country of Utah, Glen's Canyon, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park.
It was hot and humid, no grass and no shower, so we headed for the creek which was cold, very cold. We felt better and after a supper of tuna and a power bar, I slept well. The next morning, we began making our way back to Colorado via the Grand Canyon.
During our ride, we rode through Monument Valley, which was very interesting. All of the rocks look like monuments sticking up. Every one of the parks is a little different but there is one thing that they all have in common, rocks and a lot of them. I like the high country, like Bryce, with a lot of trees. Most of the places we rode were from 6,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level, so the bikes with the fuel injections ran just fine, while the VTX with the carbs never ran really well.
We are now on Route 160, through the four comers, and on our way to Cortez, where we pick up Route 145, which is one of the best bike roads in Colorado. We made a stop in Telluride, where a Blues concert was going full blast.
It was a throw back to the 1960s, tie-dye, hippies, and the whole bit. While we were there, a bad storm hit. The wind picked up the dirt and sand, and we could not see. Next came the rain, it came down so hard that it was running down the street like a stream.
I was glad we weren't on the bikes. It had rained so heavy in the area that we were now riding through water and mudslides across the road. It was time to stand on the pegs and go slow and steady.
Route 141 takes us up to Grand Junction where it is windy, cold, and miserable. The local KOA had sand tent sites so by morning everything was muddy. We decided to have breakfast and talk it over. The three old guys, my brother, my friend, and myself decided to head back to Colorado Springs and the R.V. My son and younger brother are going to ride north to Route 40,accros to Rocky Mountain National Park and then back south to join us at the campground.
We rode east about fifty miles before we hit a cold rain. My brother didn't put his rain suit on right away so he got soaked. After another eighty-five miles in the rain and sleet, we stopped at a little store to warm up. Another couple on their bikes had the same idea. We finally rode out of the rain in Gunnison. After we got gas, we headed for the Laundromat to dry-out. The couple that we had met came in behind us with the same idea. For one and a half hours, we were all half dressed trying to get warm and dry.
Time to get something to eat and head for Monarch Pass again. This time it was cold, but dry. Rain ahead and behind us but not on us. We made it back to Colorado Springs and the R.V.
The three of us had a great nights sleep in the R.V., after sleeping on the ground for one and a half weeks. We took our time getting up the next morning and got into town about 9:00 a.m. After breakfast, we went to the car wash to clean up the bikes. The rest of the day was spent between the local bike shop and riding the mountains. On our way back to camp, we bought a huge sub and split it three ways.
After riding almost 3,000 miles, we had not had any trouble with the bikes until we got back to camp. Sitting there enjoying our supper, we noticed that my brother's rear tire was going flat. He has the tube type tires so we got it on the trailer before it went down. I was getting worried about my son and brother, as they were not back yet. About 11:00 p.m., we heard the bikes coming in. To our surprise they set up their tents and slept outside, it is nice to be young.
The next morning, we loaded up for the long ride home. We had a great time together and saw some of the most beautiful places in the world. Outside of a couple of us having colds, we had a safe time enjoying the bikes and each other. I was able to draw some conclusions from this trip. The first being, the middle of September was not the best choice of times to go. About 50% of the time, it was cold and wet. Next, have new tires, a lot of the roads are chip and seal, very hard on tires. In just 3,000 miles on the trip, most of our tires will need to be replaced, soon. Another thing that surprised me was the good gas mileage that we got. Four of the five bikes have fuel injection and that is the only way to go. Almost all of our riding was done at 6,000 feet above sea level or higher. I kept the records for the first five days. The best gas mileage was on the BMW RII00R at 56.2 miles per gallon, and it was a stock bike. Second place goes to the 650 V Strom with 55.2 miles per gallon, and it had a modified muffler. In third place was the FJR 1300 with 53.1, and it has a power commander and 2 Brothers exhaust. In fourth place was the BMW R1150RT at 52.0 miles per gallon that has a techlusion. The fifth place goes to the VTX 1300 at 45.4 miles per gallon and it is stock with carbs. My riding impressions were as follows: all of the bikes did a great job except one. The following is my opinion: the two BMW s are great all around bikes. The RT has the best weather protection and is for long distance riding. Both bikes rode good in all conditions even with all of our luggage. The V Strom is unreal in tight canyons riding, with its lightweight, good power, and fast handling, it was in its element. The FJR 1300 was a little too much of a sport type bike for me. To me, it had too much weight on my wrists as you lean forward, also my neck hurt at that angle. For long fast comers and high speed riding, it was a blast. The VTX1300, my first comment to my brother after riding it was, "How in the world do you stand riding it?" Riding it in a straight line is ok, but in the mountains on curves, it was not good. The floorboard kept dragging, the power was down (due mainly to the carbs at high altitude). Now I know why he decided to ride in the back. ***Note-he sold the bike after we got home.***
The other day my brother asked me if I was ready to go again, Let's go!!!
