Four Day Blast: Stelvio - Dolomites

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Great write up Padge

Now I can't wait to get going in the morning

hmh...I told you...but you prefered the deserts !


nice trip Padge...did nearly the same trip in June... shame we missed

 

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Hire Company was actually a BMW dealer so very good. Unlimited mileage was most important thing as some screw you for the extra milage. PM if you want details on pricing etc.

Baby GS took a bit of getting used to. Seemed quicker but less planted than the Adventure.
I also managed to scrape the footpegs quite a few times on the hairpins. Something I've almost done on my own bike (maybe coz of the extra ground cleareance on the ADV?)

Wind was biggest thing on the motorway. I'm too used to my barn door on the Adv so cruising speed was about 120kmh whereas the adv would be comfortable at 140kmph. The Arai TourX was buzzing like mad too where it never gave trouble on my own bike. You'll notice in the photos the stick on wheel balancing weights I got from the tyre place in Livigno to sort the problems.

One last thing I noticed on some of the back roads was the cracks filled in using long strips of tar.. They're bloody lethal. I had one moment mid hairpin where I lost the front end. Managed to get the boot down but hurt the ankle in the process.

Watch out for this stuff:
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tdeKDQViHkZqaJ9cdK0x8g"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/pauloconnell/SLneqIWCWfI/AAAAAAAAAPg/-NxMmiFx8m4/s800/DSC00206.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/pauloconnell/StelvioAndDolomites">Stelvio and Dolomites</a></td></tr></table>

the stuff is called "Betumen Stripes"..same in Germany...quite ok as long as its try...but when it gets wet..they become nasty *ssholes