The Piaggio Fly 150 is on the top of the list.  It’s not powerful but for the flat Melbourne city landscape it would be a great little machine for getting around. It wouldn’t be a contender for long distance adventures for more than a few reasons, but it might fill the void temporarily and allow for some exploring where transit doesn’t take us.  Long term it would also make for a great little thing to have a round for short hops the store or to meet friends etc.

Despite all that funds are not around for this cute little fellow yet.  Time will tell.

Of course it was the first day we had snow that stayed on the ground in Vancouver this year.

I went to the store to get salt to melt the snow, and the new owner wasn’t about to give up after having driven so far. With rubble from the neighbourhood they were able to reinforce the ramp they brought with them until it was strong enough to hold the bike. With a lot of careful planning it all worked out well.

I’m really going to miss that bike. I loved the color, and all my additions.

On the bright side it is another item to have ticked off the list, and one of the larger items. It’s great to have that off my mind as it needed to be done anyway.

Nicole has had lots of interest for her bike and will hopefully have it sold very shortly as well.

Price
Price: $8450 OBO
Don’t forget to look at the amazing list of additional and standard features!  This is not an ordinary scooter or bike!

Call: 604.837.5794 (please note, emails can often be returned much faster than phone calls)
Skype: al.gauthier
email: al@motorcycleadventures.info

Why am I selling?
Some time in the summer of of 2010 we are moving to Australia.  Because of this I need to sell my loved Burgman. In fact, once we get to Australia, I’ll be buying another Burgman 650 and adding on all of the accessories I’ve added here.  It’s my perfect machine.

I spent months researching the Burgman.  I wanted something I could commute with that had enough space to carry groceries and my laptop, and it had to have enough space to go on long camping vacations with my wife and our friends.  The Burgman 650 does everything in comfort and style.

I have used the Burman to commute, to shop, and for wonderful vacations to Nelson, BC.  It is super comfortable for the long rides, and has more capacity for storage than my wife’s BMW!  It it easy to maneuver in traffic and in town, and capable to carve the curves on the highway. It is fun, comfortable, capable, safe, and so enjoyable with all the additions.  You can listen to music while you wait in traffic, and talk with your friends when you ride together.  You can even charge your cell phone while you go.  It is the perfect ride!

After buying the Burman, I added a long list of accessories to make this the perfect machine.  Everything I bought is included in this huge package.  Here are the details:

Photos from my rides

Standard Features for the Executive:

Comfort
- Large comfortable seats, both with backrests, are comfortable for long and short trips
- Upright seating position for comfortable ride

Storage
- 62 Liter lighted and locked under-seat seat storage
- Locked from glove box with accessory outlet (charge your phone etc)
- Two additional storage compartments left and right

Safety
- ABS Breaks
- Twin Disk Breaks in Front
- Disk Breaks in Rear
- Electronically controlled Windscreen (control the height for your comfort)
- Safety lock covers key-hole when not in use
- Large Folding Mirrors make seeing traffic easy
- Large left and right headlights are both always on
- Front mirror mounted signal lights are large and easy to see

Transmission
- Fully Electronic / Automatic Transmission
- Power button favors quick, effortless acceleration
- “Manual Mode’ allows you to control the transmission settings between 1st and 5th gear using up and down buttons on the handlebar

Engine
The large 650cc fuel injected engine is powerful and responsive.

Other Controls / Instruments
- High-beam “passing” button
- High-beam/low-beam switch
- Up and Down control for windscreen position
- Hazard lights button
- Fold-in Mirrors position button
- Digital Temperature (accurate)
- Odometer with A/B memory
- Fuel Consumption meter (displays in km/litre or Litres/100km)
- Clock
- Grear indicators / trouble lights on dash
- Electronic service indicators

