Any Motörbike riders here?

octatonic

Not been about for a while dealing with some personal stuff but I'm back for a bit- how have people been?

Everyone managed to keep shiny side up over the winter?

Any new toys?

I'm still on the Striple although I'm going back tomorrow for a 3rd test ride of one of these, possibly putting my deposit down.

rsvmark

I would love to have one of these but a) I wouldn't do it justice and b) I wouldn't do it justice. Way too much for me. Arent they something like 200bhp out the crate? 

strtdv

rsvmark said:

I would love to have one of these but a) I wouldn't do it justice and b) I wouldn't do it justice. Way too much for me. Arent they something like 200bhp out the crate? 

Yeah MCN tested one that had 196bhp at the rear wheel straight out of the crate, which is insane, and equates to over 200bhp at the crank.

kin

I bet you can't wait to pass your test and get those stabilizers off   

octatonic

rsvmark said:

I would love to have one of these but a) I wouldn't do it justice and b) I wouldn't do it justice. Way too much for me. Arent they something like 200bhp out the crate? 

198 for the 2015 model- they are blisteringly fast.

Today (on...er... a closed track) I had it just under 90 in first gear.

But the throttle goes both ways and the electronics are especially brilliant.

You have a lot of traction control and dynamic dampening, electronic suspension stuff going on.

I was pushing a lot harder today than I usually would- the electronics give you a lot more confidence.

If you get into trouble you can grab a handful of front brake mid-turn and not come off.

littlegreenman

octatonic said:

Not been about for a while dealing with some personal stuff but I'm back for a bit- how have people been?

Nice to see you back Mr O There's been good times and bad times, laughter and tears, newbies joining and oldies a-banned-ening. All in all, business as usual! @mike_l may have bought more drive pedals, and @Drew_FX might have been through a new set-up or 6!

@octatonic

octatonic

littlegreenman said:

octatonic said:

Not been about for a while dealing with some personal stuff but I'm back for a bit- how have people been?

Nice to see you back Mr O There's been good times and bad times, laughter and tears, newbies joining and oldies a-banned-ening. All in all, business as usual! @mike_l may have bought more drive pedals, and @Drew_FX might have been through a new set-up or 6!

@octatonic

Thanks LGM.

xmrchi

octatonic;577651" said:

Not been about for a while dealing with some personal stuff but I'm back for a bit- how have people been?Everyone managed to keep shiny side up over the winter?Any new toys?

I'm still on the Striple although I'm going back tomorrow for a 3rd test ride of one of these, possibly putting my deposit down.

Good to have you back, just finished my 11th winter on a motorbike, this year an r6,whichbwas bloody flawless and using gt86 daily has stopped any rush.... Really looking forward to some proper riding weather now!

octatonic

mrchi said:

octatonic;577651" said:

Not been about for a while dealing with some personal stuff but I'm back for a bit- how have people been?Everyone managed to keep shiny side up over the winter?Any new toys?

I'm still on the Striple although I'm going back tomorrow for a 3rd test ride of one of these, possibly putting my deposit down.

Good to have you back, just finished my 11th winter on a motorbike, this year an r6,whichbwas bloody flawless and using gt86 daily has stopped any rush.... Really looking forward to some proper riding weather now!

Tell me about it- I've ridden throughout the winter.

Even bad weather riding is better than being in a car or on a train but I am totally ready for some sunshine.

I won't be riding the S1000RR through a winter though, I'll keep the Striple for that or perhaps replace it with a Tiger or similar.

littlegreenman

Last time I rode a "broom-broom" bike was over 25 years ago!

Really tempted to get back in the saddle, so to speak. Budget would be nowhere near what you guys are on though.

octatonic

littlegreenman said:

Last time I rode a "broom-broom" bike was over 25 years ago!

Really tempted to get back in the saddle, so to speak. Budget would be nowhere near what you guys are on though.

There is nothing quite like it, in truth.

On budget- I reckon it is a good idea to not spend too much on your first bike, or first bike back after a long break.

I'll be on my 3rd when I go for the S1000RR.

My first one was a Yamaha YBR125, which I'm sure I talk about back in the early pages of this thread.

Never dropped it but I crashed it once and it was blown over in a storm.

Fusionista

@octatonic: Wa-a--a-a-y too fast for any practical purposes ;-)

Just back from Barca with the new bike - 1200 miles+ over 3 days: every weather you can think of, some ba-a-a-d (and some amazing) roads, my new machine ATE  it  

This just the French side of the Pyrenees north of Puigcerda - much worse than it looks in the photo and as usual some 'Crazy Frog' drivers. The Paris peripherique was up there with some of the worst driving I have ever seen in my life . Thing is they don't give a merde, because the Police never pull anyone up  (just foreigners doing over 130 kph on the autoroutes).

octatonic

R1200gs? How you getting on with it?

Fusionista

2013 TE.  It is a revelation. Fast as you can cope with and can deal with any road surface. Those are Karoo 3's - bit of a thrum on the motorway but great for the mountain passes and urban potholes - let alone some of the tracks I sampled on the way home.

You can see why BMW are the market leaders.  That said, why did they develop the satnav with Garmin ? The TomTom interface is SO much better.

octatonic

Fusionista said:

2013 TE.  It is a revelation. Fast as you can cope with and can deal with any road surface. Those are Karoo 3's - bit of a thrum on the motorway but great for the mountain passes and urban potholes - let alone some of the tracks I sampled on the way home.

You can see why BMW are the market leaders.  That said, why did they develop the satnav with Garmin ? The TomTom interface is SO much better.

