Ohhh..... New Bike Day!

[mikeycee]

So, Its been nagging at the back of my head for a while that I am no longer enjoying road riding as much as I once did. I still love track days, but using the S1000RR On the road was becoming a bit of an issue because I was struggling to get the most out of it and I found the only times I was really enjoying it was... Well when I was riding like a bit of a twat to be honest.

The fact that I was using it for track days was also rubbing off a bit on the way I was riding on the road also which I dont think was helping things as my style of riding on the RR was directly carried over. My Gen 2 RR is a horrible, Vibrating mess at a constant throttle anywhere under 70 and due to its focused nature is only at home when it is being ridden hard.

Nothing wrong with that at all, Its what it was designed for - It just was not suiting me at all anymore.

I knew I wasn't enjoying it as much as I once was, but I didn't really want to accept it - But the way it was going I think I was heading for trouble if I carried on riding on the road the way I was.

So - The other week the sensible side of me won the vote and I knew a change was needed. The rationale was - Sensible, but with the option of raising a smile too when required.

With that, I took the plunge and chopped the RR in for a 2017 S1000 XR:





Its the SE Version with all the bells and whistles and the Akro end can.

Liking the ride of it so far, but taking some time to acclimate to the style of riding and the top heavy nature of these bikes. I have only ever rode sports bikes (Aside from MX When I was in my Teens), So this has been a major change for me and its taking some time to get used to things!

Loving the way it rides, Feels like I could do miles and miles on it compared to the RR - Where 30 Motorway miles had me wanting to pull off at the nearest services for a stretch of the legs! At 160Bhp, There is still plenty of power there, and when launched the front end is up all over the place which is a laugh. Front feel seems incredibly vague to me - So have not really pushed it very hard into the bends yet, But I think that will come with a few more hours under my belt.

Only issue I have had so far is that as I am very vertically challenged, Even with the height reductions on this one I am still only one foot on the floor as a standstill. Starting to get used to this way of handling the thing as Back in the day I had to do exactly the same on my CR250

Couple of Mods on the list which will be the Removal of the headlight cover and velcro mounts, removal of the stickers on the front mud guard, the repaint of the belly pan (The paint is a little rough up close - Think is was a home job) and new hand guards (also looks like a home paint job).

Then it will be a case of racking up some miles!

Would be interested to hear from any XR Owners on here who may have any critical advice for me - Feel free to fire away if you have.

Will try to perhaps keep this updated on how I get on too.

Cheers all!

[weeksy]

Congratulations on the shiny toy!!!! I can't see it slowing you down though !!

[mikeycee]

Congratulations on the shiny toy!!!! I can't see it slowing you down though !!

Haha Cheers Weeksy - I Think you are probably right there to be fair

[Supermofo]

Only 160 bhp, what a gurl

Reckon that'll be a top laugh for long days out. I'd be rubbish on a sportsbike nowadays, I'm so used to being comfy. That should do the job of being comfy and bloody fast plus do track work too.

[Skub]

Your reasons and logic for changing are very similar to my own. I needed to bring back the fun and limit the big number action on the road.

If you have half as much fun as I'm having at the moment MC,you'll do all right.

Happy new bike day.

[mikeycee]

Only 160 bhp, what a gurl

Reckon that'll be a top laugh for long days out. I'd be rubbish on a sportsbike nowadays, I'm so used to being comfy. That should do the job of being comfy and bloody fast plus do track work too.

I'm looking forward to seeing what it can do - Really looking forward to the potential of getting some touring miles in, Something I have always wanted to do and never had the bike to do it..... As for the trackdays, I want to pick them up again soon - Will be on the market for a £1500 Quid nail as soon as I can afford it

That said, I'm on track this Friday with my RGV - Cant wait!

Your reasons and logic for changing are very similar to my own. I needed to bring back the fun and limit the big number action on the road.

If you have half as much fun as I'm having at the moment MC,you'll do all right.