5 Vans for the 4 Corners
By Marvin Van Vlymen
It is 4:00 p.m. on Friday September 7th. The bikes are loaded on the trailer, the RV. is ready and we are prepared to leave for Colorado Springs. You might ask, why the RV.? Well, three of the five of us are in our upper sixties, two in their mid-forties, and we're going to be out for two weeks. So we decided to use the RV. as a central location in case of illness or bike trouble.
As it turned our, it was a good choice. The trip out was not without incident. In St. Louis, we spent one and a half hours in a huge traffic jam in a pouring down rain. A short time later the alternator belt broke and we spent one hour in a church parking lot putting on a new one that we had with us. About half way across Kansas, the shift rod on the transmission came loose while we were sitting at the gas station.
After being on the road for twenty-four hours, we arrived at our campsite in Colorado Springs. After unloading the bikes we put our camping gear on the bikes, preparing to leave Sunday morning. The weather wasn't very cooperative either, as it rained during the night and was only 40 degrees outside. We took a few minutes to have our devotions which we did every morning. There is a cold mist as we make our way south to Route 50 at Canon City. After breakfast at the Coyote Coffee House, we headed west on Route 50.
We were making our way toward Monarch Pass, which is at an altitude of 11,312 feet. The bikes are all running great. There were two BMW motorcycles, a R1100R, a R1150RT, a 650 V Strom, FJR1300, and a VTX1300, we will hear more about the bikes later. The day is cool but dry as we headed for Gunnison and lunch. Just west of Gunnison is Route 149 south. It is one of the most beautiful Roads in Colorado. If you get out that way, make sure you take a ride on it.
After spending the night at South Fork, we headed toward Durango on Route 160. Again the weather turned cold and wet. At Wolf Creek Pass, 10,850 feet, there is a heavy fog and snow on the roadside from the night before, time to be careful.
Leaving Durango, we headed north on Route 550, the million-dollar highway.
It was cool but sunny and the road was, well, like a million. Next stop is Silverton and then on to Ouray, which is where we had lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Great food but too much of it, we could have split a meal and still had plenty. After lunch, it was time to head for Moab, Utah. The trip was about 130 miles and there was not one single gas station in sight. As we were riding, we saw very few cars. We arrived at Moab about 5:30 p.m. and found a nice campsite for the five of us that only cost us $50.00.
It is now Tuesday the 11th, four days into our trip. After a good breakfast at Denny's, we rode the canyons at Arches National Park all morning.
While we were there, a tour bus full of kids from Japan came in. They loved the bikes and took a ton of pictures.
Dead Horse Point is another must see if you ever make it out there. Heading south on Route 191, we ran into more rain and finally stopped at the little town of Blanding. Pulling into a store parking lot, we asked a man where we might find a campground. He looked at us like we were nuts and finally pointed to a huge sign across the street. The sign read, CAMPING.I went in to sign us up, which turned out to be my job for the entire trip. It cost $24.00 for five tents and it even had grass. The showers were clean, Shell Gas, food and a laundry mat only 100 feet away. The Lord was taking good care of us.
The next morning, we prepared to get a good early start after a good nights rest.
However, my brother, riding the VTX-1300, put two-stroke oil in his gas instead of top oil. The bike would not run. Off came the tank, and five gallons of gas went on the ground, so much for our nice early start. One and a half hours later, we were heading west on Route 95. The next 135 miles, we crossed no man's land, no gas, no nothing, but a great road for bikes. During this ride, my brother and I decided to change biker. He rode my ll50RT and I rode on his FJR. We were riding at 70-75 miles per hour and the first thing on my mind was, "how can he ride this thing this slow?" I went by him at 100 miles per hour and rode the next several miles at 120-130 miles per hour, what a blast. It was fun, but if I rode a bike like this everyday, I would most likely kill myself.We spent the next few days riding the canyon country of Utah, Glen's Canyon, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park.
It was hot and humid, no grass and no shower, so we headed for the creek which was cold, very cold. We felt better and after a supper of tuna and a power bar, I slept well. The next morning, we began making our way back to Colorado via the Grand Canyon.
During our ride, we rode through Monument Valley, which was very interesting. All of the rocks look like monuments sticking up. Every one of the parks is a little different but there is one thing that they all have in common, rocks and a lot of them. I like the high country, like Bryce, with a lot of trees. Most of the places we rode were from 6,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level, so the bikes with the fuel injections ran just fine, while the VTX with the carbs never ran really well.
