BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Took a ride out to Yosemite last week on a spring-like day. That's El Capitan in the background - a favorite among rock climbers. Was prepared to pay the $20. entry fee to the park but was pleasantly surprised that motorcycles are only charged $10.

Worth every penny!

Wow!....Wot a great pic...you need to frame that one.

I've been playing the new PS2 Grand Turismo 4 and one of the tracks is in that area...so I know it well now...

Brings back memories of an early Star Trek movie too.

DJ

Taosports, That really is a great picture, I took your advice about the tank bag, it arrived yesterday from Newenough, now I am curious about your tail bag, Thanks, Den

Ansel, great pic.

I have a couple of Ansel Adams great photographic books that feature his favourite place....Yosemite National Park.
For years i have looked at these pics and have wanted to visit.
It is on the list.
Riding through on the R must be magnificent.
Any other pics of this ride?

I remember last year one of the group rides from this board went through here and i enjoyed the pictures.

Den,

The rearseat bag is made by a small company called RKA. The bag I have is the 36 liter expandable. It holds quite a bit with all of it's various compartments. I'll eventually get a Givi (lockable contents) but until then, this one works for less $$.

More info can be found here :

http://rka-luggage.com/pages/17prod/prod.html

And another photo of it (with expanded top) on my bike :

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I noticed you are packing a tripod...what type of camera are you using?

Dave

Dave,

I'm a photographer by trade so my work cameras are Canon Mark II's (35mm digital SLRs) which take interchangeable lenses. I also use a few digital point & shoot type cameras - a Canon S10 and S40.

Several comments:

1. Sweet pic! Both pics, actually.

2. Great title for the thread!

3. You like the RKA seat bag, huh? I've been scoping them out online and have been considering a purchase.

4. Is that a small magnified mirror on your right mirror? If so, how do you like it? Do you have it on both mirrors?

Thanks mrcindy for the comments.

Re : the mirrors :

They're not "magnified mirrors" - they actually give me a wider view. I have small (1 1/4") ones on both mirrors for those few times when it's unsafe to turn my head and yet I need to make a quick evasive lane change.

taosports wrote:Dave,

I'm a photographer by trade so my work cameras are Canon Mark II's (35mm digital SLRs) which take interchangeable lenses. I also use a few digital point & shoot type cameras - a Canon S10 and S40.

I'm not that worried about my EOS 20D body, but my favorite glass (EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM) is long, heavy, expensive and I just haven't found a way to carry it on the motorbike?

Got any recommendations other than, "stick to smaller lenses on the bike."?

I like the second shot. Very nice control of depth of field; background is perfectly blurred to emphasize the subject but still be interesting in its own right. Nice shot!

Cheers,

-rkd

RK,
I've got a 20D, too... Love it. I haven't invested in a big tele like yours, but I do travel with my 24-70/2.8 Canon L wide angle zoom. I am seriously jonesing for a big tele, though... I have a cheapo 70-300, but I'm finding the quality and sharpness of the images leaves a LOT to be desired. I have no problem stashing my lenses in my Rockster's hard cases in their Lowepro bag. Heck, I stuff my camera in a fanny pack and go bicycling with it. Perhaps I shouldn't?
T.

Nice picture! I was in Yosemite back in '80 in the days before wife and kids. But I was hiking and driving a '72 Toyota Corolla station wagon.

I like Ansel Adams too but the world is in color man!

RKD,

I usually put my camera equipment in padded camera/lens cases (http://thinktankphoto.com/) and put those in the hard system cases. If I'm out to do some serious photography, I'll carry a camera body, 16-35mm, 24-70mm and 80-200mm lenses.

Most of the time however when I'm just out cruising on the bike, I just carry a little point-n-shoot camera. It's amazing the quality you can get out of a tiny 4 megapixel camera.

"Most of the time however when I'm just out cruising on the bike, I just carry a little point-n-shoot camera."

Amen to that!

Back in the day when I fancied myself a photographer, I took a Nikon and three lenses on a bike trip to Nova Scotia and came back with a totaling boring slide show. (Kodacrome 64). I realized in the excitement of the trip, I had paid no attention to what was in the viewfinder when I snapped the picture.

Years later, the same trip, a simple Olympus point and shoot and got great pictures! But I took a little time to notice what I was shooting. It's more often the photographer than the camera that makes good photos!

taosports,

what windshield do you have on your R? Happy with it?

-tobias.

Tobias :

It's a BMW sport screen, taller than the fly screen, shorter than the touring screen. I'm 5'7" and the wind seems to hit me just above the shoulders. Minimal buffeting for me at most speeds. Yes, I'm very happy with it. Didn't like the looks of the touring screen and the fly screen seemed inadequate.