Got the new bike.... went for a little TEST ride!

[Jay]

So after becoming #2 on BMW Centurion's most irritating and demanding client list I finally got my new GSA LC on Thursday afternoon (10/04/2014) and made sure to book it in for the 1000km service for Monday morning. I was a little pissed that I only managed to make it to #2 and asked where I went wrong  atch: Braam pulled out all the stopes and even employed a pretty girl to calm me down....  :dousing: did it work? Sorry my heart pumps GSA  :drif:

My little pre-service run was to the Eastern Freestate, Fouriesburg to be more specific.

On the way to Fouriesburg we took some time to explore some of the little towns we passed. Took a spin through to Clarens and Golden Gate...

I will let the pictures do most of the talking....


Taking Delivery


Welcome home  ;D


This is what a garage should look like  :drif:


Nice little lunch break


After such a lunch one should always get a back and neck massage at Blanché Spa in Ficksburg... our friend Anzel is the owner  :thumleft:


Anzel's place is really nice


Gate crashed a wedding  ;D



Went for lunch in Clarens


Lunch is hard work and one need to rest


Took a very nice ride through Golden Gate before heading back to Anzel's farm














Got the bike in for service Monday on 1145km  ;D
Then on Tuesday we take the GSA on it's real test!!

 

[Nicobie]

Jay, I like your garage, I mean the contents thereof or therein.
May you have many troublefree km's with the new scoot.
Congrats.

 

[Cheetah]

Congrats. Awesome garage. Many happy and safe miles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TVB]

Stunning bike, congrats!!

 

[Flatout]

Great bike Jay!  You are a priviliged man.
The little Zebra in the red top is also something to remember.  :ricky:

 

[gwild]

Awesome bike one day when I'm big  :ricky: I will get one.  :thumleft:

Happy riding. Ride safe

 

[Jay]

Ok so bike is serviced and the gear loaded... Refuel and we'r off  :ricky:


Maggie my pillion in high spirits so off we go direction Eastern Cape. Our ride was a bit boring as I decided to take the highway  : to save time as I only have a couple days and allot of fun roads waiting. We decided to camp at Aldam before heading to East London to say hi to my family.

My super curious and brave pillion, Camping at Aldam




There were quite a lot of big roadblocks on the way. Just after leaving Aldam the next morning I was stopped for doing 141km/h but the cop was nice and we had a bit of a chin wag after witch he told me to drive safe and walked away without even talking about fining me....  atch: he turned to me halfway back across the road and said "Hulle sit weer so 10km voor Bloem" Can u believe that  ;D

One of the two road blocks


Lunch in Aliwal North




Left East London early the next day heading to Hogsback and Katberg. It has been years since I was in Hogsback last but the place still holds a mystic feel that I love. If you have not been there you need to get on your bike and go.

King Williams Town




Approach to the Pass leading to Hogsback


Nice scenic drive into town




The fairy garden.... PS. It is nice but to expensive to go see at R30p/p








Lunch in town


After lunch we headed to Katberg and this is when the GSA got it's first real test....  :eek7: and it was a good one at that! Mitchell's Pass... wow what a road, or is it a road? Have a look at this beauty  :drif:












It does get better and a lovely ride to cool down after building up a sweat and to settle the heart rate  




The new GSA performed floor less but the rider made a small error that caused the GSA to lean a little left  :-\


Another fantastic ride up to Katberg Hotel and Golf Estate






We decided to stop there for lunch... perfect!!


The rates was so good we decided to stay the night and had us a nice relaxed afternoon of winter sun






Went on a short walk






Went to bed after fantastic supper and a game of darts.... ready to tackle Katberg Pass the next day!

 

[spoedvark]

Awesome! Enjoy the new bike and many happy. Safe and trouble free kilo's!!

 

[ClimbingTurtle]

Nice one!!

Now - I need to talk to the missus about what a garage should look like.....

 

[Keith Barbier]

Thanks for sharing and many safe kilo's. Roads do look a bit testing after the rains.

 

[Jay]

After a very big breakfast while walking back to our room the manager of Katberg Hotel cornered me and asked what route will we be taking. Turns out he is a biker and a walking map of the area. He made some suggestions and after a nice chat we set off for Katberg Pass.

the views are spectacular




The Start of Katberg Pass








The road was graded at some point and it made the ride very relaxed and pleasant




Just look at the view.... wow  :thumleft:




Smoke break on top of the world


My biker chick loving it...  


There are lots of wild horses everywhere...




