Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Funnily enough - I've just finished work on a R1100S and got it through the MOT - had K bikes in the past but this is the first twin. Quirky I'd say - blip the throttle and the whole thing moves sideways about two feet.

You get used to the torque roll. I had an R1150RS for a while but it was stolen in Mayfair. The 1150 had some low speed fueling issues because they only used 1 oxygen sensor.

Been on holiday pretty much since getting the Matchless but got back the other day and a Mikuni had been delivered while I was away. Chucked it on and it literally started first kick.

The throttle cable was pretty sticky and I spent all my dolla on holiday so made my own replacement today.

Took a nice Jagwire cable with compressionless outer, had to file the barrel end down to fit in the twist grip, desoldered the little carb end nipple of the old cable and attached it to the new one. Nice and snappy now.

5 Attachments

• IMG_3796.MOV
• 
• 
• 
• 

Them sandals tho…

I am glad you went for a Mikuni, and that it works right off the bat.

Excellent choice on using a Jagwire cable. I did similar with the trials bike after replacing the throttle outer and then grabbing a random brake cable for inner.

Incredibly satisfying to dump the oil this morning and consider the new DR cylinder ‘run in’. Just shy of 600 miles, but to be honest it felt like it was ready by 400.

I was revving it much more aggressively today but never even close to the red line. It definitely has more torque.

Gonna be pretty fun when I put the lower-geared dirt wheels back on!

2 Attachments

Yeah, not the best thing for kickstarting a bike in!

Finally found a good explanation for the Rossi leg dangle. Sylvain Guintoli explains it really well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Fat0jLj_U

Nice! Running in is such a dark art. The pistons on my CR's are run in after 4 heat cycles and about 10 minutes of gentle-ish riding. Get out there and give it a good thrash and report back... :)

Yea I was doing the gentle ‘soft’ long run-in to be safe, as it’s my baby. But realistically I could have thrashed it in 50 miles and probably got the same result.

I was riding quite… assertively… and I did feel a gain in power. I gave a few suspension pumps and with a rev the front lifted quite easy.

It doesn’t feel like a whole new bike, but just felt ‘more’. Which is probably all I wanted.

Urban myth - maybe - the first FireBlades had the piston rings put in by hand and apparently may have been slightly misshapen when the engines were built. The solution was to ride them hard the minute you bought it. No idea if this is true but it was certainly a talked about topic.

Any excuse on a blade

Fair point 😂😂😂

.

3 Attachments

I'm sure I remember Mad Phil McCallen's making more power after he won the Production TT on it that before.

Thanks all for the positive affirmations. I love the bike and the way it rides. My last bike was an 1100GS and this thing feels tiny in comparison, just what I wanted. Now I want to find another one to restore and maybe customise it a bit. Anyone know of one not stupid money ? (Because it costs a shit ton to fix these things even with free labour!!!)

.

1 Attachment

Early ones do suffer from piston slap, like a two stroke. Listen for the rattle.

Got this as a loan bike as the GS is in for a Cardan Shaft replacement under warranty.

Glad I don’t own one. I’d be in jail within a week.

1 Attachment

This is very spicy indeed! They look absolutely sick too, one of the best looking bikes around at the moment to my eye...

It doesn't look like a complete weapon

A mate had an older S1000rr for a spell, full carbon upgrade on the fairings.
that thing seemed to have a fetish for collecting speeding points.
had to sell it before he lost his license.

It sounds amazing above 8k revs. Which is a problem as you're probably doing over the national limit at 7k in 2nd.

Anyone fancy the Amal that was on my Matchless?

Was going to chuck it on eBay where the going rate seems to be around £60 but if anyone on here wants it, £30 posted?

The only thing currently missing from it is the air valve spring which I have one on the way. Beyond that, the slide is a bit worn, there’s play in it, the bike was a pig to start with it on and a breeze to start with the Mikuni so… A new slide is like, £25 I think.

It also kept flooding. Lol, full disclosure.

6 Attachments

Definitely a weapon. I had a sit on one a year or so back - would love a go.

The noise is addictive. I was glad to hand it back before I got a ticket.

Happy to be back on the GS though - so much nicer at low speed around town (XR is quite high / top heavy) and the seat is so much more comfortable. Fuck I'm old.