2012 has been an interesting year...Leslie got a new job and is now working for BC Transplant as an Organ Donation Coordinator and Organ Donation Specialist.
Cheryl continues to do well in her police career and we got engaged. Wedding will be next August 2013. More info please read below.
Cheryl and I met in 1997 in Bellingham, Washington. We kept in touch over the year via the internet plus flying back and forth. Before we both knew it I moved all the way across the country to a new country no less in march 1998 and been here ever since. I, meaning Leslie grew up in New York on Long Island where her family still remains except my brother.
Went to College in upstate NY and grad school back on Long Island where I got my Masters Degree in Social Work. In 1999 I started working as an Intensive Care Unit Social Worker at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, BC and loved my job after all those years.
Cheryl grew up in the lower mainland of BC and many of her family members are here as well. Beautiful place to grow up and go to school. Throughout Cheryl's teenage years and adulthood she worked for her mother's family business. However, at the ripe old age of 35 she decided to embark upon a career in law enforcement which she has been enjoying for over 5 years. Cheryl has found a passion within the Police force working with kids in schools.
We have been together as partner's for 15 years and after Cheryl graduated Depot (Police Training) we both got motorcycles and our licenses. I grew up on bikes and Cheryl always wanted to learn to ride. Learning was easy for Cheryl and getting back on a bike for me just made sense. Cheryl thinks I am obsessed with bikes but to be honest once she is on the road I can't stop her.
Cheryl loves video games, I love wild life, Cheryl dreams about white sandy tropical beaches, I dream about seeing the polar bears in Hudson Bay, Manitoba.
Opposites attract and we both share a passion for adventure motorcycle touring. We learned this after buying our first 2010 BMW F650GS bikes. We travel well together making sure we are both taking care of ourselves. Cheryl is the brains, mechanic, navigator and packer, I am the organizer/planner.
Cheryl is the quiet one, I am the loud New Yorker. Cheryl loves video games, I love live web cams featuring Bald Eagles, Falcons, osprey's and Owls. In the end it seems to work.
Thanks Sheldon for being a great sales rep, Patrick the manager, Mark in accessories, Anaz and Rusty at Pacific Motorsports for making spending our money SOOOOOOO easy! 
Congrats!
thanks!
Are those Michelin Anakee 2s on the bike? If so let me know how they are, I understand they are excellent in the rain and am considering them as replacements for the Pirelli Scorpions on mine when they’re worn out…
yes they are and as soon as we get KM’s on them we will be mounting Heidenau K60′s as they are our favorite tires.
Not crazy about the Pirellis mine came with, they are fine in the dry but not the most confidence-inspiring tyres for wet roads, and they are nearly worn out after only 4500 miles…
K 60′s and we never doubt the road underneath us…they handle anything we ride in….and last
Hey
Was that you I saw at pacific today? Thought I recognised you but you looked busy and we were just heading for lunch.
Most have been which one were you? Lol
There were 4 of us and we were between the service and sales building. My bike was in for a new tire
You should have said HI!
whoop-whoop! Cool beans – so what is to become of your old bikes?
Need to sell them. Great deals going on at the advgrrls house soon
I’ve really grown to like my 800 and if I were to buy a new bike tiday I would pick it again over anything else out there especially with the K60s mounted.
800GS? We are getting the K60′s mounted right away..take advantage of the 20% discount and free install.
Yes I have a 2010 800GS. Wouldn’t it be great experience to mount your own K60s? How else are you going to know what to expect with a flat on the road?
we are preparing…I have faith I will be a great assistant while out on the road with my technically gift partner…;-) We will work it out..we will have too!
I think it’s the right choice, especially since you can transfer all of your aftermarket accessories over. That stuff is expensive. Plus you’re already familiar with all of your gear too and have tested it out by riding with it.
yep all true…we did think hard about getting the Triumph Tiger 800XC’s but despite having a great time on them last summer we just felt as though the BMW’s were right for us at this point…even though the seat sucks! LOL
CONGRATS!!! I would have said so earlier but was out riding.
Love the white as much as the brown I think. It would be a tough choice for sure for me.
I look forward to many RR’s and especially the pictures.
thanks..both are sweet…now send us well wishes to sell our bikes
Hope you had a great ride!
So cool! Can’t wait to see them dirty.
Ditto to the support from Pacific.
