Traverse 13 | Page 52

There’s a connection and in Megan’s own words, “it was love at first sight”. “We turned up one Saturday morning,” explains Megan as she remembers first visiting BMW Southbank (Melbourne, Australia). “They handed me the keys of an olive green F800GS and said, ‘take it for the day and make sure you get on some dirt’. “Previously I’d only ever really ridden a Yamaha XVS650 (Vstar) which I loved but in reality, was just not 100% comfortable on,” she explains that she wanted something with a more upright seating position. “I test rode multiple bikes including the Triumph Tiger and Suzuki Vstrom, with my heart set on the Tiger,” she continues as the story leads us to non-existent custom- er service from both manufacturers. “I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the BMW was well within my budget and actually cheaper than the Triumph.” Megan continues that the customer service from BMW has kept her loyal to the brand and found that she has had to do very little to ‘make the bike hers’. “There’s no modifications, she’s stock standard,” Me- gan continues before correcting herself. “She does have adventure pegs and ‘pussy grips’,” she laughs. Apparently, it’s a comfort thing and we discover that ‘pussy grips’ are a brand of foam hand grip. “I did contemplate having the bike lowered when I TRAVERSE 52