Happy new bike day.

Glad I'm not alone, and good to hear its working for you - Hopefully I will follow the same path

[Supermofo]

- Will be on the market for a £1500 Quid nail as soon as I can afford it

I've got a track R6 I need to sort for sale if you're interested

[Couchy]

XR’s work ace on track, nice bike

[mikeycee]

- Will be on the market for a £1500 Quid nail as soon as I can afford it

I've got a track R6 I need to sort for sale if you're interested

Think it's going to be a while before I'm in the position to go for one, But if youve not shifted it by then I'll shout you up!

XR’s work ace on track, nice bike

Thanks Couchy, That's good to hear. Once I'm settled on it I may give it a go!

[singlesman]

Worth looking up ‘Cuban Rider’ on utube. Thinks he’s a relative newcomer to bikes but has himself an XR1000 and really does make good use of it, both road and track.
Pretty impressed with what a versatile bike it appears to be.

[mikeycee]

Worth looking up ‘Cuban Rider’ on utube. Thinks he’s a relative newcomer to bikes but has himself an XR1000 and really does make good use of it, both road and track.
Pretty impressed with what a versatile bike it appears to be.

Just watched his video round COTA on his XR - That was impressive!! Will definitely be checking a few more of them out

[mikeycee]

Quick Update on the XR for you all.....

Have taken it out 5 Times so far, Was hoping for more time but work, Work, And general crap has got in the way so taking a little bit of time to get settled in - On top of that its absolutely pissed it down 4 of the 5 Times I've been out - Not so bad in itself, but not ideal for getting the real feel for the bike.

Managed to get a few hours on Saturday however: Sunny, Dry and was able to push it along a bit and see what it was all about. I keep comparing it to the RR, But have to keep reminding myself that they are completely different animals and look at this in a completely blinkered way, and when I take all of the comparisons out of my head - Its a bloody good bike.

Fast, Sharp, Noisy and Very Wheelie happy - The thing is a right handful when you want it to be, And at the same time perfectly happy to bimble along in traffic or waft round some country lanes. Felt comfortable at all times, and I can really see me being able to do some mileage with no big issues. Only negative I have at the moment is that I am so short that I am still struggling a little with the height even with the lowered set up. Its not a massive issue, however just enough to make things a little bit awkward. Luckily however the bike is so good at slow speed maneuvering and tight turning that its not often it becomes an issue.

So - As a general update, So far so good!

One issue I have encountered in my limited time on the bike is the dreaded 'Buzz' - This is a very high frequency vibration that goes through the bars at around 5.5 - 6.5k Revs.... Just about cruising level on standard gearing which is not ideal. This has plagued the XR Since its original release and in 2017 they introduced rubber mounts on the yoke to stem the problem. At best, it would seem it reduced it to an extent. Mine has the rubber mounts, and it still buzzes badly so I wouldn't like to think how bad it was before this revision. After Saturdays ride my hands were tingling a little - Its something I could cope with, but an annoyance none the less so something had to be done about it so I have now fitted the Evotech end weights in place of the original items:



Each weight is 368g (OEM Part is 111g) and the consensus is that these in conjunction with the rubber mounts will banish the buzz completely. Will be out on the weekend to test this theory out!

Other than that, I've tidied up the belly pan and rear hugger thing as I was not happy with the work on these so have stripped them back. I will paint these up at some point but still have my hands full with the RGV At the moment so this will be later in the year (Avert your eyes if you struggle to cope with shoddy paint jobs):

Before:





After:



Before:



After:



Hand Guards will also need stripping, painting or (A possible better idea) need replacing as it looks like they have been hand painted.... I will say no more

[mikeycee]

So, the XR is probably now into Hibernation for the Winter I think - Maybe the odd venture out into the cold if there are any particularly good days..... But I am now definitely a fair weather rider!

Spend the weekend getting it back to a clean condition after getting some miles in over a few days last week and now in the Garage for the foreseeable.

