Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas, 2025 edition.

[guzzler]

1 hour ago, audiomick said:

I know exactly what you mean. I had some good years with the Kawasaki GTR 1000, and some great rides. Brilliant weather protection, brilliant luggage, great motor. But 290 kg means you think about where to park the bike and how you are going to get back out of there every time you stop. Getting it onto the centre stand without the luggage is hard enough. With the luggage full, forget it. The bike served a purpose valiantly for a time, but the time passed. It's just too heavy for me now.

I also rode a mates BMW K100RT way back when, and after the GSXR 11 it seemed heavy but in reality probably about the same as your Kwacka Mick. That wasn't too bad but bikes over 300 and especially pushing 400kg just don't add up any which way for me. 

[audiomick]

Just now, guzzler said:

...BMW K100RT...probably about the same as your Kwacka...

Yes, they were in all things indeed very similar. I've even heard the theory postulated, and I think it is justified, that Kawasaki bought a  K100, studied it, and made a better one, which was the GTR. 

[p6x]

@PJPR01

I updated the original post with the map for the 2025 tour; 50 stops, 5 alternates, 5 Republic of Texas stops.

As before, you can copy the map and save it on your google drive to build your own itineraries.

The Wyoming ROT #5 seems very far away... 19 hours one way without the stops....

Stop #25, which is any Veteran of Foreign War post, I picked the one in Navasota, since we have already one stop there. But of course, there are others.

Edited December 24, 2024 by p6x

[PJPR01]

Very nice…thanks P6X for the map update!  This year's config makes it definitely easier for getting 25 for newcomers based in Houston or Dallas areas.  
 

I hope to maybe do a 2 week trip to Idaho/Montana in early or late summer so I might be able to squeeze in the Wyoming one on that route…otherwise maybe a route to Custer park or the Badlands and the Black Hills in South Dakota with a stop at Devils tower in Wyoming could be another route after the Cedar Vale rally in May or September.  
 

The fun is in the planning!!

[p6x]

The A1 Teepee Rest Stop on FM170 is really isolated. That's a shame because FM170 seems like a real scenic route.

Yes indeed, the planning! this year I am going to spend more time at each outing.

[p6x]

@PJPR01

If you have not yet registered, check your email first. Those who completed tour 2023 received a discount code to apply to their 2025 registration. Unfortunately, I did not check my email before I registered, and I was not the only one.

Funny that people expects you to read email immediately after they send it.

[PJPR01]

4 hours ago, p6x said:

@PJPR01

If you have not yet registered, check your email first. Those who completed tour 2023 received a discount code to apply to their 2025 registration. Unfortunately, I did not check my email before I registered, and I was not the only one.

Funny that people expects you to read email immediately after they send it.

Thanks Pascal…I missed the $5.00 discount email apparently also…but I did register last night a bit after watching the fireworks in the neighborhood.

i opted for Plan B on the off chance I can swing those extra stops and get the new patch!

Maybe we’ll ask David to give us the refund or credit towards some other merchandise or a free sticker!

Edited January 1 by PJPR01

[p6x]

1 minute ago, PJPR01 said:

Thanks Pascal…I missed the $5.00 discount email apparently also…but I did register last night a bit after watching the fireworks in the neighborhood.

i opted for Plan B on the off chance I can swing those extra stops and get the new patch!

Maybe we’ll ask David to give us the refund or. Reddit towards some other merchandise or a free sticker!

I don't think David thought this one through, because you are the third person that I know of who missed it. I registered 8' into the new year and I took Option B too. It is an incentive.

I am probably going to do the Pediatric Brain Tumor run too.

Option B is within the realm, at least four stops are; the fifth one is a bit of a loner, but who knows, maybe the Quota will feel like going that far...

[gstallons]

Do you like riding the Quota ?

[p6x]

2 hours ago, gstallons said:

Do you like riding the Quota ?

Absolutely!

If I only had to choose one motorcycle, it would be a real tough decision between the V11 and the Quota. The Quota seems to be much more rugged than the V11 in some aspects. Of course, it is a lot cruder in many other aspects. The gear box is really notchy and noisy. The fueling is rudimentary at low revs. It is mainly on/off. I don't know if you ever drove one of the first vehicles equipped with a mechanical injection pump? you could never get the smooth output that carburetors offered. Of course, let us remember that we never had direct injection on our motorcycles. It is always indirect.

After the full setup, the Quota gives me much more gas mileage than the V11. It never had that 3000 rpm hiccup, because in 2000, there weren't yet any environmental challenges in Europe.

There are some other practical aspects that dim the whole picture. The V11 is better at sheltering you from the wind. The large handlebars of the Quota can be tiresome on long runs, but the V11 has your legs folded too much that makes the Quota's imperfection acceptable. The gearing of the Quota is odd too. With only four speeds and an overdrive. With time, you learn to accommodate it.

Given how cheap they are in today's market, if you have room for one more, I would vouch for the Quota. I would say that it can do as well as the V85TT. Sure, there aren't any easy accessory to purchase, it just happened at the wrong time.

Edited January 2 by p6x

[gstallons]

99% of Guzzi happens at the wrong time .  I was reading a test report of the Quota when it was a new bike . the writer was telling about all the -s about the bike and ended up  telling about a 60mph get-off on a dirt road . his crash bent a lever and a few scratches.  I will paraphrase what he said " I am convinced the only thing that will harm this bike is a depleted uranium bullet" .  The first bike had some rims splitting and something else , I can't remember.

[audiomick]

9 hours ago, gstallons said:

... The first bike had some rims splitting and something else , I can't remember.

I reckon I read a couple of times about potential cracking in the frame, maybe around the swing-arm mount, on the early model(s). Don't remember the details, I'm afraid, as the Quota doesn't interest me at all (chook-chaser...)

[Pressureangle]

Just signed up. 

I'd suggest that next year they add at least as an alternative something farther West. Rosa's Cantina in El Paso, perhaps. 
I would love to do the ROT tour but probably wouldn't have the time, as it is I'm going to bang out the stops on the way from Michigan to El Paso in one go.

[p6x]

3 hours ago, Pressureangle said:

Just signed up. 

I'd suggest that next year they add at least as an alternative something farther West. Rosa's Cantina in El Paso, perhaps. 
I would love to do the ROT tour but probably wouldn't have the time, as it is I'm going to bang out the stops on the way from Michigan to El Paso in one go.

Congrats!

During the two first tour I did, I kept sending suggestions. None of them made the roster.

I also found a dealership in Houston, willing to sponsor the tour. The owner fit the criterion of running a family operation. He never was contacted.

When I asked the tour director about it, he said they had no room for new sponsors; yet each year, some old sponsors are dropped and so new ones come.

[p6x]

On 1/2/2025 at 7:00 AM, gstallons said:

The first bike had some rims splitting and something else , I can't remember.

Correct!

This is one of the weak point I had to verify prior to the purchase. The stock rims are known to crack over time. On my Quota they were replaced by Akront rims. They have been purchased by the way.