Some awesome farm roads in the area as well




Found this place outside Cradock on the road to Port Elisabeth... very friendly owners and our stay was way to long  ;D


We arrived in Port Elizabeth as the splash festival started.... Had a good rest and only left for the Baviaans at 11:30 the next morning.

 

 

[DirtRebell]

Nice RR.  :thumleft:

The faery garden.... PS. It is nice but to expensive to go see at R30p/p
[(quote]

Seriously?  :

 

[Jay]

Off to Baviaans then shell we....  :ricky:

Stopped off at this little pad stal... Maggie always want to go have a look what is inside. Like I said... very curious 


While we were there I spoke to the owner and as luck would have it his brother owns a farm in the baviaans called Ysrevier and he arranged a camping spot for us. Camp is called "Kudu Kaya"


South Africa's largest sun dial... did not know we had small ones  atch:


On the way to the farm we took a little detour to Kouga Dam






After that we headed for our intended camp spot at Kudu Kaya






We got a nice little spot and settled in...


It is quite a nice camp area on the farm with a small stream very close by




After our walk about I got stuck in and prepared supper... 2min Noodles  :




I had a restless night as my mattress kept losing air... Luckily the night was not to long and soon the new day broke and we packed all our goodies, made some coffee and set off. 

 

[Thump]

Nice, must be sad leaning a new bike over like that, probly spent a while looking for scratches.

BTW, your Pillion enhances the look of the bike way more than you.

nice RR.

 

[J-dog]

:sip:

 

[Jay]

Nice one!!

Now - I need to talk to the missus about what a garage should look like.....

I do not mind if you use me as a reference  ot:

Thanks for all the well wishes from everyone and enjoy the  :sip:

 

[Thump]

did you go to the chapel in Hogsback?

It's has/had a small sun dial, but the brass gets stolen.

I'm not sure if they've made a new plan there.

 

[Jay]

Nice, must be sad leaning a new bike over like that, probly spent a while looking for scratches.

BTW, your Pillion enhances the look of the bike way more than you.

nice RR.

Hay Thump I also have feelings you know  but yes she does spruce things up a bit  :drif:

There is a scratch on the engine cover, however I know how it got there and for some reason I smile when I see it....

 

[Jay]

did you go to the chapel in Hogsback?

It's has/had a small sun dial, but the brass gets stolen.

I'm not sure if they've made a new plan there.

No I did not go to the chapel but I will go back some day and stay longer.... it is a nice place.

 

[Jay]

There were quite a few bikes going trough at the same time we did and even 3 bikers camping at Kudu Kaya. Nice to see so many pillions as well.

Anyway... so we left camp and thundered into the Baviaans proper!

Getting the paper work sorted out


I love to see the white beard as it reminds city dwellers like myself that the air is clean and fresh




Never get enough of the water crossings


or the view






I was a little disappointed to see so much concrete in such a beautiful place  :-\


How cool is this  :thumleft:


Here is some of my 2IC for morale. Her shirt reads "Born to ride"  :drif:


Here the road looks more like the Baviaans I remember








The infamous




Met up with some like minded blokes


This will be the last wide angle pictures I will be posting and it will be Cellphone pics from here on out  : For some reason my 2IC drowned the camera when she just fell off the bike into the water....  :-\ Not sore if it was related to the fact that the GSA also got tires and lay down, I just took it literal that is is "water cooled" so why all the fuss  atch:

Drying out a bit


Took this opportunity to indulge the 2IC with my cooking skills and 2min noodles


It was so good we had to rest  ;D


Anyway after everyone was cooled and semi dry we headed off for our over night stop in Uniondale. I was stopped by a 4x4 driver from the opposite direction, also a biker and we had a chin wag about how he wants to do the same and asked how difficult it was on a bike and so on. He warned me about some deep mud pools further on and we said our tata's. I met these mud holes and one by one I rode through with no problem and even said to my 2IC the pools are not deep at all. So as my spirits and confidence soar we come across another innocent looking mud puddle and the next minute I submarine my bike   water flowing over the tank I gassed it and popped out the other end... it was exciting stuff I tell you  :ricky:  

Stopped for rooster koek at the local restaurant. Very nice and friendly people


After testing the GSA on slow and technical terrain I had the last 20km of dirt to Uniondale to test higher off-road speeds. Easily cruising at 136km/h on GPS and 142km/h on the clocks with the bike handling as if it's on the autobahn!! Arrived in Uniondale and stayed at the "Sanpot"


A bike is like a woman... they have to get dirty every now and then  


Next up... Die Hell