I wouldn’t quite call it an obsession, but ever since I took delivery of my BMW F800 GS, I’ve been searching for a solution to carry a bicycle on it. I’ve considered cobbling something together with old rack parts and U-bolts. I’ve considered riding up to Logan and having Jake make me a prototype of his famous Jake Rack which I wrote about in a previous post (here’s a link to the Jake Rack post). But every now and again, I would see a rider in the Park City area riding the same black and yellow F800 GS with a Yakima bike tray and wheelfork on it. He was usually going the other way on the freeway, slipping away before I could get a good look at the set-up. I had friends who would say “hey I saw you this weekend on your BMW, the one with the bike rack, right?” I was starting to feel like I lived in some parallel universe. Then it happened. In the closing miles of a serendipitous bicycle ride that went by the new Trailside Bicycle Park, I saw the bumble bee with the bike rack in the parking lot. The owner was obviously doing a session in the park, because his shoes were down on the ground near his sidestand. I didn’t have my iPhone with me, but my riding partner shot a few images for me. My intent was to study the design and maybe fabricate something similar, but then a little discreet sticker caught my eye: Real Tyme Engineering. There was a phone number. I was in business.

The next day, I called the number and spoke with Jim Harvey. Jim is a one-man engineering and fabrication shop based in Salt Lake City. He informed me that his bike rack kit for the BMW F800 GS was in fact an in stock item which could be purchased from his website, Globetrottin.com. I explained that I wanted to retain my Touratech Luggage Rack, and Jim was very helpful in offering to take a look at my set-up and help fit some longer bolts. We planned to meet the following Monday so I could bring my bike down and see if we could make it work.

The rest is history, but I’ll tell you a few things about Jim and his rack kit.

• Jim Rides a KTM 990, and it is well-equiped with a few other parts he has designed and fabricated, such as skid plate, engine and fairing crash bars, and rear luggage racks.
• The bike rack kit for the F800 GS utilizes the original 4 mounting bolts on the tail of the bike. With a longer set of recessed flat head bolts, I had no problems mounting the kit on top of the spacers that come with the Touratech luggage plate, but under the plate itself.
• To mount a bike on your bike, you will still need a few more things, such as a Yakima Viper bike tray, or a Rocky Mounts bike tray. You’ll also need about 18-20″ of round Yakima crossbar. Anything shorter, and you might have a tough time getting a wheelfork on there. Oh yeah, you’ll need a wheelfork.
• The Yakima Viper works really well because the head of the tray that clamps the front fork of your bike is really small and fits well in the recess of the Real Tyme set-up. But I suspect an older model Thule or Rocky Mounts would work well too.
• Jim has also designed a bike rack kit for later model R1200 GS bikes. Call him up, if you are looking for a rack for a different bike, maybe he can help: 801-913-4116.

I’ll admit, when all is said and done, it looks kind of crazy to have a bicycle hanging off the back of your moto. Forget about your pillion seat, there’s no room for a passenger. In fact, doing head checks in traffic is interesting because all I see is my Campagnolo Super Record 11 speed shift/brake levers in my peripheral vision. But the rack is rock solid even at freeway speeds, and opens up a lot of possibilities for two-wheeled adventures. 2 wheels squared.

Measuring up Real Tyme bike rack for longer bolts.

Jim Harvey's personal KTM 990 test bike.

Jim contemplates another engineering challenge on a KTM 690 Enduro.

Example of a Real Tyme bike rack for the BMW R1200 GS.

Some late night garage time with the Yakima parts.

BMW F800 GS bike rack complete. 2 wheels squared.

I have lots of topics to write about from a recent dualsport moto tour through the High Uintas area of Utah and on into Flaming Gorge. For a later post, I’ll talk about the new Cardo Scala Rider G4 Powerset communication system that Darth and I were testing out. It’s a pretty cool new toy that works well for two-way communication between riders, and connects via Bluetooth with my iPhone (or other Bluetooth devices). I’ve never been much of a fan of wearing headphones while riding, but it sure is nice when your mind starts to wander on long stretches of nowhere road to be able to roll some tunes from the “Moto Playlist.” This post is more simply about how amazing it is to live in a place like Utah and have so many options right out your backdoor to go from garage to middle of nowhere in a matter of hours. Places like Hoop Lake and Beaver Meadow Reservoir. John Jarvie Ranch and the Swinging Bridge.

The one limiting factor this season has been the record-setting snowpack, and how long it has stuck around. Keep in mind we’re hitting mid-July, and some of the passes we rode on this last trip were not possible just a weekend or two before. For example, Elizabeth Ridge, the 10,235 feet high summit of the North Slope road still had considerable snow on top, and they (not sure who they are, but it’s got to be someone) are just now grading the road from the decay that results from a brutal winter. Another thing to note: some of the stream crossings in the High Uintas that you might normally blast through are pretty deep and swift. It seems like the water is just starting to come down off the mountains. We crossed one stream that required a two-man push to get the bikes across. Water was up to mid-thigh, and while walking across without a bike to hold onto, you could really feel the force wanting to carry you with the current.

After getting one bike across said stream crossing, a rider on a new KLR appeared coming from the opposite direction. He watched us wade back across to get the 2nd bike and do our routine. We told him we’d gladly help him get his bike across since we were already wet, or video him, if he was game to try to ride it. But he thought better and turned around to follow us in the direction we were heading, to the North Slope Road. At that point, our new friend Steve said he better head back to SLC, and he had quite a ride ahead of him to get back before dark. We still didn’t know if we would make it all the way through to Mountain View, Wyoming, as the road was still posted as closed, and there were some rumors of a bridge being out. On the way down the North Slope Road, we stopped a Jeep coming up the other way. He told us it was pretty rough for the next 10 miles, but it ended up being more like 2, so we had no problems getting down to Mountain View for gas and a Red Bull stop.

While resting for a moment at the Maverick in Mountain View, we made a call to Mark Wilson, the owner of Red Canyon Lodge in Flaming Gorge, to see how late the lodge’s restaurant would be open. We had to decide whether to get something to eat in Mountain View, or if we had enough to take a scenic dirt route to Flaming Gorge. Mark said definitely take the scenic route, and if we happened to arrive after 9:30 pm, when the kitchen shuts down, he’d set aside a couple hot plates for us. Turns out that was the right choice, and we still made it before 9:00 pm, giving us plenty of time to get a table and sit down to an excellent and civilized dinner with Mark at his place.

It may not look that deep, but it was.

The problem with waterproof boots: they keep water in, too.

Snow at the top of Elizabeth Ridge in the Uinta mountains.

Golden light at Beaver Meadow Reservoir.

Darth Nater at Beaver Meadow Reservoir. Extra points for lens flare!