Currently In My Garage
My trusty 2007 BMW F 650GS. It’s been a bit farkled with a custom skid plate (snagged from my husband when he sold his 2007 Dakar F 650 GS), SW Motech engine guards, a custom seat from Rich’s, Happy Trails panniers, and the super-cool older BMW checkerboard decals. Photo taken in 2010, at the Watson Lake, YT, signpost forest.
My newest bike, my 2016 F800GT. I traded in my Scrambler for this lovely machine at the end of August 2016. I wanted a little more weather protection and a lower seat height (makes it a lot easier to put your feet down in traffic on banked corners) for my daily rider, and it doesn’t disappoint! Bonus points for it having a pretty comfy stock seat and no other ergonomic adjustments to dial it in!
Bikes I Used To Love
My 2015 Ducati Scrambler (Icon model). My hooligan, sunny-days-are-for-fun bike joined my garage in late July. I love its retro styling and upright position. It’s flickable, has power in just the right spots, and really turns heads. Photo taken under the arches of the St. John’s Bridge in Cathedral Park, Portland.
Sadly, the Scrambler was all sorts of good looking, but a pretty terrible choice for a daily rider. I started having clutch issues at about 3,000 miles which resulted in a full clutch replacement (not under warranty, because per Ducati North America, ‘a clutch is a wear item’). To say I was displeased was putting it mildly, and I’m not likely to buy another Ducati again. After a little over a month in the shop and a wallet a couple grand lighter, I turned around and traded it in less than 24 hours after getting it back. I’m a daily rider – I need machines I can depend on, not do clutch rebuilds every 3,000 miles.
My 2010 Ducati Monster 696 – my super-fun Italian plaything. I added the Mach 1 bodywork, the sport seat, and a set of Termis, but other than that haven’t modified it much at all. Photo taken not far from where we lived in Alaska, overlooking the Knik Arm. (sold in March 2015)