18
OCTOBER 2020
By Tony Gray, Member #3905
I
f you have been a member of the BMWMCQ during the past 10 years and participated in club runs during that time then you would have met the “Grey Ghost“ – if not then let me introduce you. The Grey Ghost is a 2007 model year (manufacture date 11/06) R1200GS in Granite Grey Metallic Paint livery who just so happens to belong to Jane & Tony Gray. Gray by name and Grey by nature. We are writing this tale because the Grey Ghost has just chalked up 200,000km which may be old in bike mileages but she still has a spring in her step. We wrote of her exploits back in April 2016 when she chalked up her first 100,000km so what has she been up to since that time. Better still lets go back to the beginning. Jane and I had planned our first big overseas bike trip to take in the Isle of Man TT Races and have a squiz around Europe for 3 months in the first half of 2010. We had booked a bike passage with ‘Get Routed’ leaving Brisbane by ship in the first quarter of the year. Problem was that neither of our bikes was really suited to what we had planned. “Rex” the 1200 Kwaka was very much a sports/tourer and fitted with soft luggage had hauled us successfully around Tasmania but Europe was a different story. “Bumblebee” our K1200S BMW was very much in the same mould but those funny little expanding panniers on the K bikes couldn’t hold much and the lower sports bars made fully loaded touring a daunting prospect. Much head scratching and a test ride on a R1200GS swayed us in that direction. I still remember that first test ride on the GS after the sportier bikes – it felt a bit like taking a Cocker Spaniel for a walk after owning Staffy Terriers – soft and friendly without the bite or hard edges. Jane likened the change to removing the stilettos and slipping on the slippers. (Ed - nearly removed that metaphor as “too racy for the Journal”. No problems with that Jane in stilettos one though.) Christmas came late for us that year with the papers signed at Morgan & Wacker on 29 December 2009 to take possession of the Grey Ghost. This was a happy/sad day as we also farewelled Bumblebee. I hate selling bikes but there was no financial
TALES OF THE GREY GHOST alternative if we wanted to get to Europe without washing dishes. It had been 3 years since she left the Spandau plant in Germany. Interestingly her birth year of 2006 was the first year that 100,000+ motorcycles were manufactured at the Spandau Factory. 2006 was also an ‘interesting’ year in the history of the R1200GS. This model was first unleashed to the world in 2004 with very little change in the 2005 and 2006 model years. The 2007 model (manufactured from 10/06 and including the Grey Ghost) added several important and significant changes. It is somewhat of a forgotten transition model however as it still looked the same as its predecessors and the next 2008/09 models changed aesthetically with much greater fanfare at their introduction. You can buy a Haynes Manual for a 2004 to 2006 model or alternatively one for the 2008 and 2009 model years but not for the largely forgotten 2007. We kinda’ like the quirky nature of that story – a bit like the kid growing up with something to prove. She was first registered in Queensland in February 2007 and had a mere 12,768km on her clock when we picked her up – all of that was going to change and in a big hurry. We quickly ran up some miles to get familiar with each other, fitted her with a set of 2nd hand Vario side panniers, a Ventura rack and small ‘Andy Strapz’ tankbag. Thus outfitted she was loaded into a shipping container and we did not see her again until we reacquainted ourselves 2 months later in Mother England.
We meet again – England 2010 That first big overseas trip was an eye opener and steep learning curve for the three of us