Have some parts on order for the winter project of lowering the bike a bit further... The height has always been a bit of an issue for me and despite being quite confident with taller bikes, the weight distribution of the thing is sometimes catching me off guard at roundabouts and some incline starts etc. Only need it dropping a very small amount, just to give me a bit more of a solid footing just so I don't get caught out and end up laying the thing down.

Kit on order from the US, Should be delivered next week but in no rush to get it sorted so may save it for one weekend over the bleak midwinter when I am at a loose end.

[weeksy]

I like that more than i should... but then... it's an IL4 engine which disappoints me.

[mikeycee]

I like that more than i should... but then... it's an IL4 engine which disappoints me.

I’d thoroughly recommend a run out on one if you get the opportunity Weeksy!

[Skub]

Did the Evotech bar ends do away with the vibes?

[Bigyin]

Did the Evotech bar ends do away with the vibes?

One of the reasons i chose the Multistrada over the XR1000 was the vibrations which were numbing after a while on the test ride.

Hope the evotech bits sort the problem out

[mikeycee]

Yes - The Evotechs certainly did the job. On the 2017 onwards they fitted damping pads on the bar clamps in an effort to stop the issue but it really didn’t do the trick.

When I took mine out on the test ride, I didn’t particularly pay attention to, or notice any problematic vibes however I was just batting it about some back roads and just trying to adjust to the bike. Once I took ownership and got some proper miles on it I found out about the serious vibe issues around 5-6k revs. Numbing is the perfect term, IMO Almost intolerable for any long motorway distances as max resonance is at 5-6K revs - exactly at cruising speeds. My RR Was buzzy at 70mph, But this was on another level - I’m talking white finger territory.

The evotechs did the job perfectly.. Still a very tiny amount there, But hardly noticeable - It’s spot on now

[Bigyin]

Yes - The Evotechs certainly did the job. On the 2017 onwards they fitted damping pads on the bar clamps in an effort to stop the issue but it really didn’t do the trick.

When I took mine out on the test ride, I didn’t particularly pay attention to, or notice any problematic vibes however I was just batting it about some back roads and just trying to adjust to the bike. Once I took ownership and got some proper miles on it I found out about the serious vibe issues around 5-6k revs. Numbing is the perfect term, IMO Almost intolerable for any long motorway distances as max resonance is at 5-6K revs - exactly at cruising speeds. My RR Was buzzy at 70mph, But this was on another level - I’m talking white finger territory.

The evotechs did the job perfectly.. Still a very tiny amount there, But hardly noticeable - It’s spot on now

Glad you got it sorted...... it was so bad on the 2015 bike i looked at it ruled out me buying one as i was buying with a 6500 mile tour coming up as well as a 70 mile a day commuter. I can honestly say the only other bike i have ridden with the same level of finger numbing vibes was a second hand SV1000 someone asked me to test ride for them. I had it for an hour but took it back after 40 minutes as i could barely feel the clutch and front brake levers

[mikeycee]

So being the impatient bugger I am - Instead of saving the lowering job until the middle of the winter I ended up doing it this week

Job was relatively easy, but the faff and fiddle levels were off the scale - Just getting tools in there without pretty much removing everything around it was a nightmare.... One of those jobs that is technically straightforward, but a complete pain in the ass at the same time.

In place now, adjusted and locked down. I went for a drop of 35mm on the rear and have dropped the front also to suit. Took it for a quick run out before the Gritting apocalypse began and the Bike handles identically to before (Dropping the front to compensate the rear is essential), but now I can get the balls of my feet on the floor both sides where as before I could not even touch both sides even on the very tips of my toes. Amazing what that does for confidence.

Happy with the product, delivery from Michigan in 4 Days which was impressive and overall good value. Did have some initial concerns over what the build quality would be like but its a proper heavy duty part, all made from good quality steel so likely stronger than the original cast ally BMW Item I suspect.

Definitely recommended!