West Palm Beach to Key West
 

Howdy Friends!

My son and I caught a flight to West Palm Beach a couple weekends ago to visit my brother who lives down there. We rented some bikes and rode down to Key West. We had a great time. We would have loved to have our own bikes, but the options of riding them down or trailering them down were not attractive. It would have taken too much time, and let's face it...2 days of riding, the last thing I want to do is more riding, and then 2 more days back. My rear end and back couldn't take it. My son and I rented BMW's while there from RMM. He got a R1200R, and I picked a F800GT. I have to say, that F800GT was not my cup of tea. I thought it would be more of a sport bike, but it was more of a standard type bike. The R1200R had some serious torque though. I was able to "test" the top end of the F800 on a stretch of the famous 7 Mile Bridge. It disappointed. The windscreen was buzzing so much I could barely see through it. It topped out way lower than I expected. Our CBR's (and my son's 87 Ninja 1000R) have sooooooooo much more than this bike. But, the ride and the fun were fantastic. I'd encourage you all to ride down there if you get the chance. It was a lot of fun.

I've driven it many times, but it seems like a sport bike would be less than ideal with how slow the speed limit is. I could see myself getting quite a few tickets, unintentionally, with all of the FHP.

Those boxer engines are a bit of an acquired taste.

Glad you had fun though! (But it's hard not to have fun in Key West) Great pictures!

You're right about FHP being all over the place. Near the end of my top end run, my Spidey sense kicked in and I hit the brakes hard. Just as I got to 60 I saw Mr. FHP sitting in hiding with his radar setup. I would have had a nasty souvenir!

Lucky escape pcmaher, glad you had a good trip, nice pics :)

My work use to take me to Key Largo. My coworker wanted to rent Harleys from the Key Largo shop and ride to the Key West. It was 102°F out so I said no way. I didn't wanted to sit out in the hot sun all day with the heat coming off the big 'V'. You did it the right time of year.

That's for sure, it's the right time of year, although the keys stay a little more consistent in temps than other parts in FL.