Additional Free Accessories
After buying my Burman, I wanted to add those few things that would make it perfect for our camping trips.  All of these extras are included and represent over $2000 of additional installations.
- Givi Windscreen – Adds width and high to make the ride virtually wind-free and quite
- Starcom1 communications system – This system adds the ability to listen to music while you ride, and to communicate with your friends while you ride.
- Communications system includes 2 long-range FRS radios with rechargeable batteries and charging dock
- Additional connection for pillion communication
- Installed music connection inside left storage compartment to connect your favorite music player to the sound system
- Installed iPod charging system inside left storage compartment
- Installed connection for communication system above glove-box for easy connection
- Installed Alarm System (includes two small multifunction remotes with blue back-light). Alarm system includes shock, tilt, and proximity sensor with easy configuration options. Lights flash when alarm is armed/disarmed.  Quite mode allows arming and disarming with no sound from remote.
- RAM mount system for use with RAM accessories.
- GPS navigation – with custom RAM mount arm, and power connection
- Powerlet plug installation.  Used for GPS, however can be used for heated clothing or other accessories.
- Installed Battery tender Connection – easily keep your battery in perfect condition when bike not in use for long periods of time
- Battery Tender device included
- Suzuki luggage bolts to easily use back seat for storage

Brakes Front	Disc brake, twin
Brakes Rear	Disc brake
Color	Black, White
Curb Weight	277 kg (611 lbs)
Final Drive	Gear Drive
Fuel Tank Capacity	15.0 L (4.0/3.3 US/Imp gal)
Ground Clearance	130 mm (5.1 in)
Overall Length	2260 mm (89.0 in)
Overall Width	810 mm (31.9 in)
Seat Height	750 mm (29.5 in)
Suspension Front	Telecsopic, coil spring, oil damped
Suspension Rear	Swingarm type, coil spring, oil damped
Tires Front	120/70R15M/C 56H, tubeless
Tires Rear	160/60R14M/C 65H, tubeless
Transmission	Automatic & Manual Shift
Wheelbase	1595 mm (62.8 in)

Along with the loss of the bike comes the realization that, at best, we will not be back to Nelson for many years.  We also may not have the opportunity to vacation with our friends for years, and Nicole and I will not ride together again for some time.

We will also not be able to ride any more of BC’s wonderful roads for some time to come, if ever, as even when we vacation here, we may not be able to rent bikes.

It is the end of a chapter and I’m feeling the loss.  While there are many great things to come, and I will buy another bike, I can’t help but feel sad as our trip has come to an end.

Today we ride back to Vancouver… Our last day on this vacation and this adventure.

The ride was pleasant, if not a little bit colder than we had hoped.  Eryk and Michelle wished they had packed an extra layer or two.  It is in stark contrast to the ride into our vacation where it felt like 30 degrees was the low!

We stopped in Princeton for lunch, and rode on through to Vancouver after that.  We arrived home around 2:30pm.  It was great to be home, and most of all, see on our little munchkins.  We had a wonderful long nap into the evening in our huge bed and savored being home.

Along the ride home I took some video and photographs from my motorcycle-mounted camera.  Here are those photos and the Video.

This video is a short segment I took while following Nicole on our trip back.  It’s a twisty section, though speed and cornering is difficult to see from the camera’s angle.  It is never the less a little window in to what it looks like to ride on my bike The sound is very poor due to wind noise so you may even want to turn it off.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This next video is very short.  We stopped to let a couple of young deer cross the road and I caught it on video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We decided to grab some lunch, and then go to the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre.  The cultural center was quite interesting, though surprisingly small.  There were several presentations – one on frogs, the other on snakes.  The snakes presentation was quite interesting.  After watching two presentations and wandering around a little outside, it was time to run back to the campsite to get our spot in the campsite.

As it turned out, we got the campsite I like most, right on the corner.  We set up camp quickly, and ran out into the water again.  We had great fun playing in the water and had a nice camp dinner.  The evening was relaxing.  I went for a walk, and then we went off to bed.

Today was another unplanned day.

Nicole made us her famous finnish style pancakes in the morning.  Yum!

It was getting warm again, so Nicole and I decided we would see if we could find the beach. As we made our way down to the water, we were talking about how to walk to the park when the historic tram that serves the area stopped and asked if we wanted to get on.  It was a wonderful little ride.  The tram is a restored tram that is over 100 years old.  Years ago Nelson was served by several tram lines.  Although this tram didn’t originally come from Nelson, it was great to be on a piece of history.  The tram drivers were two old men.  They were the perfect tram drivers, stopping for everyone they saw trying to convince them to get on the tram for a ride.

