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| CURRENT LOCATION: Upper right corner is my SPOT Satellite track provided by SPOTwalla. When activated, it provides a real time track of my travels. |
| Bidding my time at KnopfTours
Fri-Sun, May 24-26, 2013 |
| Location: Heidelberg, Germany
Lodging: KnopfTours Money Conversion: May 25, 2013: €1 = $1.296 USD or$1 USD = €0.7717 Gas/Fuel in Rimbach, Germany: €1.619/l or $7.94/gal! On Tue I get a text meassage from the Suzuki dealer. Vogt Suzuki, Heppenheimer Strasse 76, 64658 Furth/Odenwald My Friday appointment to rebuild the clutch has been cancelled to Monday. |
| We returned from Normandy Wed, May 22 to get to the Suzuki shop to find out what was going on with the ordered parts.
Thu at 09:30 I was at the service counter. The parts that were to arrive Thu did not arrive and would be in Friday. That is why my appointment was canceled. We checked 4 Suzuki dealers in the Bamberg area for a Monday clutch appointment — no joy. They ask if I can return at 16:00 so the District Service Mgr could check my bike and I go ride 100 km around the countryside. Klaus Weymann, District Service Manager, rides my bike and confirms my clutch is slipping and that the clutch is very noisy. I should not ride other than to Heidelberg and back. So now I’m stuck riding 40 km back to KnopfTours for the weekend and returning Monday at 8AM |
| I spend Fri reorganizing – loosing all the camping stuff and reorganizing to make my load smaller. Rained all day.
Sat – Rained in the morning but sunny in the afternoon. Slept in and during the afternoon sun, set up the tent so it can dry out. Sun – May 27, 2013 |
| Mon – Departed KnopfTours at 07:00 and arrived at Vogt Suzuki, Furth at 08:00 only to be disappointed again. Parts arrival slipped from Fri, to 10:00AM to 11:00AM to 12:00PM to ?. My clutch friction disks did not arrive until 18:00! The mechanic spent 1.5 hours installing all the parts. 19:30 he does a test ride and the clutch will not disengauge! |
| 19:40 he tears the entire clutch apart and using the V-Strom shop manual learn that one beveled washer is in backwards – enough to make the clutch not disengage! |
| 21:00 The clutch is now working but there is air in the cooling system. That takes another 30 minutes to get all the air out. I’m finally satisfied with the clutch rebuild and at 22:00 I leave the Heidelberg area to Bamberg. While overcast there was no rain during this 3 hour ride.
I get into Bamberg at 01:00 in the morning. |
| Tue, May 28, 2013
Repack for our big loop to the Dolomites, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Italy. Robert test-ride the rental Harley. The entire day is sky blue! There are 3 riders riding to Croatia. My riding pal who remains anonymous, his brother-in-law Robert. The local HD dealer wants to ride with us for 3-4 hours then return. |
| Riders in the Storm
Wed, May 29, 2013 Today is a repositioning day. From Germany, through Austria and into the Dolomites (Italy). The Dolomites are some of the finest motorcycle roads in the world! Four riders leave Bamberg around 09:00 in a light drizzle … three Harley’s and me (V-Strom). 200 km out, Bertl Paukner, owner of Bertl’s Harley-Davidson, face shield breaks in the heavy rain and decides to return to Bamberg. Two Harley’s and I continue south around Munich to Austria. Just before the Austrian border, we stop and purchase our “vignettes” (toll fee sticker to ride on the Austrian Autobahn ~5€ or 10 days). We also top off our tanks while still in Germany. Fuel in Italy is very expensive!! |
| The Brenner Pass is a toll road. A helmeted rider with gloves, in the rain, with soaking wet pockets, a lost toll ticket … makes for interesting toll booth conversation!! Just over the top of the Brenner Pass (Germany/Austria border) the rain stops and we see some blue sky. The sprinkles/rain was consistent from Bamberg to the top of Brenner Pass then only sprinkles to Arabba.
We cross our first Passeo and at 17:00 we are at the Olympia Hotel, Via Colesel 57, I-32020 Arabba, Italy. Cold, wet, all in a day of riding in Europe an May.  World sign post in front of the Olympia Hotel. |
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The Passeo of Arabba, Thu, May 30, 2013  The village of Arabba is in the heart of the Dolomites.
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| Location: Arabba, Italy
Lodging: Hotel Ristorante Olympia Money Conversion: €1 = $1.296 USD or Gas/Fuel in Italy: €1.619/l or $7.94/gal! Time & Distance: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm, approx. 100 miles |
| You have never ridden until you ride in the Dolomitos! It is truly motorcycle heaven. Imagine, riding through a beautiful valley then you come to a 180° turn uphill. Then repeat 40-50 times climbing 1-2 kilometers until you come to the top of the pass. There is a nice hotel/restaurant/coffee shop to take a break before you go down the other side. Repeat this to your hearts content!!
It’s sprinkling when we leave. We ride west then clockwise around Arabba. Passo Pordoi, 2239 m Total of 8 passes (one repeated to get back to Arabba). The entire day is rain in the valley’s and the bottom of each pass, snow on the top of each pass! Amazing day.  Ice and snow build up on the Strompasourus windshield.  Robert and I chillin'! |
 Passo Gardena |
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 Passo Valparola, 2168 m |
 Snow all around us! |
 Snow in the Dolomintes in the end of May! |
 Passo Vakoarika |
 180 degree panorama |
 Another pass in the show! Passo Giou 2230 m |
 Colle S. Lucia |
 The last pass of the day … Passo Fedaia, 2054 m |
 Last pass of the day ... total day's ride approx 100 miles. |
| Tomorrow we head to Slovinia where we will stay for 3 days riding more amazing passes. |
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Running towards Blue Skies . . . The Dolomites10 comments to Running towards Blue Skies . . . The Dolomites |
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Hey Dean, thanks for that very cool update. Sorry about the weather. Coincidentally, last summer I took the kids on a one week backpacking trip around the “Rosengarten,” a group of reddish mountains no more than two or 3 miles west of where you did your loop through the Dolomites. I remember thinking I wish I could dump my backpack and jump on a motorcycle because I saw the beautiful roads there.
Tom, the riding here is incredible. In the snow/rain we saw over 500 mottos doing similar pass routes. It is a true moto paradise.
Hey Dean , I love reading the posts of your trip. You’ve almost been everywhere, what’s next …..Africa , China ?
Next week is PCBC for us and the 50th anniversary of the Gold Nugget Awards !!!
Stay safe, my friend !
UNDER SitianOr
Thanks Pete. Maybe next year China.
Bro….hopefully you had your heated riding suit! With all the snow were the roads at all icy? At least you are smiling in all the photos.
Tom
No, never dangerous. Snow was very dry and blew across the road piling up on down wind one side of the road. All riding while in the snow was at 10-25 MPH and slower in the hair-pin switch backs.
Great update, as cold as that snow looks, those are some awesome pics! Hopefully great weather lay ahead!!
Maybe Croatia.
)
Thanks for taking me along!
See you in July!