WHO AM I
My name is Owen, Ive been motorbiking since 1991. Starting on a Cagiva Prima 80, Ive ridden everything from Sports bikes to Tourers and currently ride what for me is the perfect bike, a BMW GS 1200 Adventure.
I have always been passionate about motorbike riding, but when I made the leap from sports bikes to adventure touring bikes, I found a whole new lease of life for my hobby and began touring Ireland big time.
I had neglected Ireland as a holiday destination since I was a kid in favour for the Costa Del Cheaper than Ireland.
I was blown away by what I found when I explored this little island we live on, and it has become an obsession of mine to keep exploring it and finding the ultimate mountain and coastal routes.
From Malin head to Mizen, I will share my excursions here with the hope of creating a space for anyone interested in exploring this amazing country (And sometimes some ohter places) that they can come here to Connect, Communicate and Collaberate.
Please feel free to drop a line and say hello or share your stories and routes.
My Gear
RST Adventure 2 Suit: I had the RST Adventure 1 gear and loved it, but after getting a lot of mileage out of it, it was time to replace and I naturally went for latest version of the same gear as it was so good.
I bought the Adventure 2 gear in Feb 2016 just prior to the first big trip of the year to Mayo and Donegal and it got rightly christened on its debut with some pretty severe weather.
Whilst the waterproofing on the adventure 1, I found to be very good, I was not sure how much more they could improve it, but they did!
The main outer shell is definitely just more robust at keeping rain out, you can see it beading and rolling off. The one slight weakness in the older version was that the outer pockets that I kept my wallet in would not prevent the contents of the pocket from getting wet, but now they are bang on. I went 3 full days in the worst kind of Irish weather in the rugged Donegal Mountains and coastline, riding from early morning until dark each day with almost nonstop rain, and not once did the pocket contents or I get wet under the gear. The new detachable wind cowl is a great addition and the zips and vents have all been upgraded.
I don’t see the point in paying out for the BMW GS suits and more than twice the price when the RST gear looks better, and keeps me just as dry, and can be used through all seasons with its triple lair system. It also has the rear pouch for a hydration pack and a ton of other features.
Totally Bomb proof gear at a good price !
Sidi Adventure Boots: I Saw these boots and loved them, they are expensive but they are 100% goretex waterproof and brimming with armour. Great Snap down clips and they look the bizz!. You can also buy replacement soles for them and have any shoe repair shop fit them so they will last for years. Only issue I have with them is that the SQUEEEEEK …A LOT !, but small price to pay for the waterproofing and protection.
Shark Spartan Helmet: Lightweight and in my mind a great looking helmet.
Very comfortable with good ventilation and an inner sun visor
Also has a PIN Lock system
Shark do the best value for money helmets in my mind. No need to go paying stupid money on Shoei and AGV's etc when Shark have excellent built quality, a great selection and look the biz !!
SW Motech Tank Bag: Theoretically in my mind this was the ultimate tank bag. Looks great, custom connector, and charges all your electronics on the move, the only issue is… it never fucking works ! Considering the obscene price of this bag and it’s bike Specific connector, it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
The dealer support is shit, when you try liaise with SW Motech they just keep referring you to the local distributor who is unable to resolve the issues and so you just end up in a tennis match of referrals.
The Bike Specific Power Ring that allegedly is designed specifically to fit your make and model bike, does not actually allow the bag to connect without some modification that they don’t advise on.
This modification means the electrodes won’t connect properly allowing disconnects in power supply. Also the metal the electrodes are not weatherproof and corrode until they stop working. This results in a frequent malfunction when on trips and a huge amount of wasted time trying to DIY it back to health and no engagement from SW Motech.
Nice idea, Nice Bag, Nice big Price tag, Poorly executed.
Buff: Best of the neck tubes ! Great pattern range.
GoPro 2 & 4: Great action camera’s. I mount these to either me, my bike, or the drone for aerial shots to allow me show you guys,(and gals) the great routes and places Ireland has to offer for exploring.
Samsung Galaxy S8+: After being an IPhone user for many years I finally made the move to Android and haven’t looked back since. What makes this phone the best option for me ?
As I do a lot of solo touring the phone plays many roles and has many features.
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Waterproof: Great if the phone is mounted to the handlebars.