The park turned out to be beautiful.  Lakeside Park was full of wonderful old trees, park benches, a little seawall, a concession stand that even carries organic choices, and a wonderful beach.

We cooled off our feet in the water and helped a fellow have his truck towed out of the water (he went in too deep and couldn’t get back out after dropping his boat off).  We played frisbee on the beach, and the in the park.  Nicole even found dairy-free ice cream at the concession stand!  I love Nelson!

We took the tram back and then went for a walk up to Gyro park.

This park overlooks Nelson and has a couple nice viewpoint.  We relaxed and read in the park, before going for a very pleasant dinner at a vegetarian restaurant in town.

After dinner we wanted to see if we could still find a way to go for a swim.  We had forgotten our bathing suites earlier in the day, so off we went back to Lakeside Park. It turned out to be just a little bit too late.  It was too cool by the time we got back to the park.  We enjoyed sitting on the beach anyway and going for another walk.

For me it was another completely barefoot day.  Wonderful.

We had a great sleep and woke up without an alarm.  We packed up quickly and then found a breakfast spot called the Hoot Owl Cafe.  This was a great little place, and clearly was the local choice for a good breakfast.

After breakfast, we were on our way back.  We decided to see if we could tour one of the many hydro dams in the area.  On one of our stop-offs Michelle found a great recommendation.  The Boundary Dam, one of the larger ones in the area, supplies 45% of Seattle’s power.  Several other hydro dams in the area make up the remaining power requirements.  The dam was built from 1963 to 1967, and has 5 generators (3 built by GE, and 2 by Toshiba).  Don’t ask me how I remember these things   It was a good tour, though nothing like the Mica Dam that I remember seeing years ago.

After our tour we were back on our way to the boarder.  The security was high at this crossing.  Just outside Nelson they were hosting a huge music festival, no doubt famous for drugs and alcohol.  As a result we had to chat with 3 US boarder guards while leaving the states, and then a nice Canadian boarder guard on the Canadian side.  Most people were being pulled over to be inspected, so it was great when we made it through the line and were allowed to pass right through.  Nicole even make the whole thing easier by talking about us when she spoke to the guard.  She waved both me and Michelle and Eryk through to the window so she could speak to us all together.

The ride to Nelson was uneventful, and a road we had driven several times before.  Weather was getting darker and we were very lucky that we didn’t get rained on.

Nicole and I went for a nice dinner at Jackson’s Hole back in Nelson and then had a quite night before going to bed.

Today we began a two-day trip following more of the Selkirk Loops.  The Selkirk loop is a series of highways with beautiful scenery, specifically marketed to motorcyclists, that winds its way up from Nelson to Balfour, over Kootney lake by ferry (the part that we rode yesterday) and then down into Idaho. Going through Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint, and Priest River.  As it enters Washington it passes through Newport and then winds its way through several smaller towns before entering Canada again.  Along the way they have marked out many “super side-trips” to extend the loop, and therefore your stay in the various areas – spending money as you go!

The Selkirk Loop Map

We decided to go south from Nelson down to Highway 3, and then west to Creston, before going south into Idaho.   We stopped at Bonners Ferry for a stretch.  Bonners Ferry as it turns out, was named after a ferry that used to run in this little town.  We payed a visit to the information center and picked up a list of camp sites in Idaho.  Then we were on our way again.

The ride was beautiful.  The gentle curves carried us through beautiful agricultural land and treed forests.  It was, however, not the sort of twisty motorcycle wonderland that we had hoped for.  In comparison to the ride the day before, it couldn’t have been more plain.  It was a short ride however, and within 1.5 hours of crossing the boarder we were already in Sandpoint.   We stopped at a gas station to orientate ourselves (that is to say our wonder-navigator Nicole was orientating herself).  As we looked over the map a friendly over-helpful gentleman came to our “rescue” pointing us in various directions for good camping.  As it turned out, campsites were quite hard to find, and despite our maps and my GPS, we couldn’t locate anything.  We decided to follow the instructions of the old fellow and headed over a bridge.  We found the campsite without any trouble but it was already full for the night.

I had a very poor sleep the night previously, and had mounted a campaign to stay in a motel for the night.  I was afraid that if I did not get a good nights’ sleep, I would be unsafe to ride the next day, and being so grumpy, would probably be banned from the group anyway   Everyone was hungry and tired of looking for a campsite anyway, so we found a smoky greesy spoon for lunch, and started to look for a motel.