Last of the air-cooled GSes eh?

Sweet.

I test rode the new model- I liked it a lot but my head is still in performance bike-land.

I've ridden about 40 different models in the last 3 months- gixxers, VFR800, all the Triumph Tigers, all the Triumph naked and the Daytona, Sprint, most of the BMW range (K1300S, GS, S1000R, S1000RR, R1200RT).

Everything has involved some element of compromise, which I guess is just how it goes.

I was tempted to wait for the S1000XR to see how that handles in the twisties, and may still do depending upon how I get on with a longer ride on the RR later today.

I want something I can do sporty b-road riding, a bit of touring (although not loads).

Want more power than I currently have (Striple has 105bhp at 180kg), ABS and I really want cruise control.

Cruise Control on sports/performance bikes is a total revelation.

The S1000R was the bike I was originally looking at- but the wind blast is ridiculously bad anywhere near motorway speeds and the mirrors are useless over 50. You can't see a thing in them.

I know the RR is crazy fast and perhaps more than I need but it has everything I wanted and I LOOOOVE riding it.

The Speed Triple was an option for a while but no cruise control.

The new Tiger XRX has cruise control but is down on power compared to the Street Triple.

Coming back around to the GS- well, it also has everything on my list and logically I should be putting my money down on one.

But I haven't and I don't really know why.

I might regret getting the S1000RR when I am 6 hours into a 4 day tour but I'm keeping the Striple for a bit and could end up selling it and buying an older Tiger 800 if I end up doing more touring than I currently do.

I do about 10k a year on the bike- touring is only about 30% of that at the moment.

Although for the price of the S1000RR I could get a brand new Triumph Sprint and a 2 year old Gixxer 750.

xmrchi

Have you not considered the new r1?

boogieman

Hey up @octatonic. Good to see you back. I had to google S1000RR: strewth! that looks a complete beast. I had no idea BeEm made it and have never seen one on the road. (Just don't buy a green one, vile!).

Fusionista

octatonic said:

Last of the air-cooled GSes eh? 

No, first of the liquid-cooled. Negotiated on various other bikes inc air-cooled and even a Stelvio, but people seemed to be holding out for very high prices on quite old, high-mileage bikes, so made it worth going for late low mileage.

The dealers around your way seem pretty tolerant!  Agree with most of what you say.  Cruise control is a complete boon. 

There is however a reason why you see so many GS's around. Performance bikes are fun but in the weather and road conditions just experienced, you would not have enjoyed it. Even on this one I'm already considering a bigger screen (or extension), although that is my only reservation (other than the Garmin).

octatonic

Fusionista said:

octatonic said:

Last of the air-cooled GSes eh? 

No, first of the liquid-cooled. Negotiated on various other bikes inc air-cooled and even a Stelvio, but people seemed to be holding out for very high prices on quite old, high-mileage bikes, so made it worth going for late low mileage.

The dealers around your way seem pretty tolerant!  Agree with most of what you say.  Cruise control is a complete boon. 

There is however a reason why you see so many GS's around. Performance bikes are fun but in the weather and road conditions just experienced, you would not have enjoyed it. Even on this one I'm already considering a bigger screen (or extension), although that is my only reservation (other than the Garmin).

Mostly pretty tolerant, although I just had to deal with a complete knob jockey at a local Honda dealership- high pressure tactics, clumsily deployed.

I had another blast on the VFR800, rather than the S1000RR- didn't fancy battling the power of the S1000RR and the winds at the same time.

The VFR800 is a perfectly sensible choice- it has everything other than cruise that I wanted.

But it feels slower than the Street Triple I have though and although it is a quality product it doesn't have the impact of some of the other bikes, or even my own current bike.

It is weird- I have no problem at all choosing my first bike (learner 125), or the second bike (naked middleweight) but this next one is sending me round in circles.

There is something to be said for not going to a total all out speed monster as a 3rd bike- to give me something to yearn for down the road, when I can really use the power, maybe in a track.

How has the GS been doing city commuter stuff (if you do it)?

One thing that has had me ruling it out was the assumption that they are basically touring only and city riding, filtering and the like would be a complete pig.

Fusionista

Bikes are so individual, you have to try them out, see what suits. Tried a lot of bikes: VFR 8 & 12; Triumph 8 & 1250 and the GS just outclasses them somehow.  Had a fling with the new Fireblade, and it's tame below 4000 and insane above it, as with most sports bikes these days. What I wanted was all-round/all-weather/long-distance competence (the R100 cafe is a fun summer naked and filters like a king with all that low-down torque), and the GS matches the big tourers (eg RT) and keeps up with the speed hounds at all legal levels. It's like a Blackbird or a Hayabusa, but trading top speed for comfort, protection and all-road capability. It is probably not best for a dispatch rider, but it got me through a wet and windy rush hour on the Paris peripherique, which is 4+ lanes of 'crazy frogs'. One dopey bitch actually tried to nudge me out the lane - had to smack my fist on her car and give her some loud Anglo-Saxon -she had the 'gaul' to throw her hands up in the air as it knocking me off my bike was perfectly legit!  Mind you the 2-wheeled denizens are mad as the proverbial box too - just switch on the hazards and scoot through anywhere at 30mph and above in stationary traffic, couple of 'em buzzed me way too fast and close.  In that sense the size keeps you from doing anything foolish, while the ultimate visibility - if not manoeuvrability - remains yours. With the state of the roads and the weather in this country, it was the logical choice.