We are now on Route 160, through the four comers, and on our way to Cortez, where we pick up Route 145, which is one of the best bike roads in Colorado. We made a stop in Telluride, where a Blues concert was going full blast.
It was a throw back to the 1960s, tie-dye, hippies, and the whole bit. While we were there, a bad storm hit. The wind picked up the dirt and sand, and we could not see. Next came the rain, it came down so hard that it was running down the street like a stream.
I was glad we weren't on the bikes. It had rained so heavy in the area that we were now riding through water and mudslides across the road. It was time to stand on the pegs and go slow and steady.
Route 141 takes us up to Grand Junction where it is windy, cold, and miserable. The local KOA had sand tent sites so by morning everything was muddy. We decided to have breakfast and talk it over. The three old guys, my brother, my friend, and myself decided to head back to Colorado Springs and the R.V. My son and younger brother are going to ride north to Route 40,accros to Rocky Mountain National Park and then back south to join us at the campground.
We rode east about fifty miles before we hit a cold rain. My brother didn't put his rain suit on right away so he got soaked. After another eighty-five miles in the rain and sleet, we stopped at a little store to warm up. Another couple on their bikes had the same idea. We finally rode out of the rain in Gunnison. After we got gas, we headed for the Laundromat to dry-out. The couple that we had met came in behind us with the same idea. For one and a half hours, we were all half dressed trying to get warm and dry.
Time to get something to eat and head for Monarch Pass again. This time it was cold, but dry. Rain ahead and behind us but not on us. We made it back to Colorado Springs and the R.V.
The three of us had a great nights sleep in the R.V., after sleeping on the ground for one and a half weeks. We took our time getting up the next morning and got into town about 9:00 a.m. After breakfast, we went to the car wash to clean up the bikes. The rest of the day was spent between the local bike shop and riding the mountains. On our way back to camp, we bought a huge sub and split it three ways.
After riding almost 3,000 miles, we had not had any trouble with the bikes until we got back to camp. Sitting there enjoying our supper, we noticed that my brother's rear tire was going flat. He has the tube type tires so we got it on the trailer before it went down. I was getting worried about my son and brother, as they were not back yet. About 11:00 p.m., we heard the bikes coming in. To our surprise they set up their tents and slept outside, it is nice to be young.
The next morning, we loaded up for the long ride home. We had a great time together and saw some of the most beautiful places in the world. Outside of a couple of us having colds, we had a safe time enjoying the bikes and each other. I was able to draw some conclusions from this trip. The first being, the middle of September was not the best choice of times to go. About 50% of the time, it was cold and wet. Next, have new tires, a lot of the roads are chip and seal, very hard on tires. In just 3,000 miles on the trip, most of our tires will need to be replaced, soon. Another thing that surprised me was the good gas mileage that we got. Four of the five bikes have fuel injection and that is the only way to go. Almost all of our riding was done at 6,000 feet above sea level or higher. I kept the records for the first five days. The best gas mileage was on the BMW RII00R at 56.2 miles per gallon, and it was a stock bike. Second place goes to the 650 V Strom with 55.2 miles per gallon, and it had a modified muffler. In third place was the FJR 1300 with 53.1, and it has a power commander and 2 Brothers exhaust. In fourth place was the BMW R1150RT at 52.0 miles per gallon that has a techlusion. The fifth place goes to the VTX 1300 at 45.4 miles per gallon and it is stock with carbs. My riding impressions were as follows: all of the bikes did a great job except one. The following is my opinion: the two BMW s are great all around bikes. The RT has the best weather protection and is for long distance riding. Both bikes rode good in all conditions even with all of our luggage. The V Strom is unreal in tight canyons riding, with its lightweight, good power, and fast handling, it was in its element. The FJR 1300 was a little too much of a sport type bike for me. To me, it had too much weight on my wrists as you lean forward, also my neck hurt at that angle. For long fast comers and high speed riding, it was a blast. The VTX1300, my first comment to my brother after riding it was, "How in the world do you stand riding it?" Riding it in a straight line is ok, but in the mountains on curves, it was not good. The floorboard kept dragging, the power was down (due mainly to the carbs at high altitude). Now I know why he decided to ride in the back. ***Note-he sold the bike after we got home.***
The other day my brother asked me if I was ready to go again, Let's go!!!
Last edited by a moderator:
![fjackets Real Lambskin Leather Biker Jacket — Quilted Cafe Racer Zip Up Moto Leather Jackets For Men | [1100085] Johnson Brown, XL](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41I7Pm1f+vL._SL500_.jpg)