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Camera, really high quality camera.
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Expandable Memory: Micro SD Slots
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Sony PS4 Remote play: If I am travelling and have a good enough wifi, I can keep myself entertained and remotely play my PS4 games anywhere in the world.
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Long Battery: Up to two day battery life even if I actually make a phone call, something I never saw the IPhone do!
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Sat Nav: Can use as a backup Sat Nav, and combined with the waterproofing, a very handy feature.
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Size: Bigger than an IPhone, I find instead of carrying a phone AND a Tablet, the size of the Sony is a happy medium that allows me to ditch the tablet and just take the phone.
I’ll do a separate article on the range of handiest Apps I use when travelling.
3DR Solo Quadcopter: My favourite new toy, to get more epic footage of this stunning country we live in and show everyone the amazing locations we can go see that are right on our doorstep. I’m only learning how to use this so please don’t be too harsh when you judge the video’s.
This little baby is packed with technology and can literally fly itself.
Mission planning, Auto land and take offs, a ton of pre programmed aerial shots like, Orbital, Selfie, Cable Cam, Follow me mode etc etc. Certainly one of the best drones out there at the moment.
Never fails to get attention and pretty easy to carry around.
I hope to get some really unique footage of the best places to go see on the bike with this baby.
Kit Power bank: I bought this for a trip to Donegal when I was staying in a cottage with no electricity to power my phone and camera’s. It was only 50 euro and has a 12000 mAhs capacity so I can charge my phone, my 2 cameras and several other devices before this thing runs out. It surprised me how versatile it is and how many devices it can charge and actually how frequently I actually use this now. It’s an essential bit of my kit now.
It's pretty solid and robust, very easy to use, and I got it in Tesco's !
DVD Player Tevion Vision: Bought this second hand on Adverts. Another piece of kit I bought for my Donegal trip when I was staying in a cottage with no electricity. Comes in handy when solo travelling and the hotel has no Room wifi so you can’t Netflix etc, so this baby links to any TV or plays directly on it’s on monitor and you can watch DVD till the cows come home. It also has an SD Card slot, but does not play the GoPro Video files for some reason. Got me out of a hole and is still very handy, but will probably get a newer modal that can read GoPro Video files directly from the SD Card.
Tom Tom Rider 400: I used to be a big fan of not using Sat Navs and being old school map reader, but after a recent trip to Donegal when my Sat Nav packed in and I was trying to get to the really really off the beaten track roads, I spent more time having to stop and start to check if I was on the right road or when the next turn was, I think if you use them the right way they are nothing but brilliant and can allow you spend more time actually riding and not having to worry if your on the right track.
I don't like just selecting a destination and taking the quickest route, BUT, Plan that route (A detailed route with POI's) and upload it to your device, and then let the Sat Nav worry about the directions and you focus on the sceneray, then the Sat Nav is simply following the amazing route you have taken the time to design in advance.
Now my Garmin has packed in, the TomTom Rider is to be the replacement. Bristling with amazing features specifically designed for RIDERS, I think this beats the Garmin hands down in Tech and Price.
Tyres: Anakee 3’s: I thought Tourance XP’s were great, till I found Anakee 2’s and then dropped them like stones when I tried the Anakee 3’s. Super smooth, full of grip, great in the wet and last for ever !!.
Touratech Extra low seat: Being vertically challenged I found the original seat made the GS very intimidating and had to plan my stops at junctions watching out for uneven surfaces.
Once I fitted the Touratech Extra low seat for hobbits, it made the bike much more manageable without having to lower the bike suspension etc.
BMW Panniers: Big, Waterproof, Rugged and cool looking.
Nuff Said !
Givi Trekker Top box: Too stingy to pay out for the matching BMW top box to my panniers, I opted for the still adventure styled trekker with tons of capacity that can hold two helmets, or my drone and all accessories.
Toucano Urbano Muffs: Riding in the winter can be freezing on the digits. I swore blind I'd never put these on a bike, but the winter commute in freezing cold got the better of me one morning and I took the plunge and havent looked back, these things are class. The Tucano's are one of the few high quality muffs that fit over the hand guards of the GS Adventure. Fur lined making them super warm especialy when the heated grips are on. Totally water and wind proof. If your buying muffs, buy these !
