How I ended up on a 2021 Tracer

[nomikem]

How I ended up with a new Tracer:

I guess this is a plug for Edelweiss bike tours.  Last month I took their tour of the Canary Islands. What an incredible adventure with incredible people and incredible roads. If you're not familiar with Edelweiss, they have been conducting motorcycle tours around the world for the last 40 years and currently run 2300 tours in 180 locations. They provide a tour guide, the bikes, various levels of insurance, routes, hotels, dinners and in most cases, breakfast at what I thought was a reasonable cost. All I had to do was add airfare. (Travel Tip - Don't use Expedia).  Turns out the Canaries are a worldwide riding destination for motorcyclists. Also, the Canaries are to Europeans what Hawaii is to us West Coasters. About a 5 hour flight from Heathrow, many Brits and Germans escape the winter on the Canaries. While the main language is Spanish, most everyone I ran into can communicate very well in English.

Many of the roads have been recently repaved and are in great shape. Traffic is pretty lite except in the tourist areas. Canarian drivers all think they are F1 drivers and take their driving seriously. They are very fast and tailgate like crazy but seemed to be mainly safe. Beware the tourist drivers which are the same all over.

I flew in a day early to get some rest from the 23 hour journey. I planned to hang out by the pool, admire the views, drink and rest up for the Sunday night group meeting, dinner and bike handoff.

The real adventure part began with my luggage not arriving….(until the next Saturday when I flew out.) So, I had to spend Sunday shopping for shirts, socks, undies, toiletries etc. Unfortunately, my riding gear was in my luggage that did not show up. I did carry my helmet, so I was covered there. There were a surprising number of Bike shops on the main island of Tenerife, but of course none were open on a Sunday.

Monday morning, we all got on the bikes and headed to the ferry port as the trip began on the island of La Gomera. The plan was for the group to have breakfast and hop on the ferry. The group did and I stayed on Tenerife to go shopping for riding gear. Robert from Pennsylvania loaned me an extra pair of gloves. Ben from the UK loaned me a lightweight jacket (turns out I needed it all week) and later in the week, Christian from Munich loaned me a rain Jacket.

Did I say the group was incredible? We all bonded within 10 minutes of meeting and were laughing and joking around with everyone excited about the upcoming ride.

The bike I rode was a BMW GS1250. Not sure what year, but the bike was in great shape with 42,000 kilometers on the clock. My usual ride is a KLR650 so needless to say, I was blown away by 136 horsepower, the handling and the comfort. So much so that I went straight to SOSO Cycles in Concord CA to buy one. This is the second time I’ve been in this position, to pull the trigger on a GS and I could just not make myself spend that much on a motorcycle. That’s how I ended up with the 2015 KLR. This time, the sales kid says “Hey, check out this 2021 Tracer, it's got a lot of the same features and the price has just been reduced by 2k and here’s the keys, take a demo ride for an hour and let me know what you think.” I always liked the Yamaha triple and in this 21 Tracer package, it's a pretty sweet setup.

So there you have it, that’s the story of how I ended up on a Yamaha Tracer.

These Canary Island trip pictures are in no particular order as they come from different sources at different times. But one thing you will see is incredible scenery.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtlYWJL1zXJxgcVArL6DgpIf0cQrpg

Oh! And I will do more Edelweiss tours.

 

[wanderer]

Edelweiss Tours. I'll have to remember that to look into when I have the time ...

 

Thanks for the story.

[Heavy]

Story sounds more like an ad for the tour company.  🤔

[nomikem]

Thats what I said!

[robzilla]

Hey thanks for sharing your story and experience! Maybe it did sound like a tour company ad but i don't mind. As a cyclist, I've done numerous Euro trips (Mallorca, Italy, Spain, France) and would love to try one for the moto side, so this is appealing to me! I've seen motos in those area and would be nice to experience areas from the other (easier) side. Definitely jotting notes on this area and Edelweiss. Maybe even meeting other from this forum on a future trip!

Cheers!

 

 

[nomikem]

Now a days, I'm impressed when someone/a company delivers on their promises or delivers a great experience. And that's what all of us had. if that helps someone else have a great experience as well, then why not call it out.

Yeah, this forum would be a great way to organize a foreign group ride.

[2and3cylinders]

2 weeks ago I'd have said as a San Dieagan who is now a Chicagoan "I'll take San Diego county over the Canaries for a motorcycle vacation and use Edelweiss and their ilk for Europe.".

After my recent trip where I unfortunately confirmed San Diego is now like LA Californication wise, and as my Riders-Share rental was a nightmare, I'd normally rethink my options.  However, being very frugal and learning from my last trip, and having very nice free accommodations makes hitting SD again a no-brainer.

Now there still is hopefully also time and money for Europe and GB, as I'm not getting any younger or healthier. 

[nomikem]

That's very true. Not a one of us is getting any younger or healthier. Kiss & hug your loved ones and take all the rides you can like there's no tomorrow. 

Because one day........

[betoney]

33 minutes ago, nomikem said:

That's very true. Not a one of us is getting any younger or healthier. Kiss & hug your loved ones and take all the rides you can like there's no tomorrow. 

Because one day........

So very true.  I was recently talking with an older guy, he and his wife were both in their 80's and using walkers to get around.  He mentioned he used to own an older Goldwing, we got to talking about road trips and telling him about riding through Oregon, California, Utah and Colorado and he said his #1 regret was not traveling more on his bike before it was too late.  He would take day-rides with his wife but never got out of the state on road trips, and now those opportunities are long past.  Ride while you are able.

[2and3cylinders]

For you younger guys. The eighties are a long way away. But health issues can put a crimp in your riding when you're in your Sixties Or even earlier

I wish I knew then what I know now when I was younger

 

 

[Lone Wolf]

[Cpsmith58]

What's the story with the nice dog with the broken leg?

[2and3cylinders]

On 3/10/2023 at 5:35 PM, Lone Wolf said:

There are always exceptions...