Congratulations on the new bikes and on the blog! Spent the whole morning browsing it!
Since you put quite a respectable mileage on the 800XCs and opted for the F800s and I narrowed my options on either one of these two bikes, I thought I’d turn to you for some sensible consumer advice. I’ve already read some of your useful input on why going for the Beemers and not the Triumphs but would you be so kind as to answer a couple of questions?
1) I plan to do one or two trips per year to places like the Atacama or Patagonia and I understand that for the long motorway sections the Triumph is the better bike but 90% of my usage is urban commuting in heavy traffic – how would you compare the two bikes in this scenario? I mean lane splitting, stop-and-go traffic, tight turns, 3-point turns, urban gas mileage, the whole lot. (I understand you didn’t put a lot of urban miles on those Tigers but, anyway…)
2) that’s a bit of a personal question: what’s your height? I’m 1.74m and transitioning from custom into DS bikes and admit I’m a bit worried about handling tall beasts like these. The F650GSs you had previously were quite lower, how did you feel about riding the Tigers and now the even taller F800s?
3) the Beemers fuel tank is under the seat and they also weigh a couple kilos less than the Triumph, how would you say do the bikes handle balance-wise, especially in an urban environment?
Thanks a lot!
If you ever come to Brasil and Rio de Janeiro give me a note – beer’s on me
Thanks for checking out our BLOG. I will try to answer your questions.
Both bikes are great commuter bikes but the Tiger is more comfy using the Triumph gel seat on the road. Many have to buy another saddle for the BMW and like me or get a custom seat made. Not sure about the Triumph stock seat to be honest. Only rode 500KM on it before we got the gel seat upgrade. Gas mileage is better riding the BMW at high revs. Both can lane split as long as you don’t use luggage wider than your handle bars. Just my opinion.
I have a 30.5 inch in seam, Cheryl 31.5. I had the Triumph seat on low and used the low seat. Cheryl had the low seat on regular height and she was flat footed. I was NOT. After you get used to not have both feet on the ground riding a DS bike it becomes like any other bike. Depends on your comfort zone. I do wish on the F800 I had more footing but that is the way it goes if one wants to ride these bikes and is vertically challenged.
We commute all the time on the F800GS. We like you only get away a few times a year to really ride these bikes ADV style. We like the gas tank under the seat for off road. Makes the center of gravity lower and the bike feel lighter. Having said that the Triumph with the tank up top took some time getting used to but in the end felt not that top heavy.
If you don’t completely gear up when riding you will feel more heat from the Tigers engine on your legs in the warmer months. We wear KLIM all the time and hardly noticed the heat on the Tigers and never notice it on the Beemers.
Since BMW has introduced the new features of ESA and traction control you can adjust the suspension on the F800 for pavement or off road. WE like this new option. BMW’s set up for handle bar controls attracts us. The heated grips are part of the bike versus an after thought. Easy on/off abs set up is smart too. Triumph needs to make it easier for the rider to toggle through the informatics on their bike and also just send the bikes with heated grips from the factory. The HUGE switches for their fog lights and grips looks like Legos.
So, in the end they are similar yet different bikes. The triple engine is smoother than the twin. The Tiger has a smoother throttle than the BMW which is a bit snatchy. We are very used to the BMW throttle but if you like something more road savvy than I would recommend the Tiger. Up to you…hope this helps. Leslie
Thanks a lot for all the feedback!
As of now the Triumph seems to have a little headstart but I’ll be testdriving both bikes to make the final decision.
Daniel, I can add a bit about filtering/lane splitting on the F800GS – at first glance it is a large, wide bike but in practice the handlebar height is above most car wing mirrors and below most 4x4s/vans so I find I can filter through traffic more easily than on my previous, much smaller bike (Honda CB600FA Hornet). It’s a bit more tricky with the panniers on because they WILL strike car wing mirrors if you’re not careful. Also on the F800GS (not ridden the Triumph so can’t compare) the castor angle/trail and 21″ front wheel make the bike very stable even when almost stopped which is helpful when tucking in and out of queues of slow moving cars without having to put a foot down.
great info
Damnit, George! Now I’m back wanting the Tiger AND the F800GS
Thanks a lot, nice practical tip.
lol good luck
Ha! I aim to please
) but really, the best way is to book in with Triumph and BMW and have a go on both bikes back-to-back to find out which one feels ‘right’ to you.