1 First ride on new to me K100 RS 4V Thu Jan 05, 2012 1:09 pm
MT350Explorer
Life time member
Hi,
Took delivery yesterday afternoon after what seemed to be a lifetime of waiting but was actually about 10 days! So far I'm delighted - much of the 'forum anxiety' has been blown away! In particular I was a bit concerned about seat height as I'm 1.7 m tall and have a 31/32" leg. No problem though, I can get both feet half down or a solid flat foot on one side - easily good enough for me.
Last night I put some fuel in the tank from cans I'd filled for the purpose, got the road tax and went through the various checks; brakes, coolant, oil level, tyre pressures etc and prepared her for today's first ride.
Well to be honest the weather here is dire, 3 degrees celsius or thereabouts and lots of ice from the overnight freeze but the sky was blue by 10. To give the ice a chance to clear I waited until after lunch (that also gave me time to put on new BMW tank roundels!). I started off with some slow speed moves around quiet local streets to try and get a hang of the bike, (including the indicators) and then went for ride up a local 'A' road. Lots of water and road salt around so it was a pretty sedate affair but a great experience nonetheless Another forum anxiety issue cured - vibration. What vibration? I briefly hit 70 and 80 mph and there was nothing I could detect - maybe I'm just used to riding inferior machinery! What a great gear change as well - the odd false neutral when I wasn't form enough but that's pretty far from clunky. Exhaust blows a little so if it's not weldable I may neeed to get a new one.
So came back to town and tried some more slow stuff before taking her home; all in all only about 2 hours riding. Gave her a good wash down with cold, fresh water, a quick chamois rub down and a blast with the hair drier on the brakes and electrics!
A few things to do as well as the exhaust, I need to have a go at the seat; it's been re-covered but looks a bit strange at the front and I also would like to get some new grips - the ones on at the moment are the diameter of a good cigar, and I would prefer something chunkier! Any reccomendations appreciated. Finally, the front tyre might be losing air according to the PO, it's got a new valve now so we'll see if it loses overnight. Then in 1 or 2 years time - full strip and rebuild!
PS. Sorry there's no photo - I have tried and failed to upload; will update when I figure it out!
All the best
Dave
Took delivery yesterday afternoon after what seemed to be a lifetime of waiting but was actually about 10 days! So far I'm delighted - much of the 'forum anxiety' has been blown away! In particular I was a bit concerned about seat height as I'm 1.7 m tall and have a 31/32" leg. No problem though, I can get both feet half down or a solid flat foot on one side - easily good enough for me.
Last night I put some fuel in the tank from cans I'd filled for the purpose, got the road tax and went through the various checks; brakes, coolant, oil level, tyre pressures etc and prepared her for today's first ride.
Well to be honest the weather here is dire, 3 degrees celsius or thereabouts and lots of ice from the overnight freeze but the sky was blue by 10. To give the ice a chance to clear I waited until after lunch (that also gave me time to put on new BMW tank roundels!). I started off with some slow speed moves around quiet local streets to try and get a hang of the bike, (including the indicators) and then went for ride up a local 'A' road. Lots of water and road salt around so it was a pretty sedate affair but a great experience nonetheless Another forum anxiety issue cured - vibration. What vibration? I briefly hit 70 and 80 mph and there was nothing I could detect - maybe I'm just used to riding inferior machinery! What a great gear change as well - the odd false neutral when I wasn't form enough but that's pretty far from clunky. Exhaust blows a little so if it's not weldable I may neeed to get a new one.
So came back to town and tried some more slow stuff before taking her home; all in all only about 2 hours riding. Gave her a good wash down with cold, fresh water, a quick chamois rub down and a blast with the hair drier on the brakes and electrics!
A few things to do as well as the exhaust, I need to have a go at the seat; it's been re-covered but looks a bit strange at the front and I also would like to get some new grips - the ones on at the moment are the diameter of a good cigar, and I would prefer something chunkier! Any reccomendations appreciated. Finally, the front tyre might be losing air according to the PO, it's got a new valve now so we'll see if it loses overnight. Then in 1 or 2 years time - full strip and rebuild!
PS. Sorry there's no photo - I have tried and failed to upload; will update when I figure it out!
All the best
Dave