Nicole was wonderful, standing outside the restaurant on a pay-phone trying to make us reservations so that we had some options.  In the end we stopped at a Days Inn, right next to the motel we had reserved.  I went in and talked them down to the price of the Motel 6, and since it was a nicer place, we stayed there for the night.

By now it was after 4pm and we hadn’t even gone into Sandpoint to explore.  We quickly unpacked and ran back out the door to explore.  Sandpoint is a cute little town, though lacking all character.  The shops were the standard type of shop you would find in a small touristy town.  One shop had the largest crystal I have ever seen.  It stood taller than us, and sad in the window just inside the shop.  (see photo).

We looked into several stores, and then found directions to the beach.  We had been hot all day, and were looking forward to jumping in some cool water.

The beach was no disappointment.  Wonderful clean sand on a crescent-shaped beach overlooking wonderful clear lake water.  Perfect!  Eryk and Michelle, who had been enjoying the shops on thier own, met us there by chance, and we all enjoyed playing in the water.  It was a wonderful way to cool off and enjoy the late afternoon.

For dinner we found an all-American style restaurant complete with salad bar.  The dinner choices included such meat combinations as steak and fish, and lobster and steak.  The salad bar came with the meal, and while fresh, was a very sorry excuse for a salad bar.  There were no cucumbers, no red or green peppers, and no carrots.  A couple of the vegetables came pickled.  In true American style, there were at least 8 different high-calorie dressing options.

I had the fish and chips as most of dinner options were heavily coated in dairy products.  Even my “safe” option came with a large helping of butter soaked beans.  Michelle enjoyed an alfredo pasta that had the meat taken out of it.  The chef had suggested that she go to the salad bar and bring back whatever vegetables she would like to add into her pasta.  Either the chef had no idea what was at the salad bar, or had no idea that lettuce and pickled beats might not be good additions to her Alfredo sauce.

We had great conversation and despite missing the quality of the Vancouver food we are so used to, the atmosphere was just what I was looking for.  We were after all on vacation, and visiting an restaurant like this just had to be part of the American experience.

After dinner I insisted that we stop and have a piece of pie next door at a restaurant that was apparently famous for their pie. My fresh strawberry pie wasn’t what I expected.  It was much smaller than the American standard.  It was essentially a pie bottom, into which strawberries had been laid, and then covered in a jello-like substance.  I enjoyed it non-the-less, and again it was a fun experience.

After all that food it was time to go back to our motel. I had left the air conditioner on full when we left, and by the time we got back it was as cold as a fridge.  We enjoyed the queen-sized beds, watched some TV, and then went to sleep.

Today was our day-trip day.

We left around 9am, and rode to the Balfour Ferry, where we took the longest free ferry ride in BC. The crossing is about 35 minutes, and the views are really pleasant.

On the other side of the lake is where the real treasure lies. About 1 minutes from the ferry rests a wonderful and suprising collection of some of the most incredible artists. Glass blowers, broom makers, metal smiths, and weavers.  All have studios here. You can shop for treasures, or talk to the artists themselves. Many of them let you watch while they work. The quality of the work is profound. The weaving in particular was breathtaking.

We spent quite a while enjoying the art, and the carried on down a fun and fabulous twisty highway.

We stopped at a beach. It was the very same one I found last year, for a great lunch and a dip in the water with our toes. It was very relaxing. The water was cool and clear, and the view of the mountains was magnificent.

We continued on the wonderful twisty road. This road is rated as one of the best motorcycle roads in BC. We had a blast riding it down to the end of the lake. Once at the southern end of the lake however, the twists decrease. The road now climbs up into the clouds reaching an elevation of 5800 feet. Although surrounded by incredible views, the road wasn’t as fun to ride as the twists.

All said it was a wonderful and relaxing way to spend the morning.

After returning to Nelson we went to find the shoe store that was closed the previous day and bought Nicole a new pair of Birkenstocks.

We then found a snack on one of the many patios on the main road in town.

After all that hard work we had a relaxing couple of hours back at the hostel before enjoying a nice dinner with Michelle and Eryk at the Red Fish.