Santiago BMW…

What a memorable day this turned out to be…!!

Michel needed to collect “Old Yella” from WB Motos, the local Motorrad dealer in downtown Santiago, and rather than go by taxi, I suggested we saddle up the Big Fella and ride there together…

On our way to collect Michel's bike...

Being well over six feet tall, there was no way that he could sit behind me on the bike… That would have looked too weird on such a cool bike…!! It was good to hear Michel comment on how nicely the Big Fella handled, and whenever he opened the taps, the bike responded powerfully, despite the weight it was carrying…!!

Lots of wisecracks and laughter while we rode...

There is some impressive architecture in Santiago, most of it dating back many years, but now and again you see a modern building like this one...

As we rode off the sidewalk and into the street, Michel turned his head and said,

“I really don’t like riding with people on the back of the bike… I’m never quite comfortable…!!”

“What…!! Now you tell me…!!” I replied, gripping him more firmly between my knees…”Just pretend that I am not here…!!”

“I might be able to do that, if you would keep quiet for a minute…!!” I think I heard him say…

I had both my still camera and video camera on the go, filming from one side and taking photos from the other… Who says we can’t multitask, huh…!!

"Will we earn our own sticker later...??. asked the Big Fella.... "Time will tell, Buddy... Time will tell...!!"

We wound our way through some hectic traffic before reaching WB Motos, where we discovered that the bike would not be ready at the appointed time, because the mechanic had found that an oil seal on one of the front forks was leaking…

While they set about replacing it, Michel and I wandered around the immediate area, buying a pair of new fuel canisters for his bike, and looking for a decent map of Chile for me…

This is what Patagonia can do to you... I parked the Big Fella far away from this luckless F800GS, so they would not get a chance to speak...!!

Shortly before lunch, and closing time for the workshop, his bike was pronounced ready for further adventure…!! A new back tyre had been fitted, and the 70 000 km service completed…!! He shook his head and smiled when I told him that the Big Fella had almost double the mileage on his clock…!!

We agreed that there was just no better bike to do what we were doing on…!!

And for those of you who might need a service for your Beemer while you are traveling through this part of the world, I must say that I found this dealership to be as well equipped and efficient as any I have visited so far…

The managers and staff are friendly, and eager to help, and also relatively immune to wise-cracking bikers such as… You know…!!

While we waited for the invoice to be printed, we saw a sad looking F800GS standing forlornly in the parking area… It’s front end was badly smashed, it’s consol hanging on by the wiring only… Every panel was cracked and the right hand pannier hung at a strange angle…

“I don’t like to look at things like this…!!” said Michel, and I agreed with him… It is never a good thing to see a bike that has obviously been involved in a big accident such as this one obviously had…!!

Waiting outside WB Motos, Santiago...

Back in the saddle of Old Yella, the as yet unapproved name I have given to Michel's bike...

We had heaps of fun whizzing through the traffic on the way back to Patio Suizo…!! Whenever we stopped at traffic lights, we shared some light-hearted banter with the drivers around us…

“Is this the way to the start of the Dakar…??” I asked one guy… “We are a bit late and need to get to the start pronto…!!”

“Si, Senhor…!! Si…!!” he replied laughing and waving us straight on…

Judging by the many heads we turned, I think we made rather an impressive sight, as we pulled up next to each other, chatting away about what we were seeing, and joking and laughing all the while…!!

Most of the cars you see here are sedans, so sitting next to them on a big adventure bike, means you are generally looking down at the driver next to you…!!

You watch their eyes start at your waist level, and then travel up towards your helmet, until eventually, they are craning their necks out the window to get a full view of you…!!

Not sure what this stately old colonial building is, but it is clearly a landmark in Santiago...

We split lanes as we muscled our way through the traffic, egging each other on to take gaps where most other riders just hung back and were content to suck on exhaust fumes…

Even though we barely covered 25 km in total, it was still a fun ride, and with both our bikes having been recently serviced, we enjoyed the full power that there was, just a wrist flick away…

Michel was especially pleased with the way his bike was now feeling under him, having covered many kilometres off-road in recent times, including four river crossing the day before, in one of which he thought he might have “scooped some water”…!!

That, to those who are unfamiliar with the term, it means that he might have got water through the air intake and into the engine…!!

We parked our bikes under the grape vines in the driveway of Patio Suizo, where we are paying $8.00 a day to park them…!!

We have been warned that cars get broken into on a regular basis in this area…!! The owners are charging us the same price as they are having to pay to park their car in a storage area close by…

This is the first time I have ever had to pay for parking…!!

Brita was waiting for us, working on her blog in the shade of the vines, and while we had been out, she had been studying her guide book and maps of the city, and had constructed a cunning plan to keep us busy for the rest of the day…!!

One that would have Michel and I weak at the knees by day’s end…!!

Our chances of having a quiet afternoon, a Gin & Tonic cradled lovingly in hand, were shot to pieces…!!

©GBWT 2011