Trip review

September 10, 2010 by

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The trip took around a month from August 3rd to September 1st, we spent a week in Syria, around 2 weeks in Turkey and a week in Greece.

Being on the bike made us very popular wherever we go or stay, everyone wanted to talk to us and help -if we needed any-, we made a lot of friends and went to places where tourists can never go.

It was a bit tiring but it was worth it, and i would definitely do it again, but i would ship the bike to Syria and start from there to save myself the hassle of going thru KSA and Jordan.

The Roads:

The costal roads from the Turkish border to Marmaris is bad… bumps, slippery,and  big parts of the road were either being resurfaced or expanded -we were riding on the incoming traffic lane most of the time- but the scenery is wonderful…am guessing next year the roads will be Ok.

The highways are great and speeds like 200km would feel like 80km, so be prepared to cruise at speeds of 240-260km.

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The Bike:

Bike performed very well, i did not face any issues with it other than a burned low beam bulb, we took the coastal route from Syria to Marmaris, Turkey, it was a twisty mountain road that goes up to 2km of elevation and back to zero… it was fun when the surface of the road was good but when it went bad i wished i was on a GS, but the 173hp of that 4 cylinder engine makes you forget all that as soon as you reach the good part of the road.

There was a lot road work going on, so we had ride off road a lot of times…and being on a naked bike helped a lot and i did not feel guilty riding it off road.

I replaced the tires before leaving Kuwait i used dual compound tiers, -hard on the middle and soft on the edges- the tires were good on the highways but slippery inside the city… actually they were slippery only when i fully opened the throttle because the roads were very smooth as if they were polished…and for a bike with that amount of power on such roads u need a much more softer compound unless ur gona take it easy with the throttle.

My K1300R is equipped  with Electronic Suspension, Traction Control, and ABS… i always thought that Electronic Suspension, and Traction Control are just gimmicks i can live without and should have saved the money and not ordered them..but this trip proved me wrong….’ll be riding on a road and suddenly the road becomes bumpy and bad, a couple of thumb clicks and the Suspension switch to Comfortable mode and absorbs all those annoying bumps…  roads is back to normal, no problem just another 2 clicks take your Suspension back to Sport mode.

Traction Control, the poor thing was working most of the time, -unless intentionally switched off- as explained earlier the roads were as smooth as a baby’s ass, and being heavy on the throttle made the Traction Control go crazy, i was having fun with it and experimenting, the thing works really well…it kicks in even at uneven roads and gives an indication of road quality…i never imagined that it would kick in on a highway and at speeds over 160km…when your speeding you may not feel some bumps on the road as the bike is almost flying over these bumps, but with the Traction Control on you get alerted and its up to you to slow down or continue and hope the Traction Control will take care of you.

Am sure now if i were on a less power bike it wouldn’t be as much fun, and when you are traveling such long distances its very important that the bike be comfortable as much as fun, because its your only means of entertainment until you reach your destination and power is what makes it entertaining.

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Marmaris, Turkey:

We spent a week in Marmaris which i think it was a waste of time….the beaches are bad, sea is full of garbage, the food is bad….i did not come all the way to Turkey to eat Pizza, steak, or Pasta, i want to eat Turkish food, listen to Turkish music and drink Turkish drinks…and that needed some effort at Marmaris….now the only good thing in Marmaris is women, so if this is what ur after then its Z place and you can taste all flavorers.

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Rhodes, Greece:
The plan was to only spend one day in Rhodes and then off to Karpathos to meet some friends, but we stayed 8 days because one of the B-King injectors broke down there and we had to stay to repair it, later my friend fell in love with the girl working at the hotel reception!!! so we eneded not going to Karpathos.
You don’t really feel ur in Greece when ur in Rhodes, its very commercial, very crowded and very expensive compared to other Greek islands and the night life is bad….its almost an english tourist colony.
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Bodrum, Turkey:

I liked Bodrum, its much better than Marmaris -less commercial- but all the good beach hotels are 10-30  kilometers away from the center of Bodrum, so you need to have some kind of transportation or take a taxi which is expensive..some hotels offer free bus service to and from the center but am not sure if the service is available when ur done parting at 5 or 6am….the beaches are nice and clean, the scenery is amazing especially when ur on a bike, food is delicious, and there is a big variety of Turkish food and Turkish night life plus a lot of places to visit.