It isnae the fastest bike, but it’ll pull a caravan
Weekly Update 4 – 07/08 – 14/08
Ah, the feeling of fresh tyres. It’s a strange feeling really. A cross between bum clenching and quick breathing as you try to scrub them in. Every degree of angle you exhibit brings this feeling on, coupled with the thoughts of the back end sliding out behind you as you go over too far. But once you get out to the edge of the tyre, this feeling turns to joy as you are afforded the full use of the tyre.
These feelings are enhanced ten fold if it’s wet. Which it just so happened to be the day I picked the bike up.
Now if you have got this far and have no idea what I am talking about then,
When a tyre is made the inside of the mould is coated in a release agent, which allows the tyre, once moulded to be freely ejected from the mould. Without it the tyre would be a pain in the arse to get out of the mould, and when you are making millions of these, you need a quick way to get the tyre out and the mould shut for the next tyre to be made…anyway, this release agent just so happens to be extremely greasy. So that’s the reason most, if not all motorcycle dealers, servicers and outlets will tell you to “take it easy for the first 100 miles or so” as you leave.
For a great example of why your told to take it easy, see exhibit A:
Now, when I last got a back tyre on the GSR (a Bridgestone BT-021 for those who are interested) I picked it up from Stuart and he said the famous words, “take it easy.”
As I bid adieu he started talking to the next bloke who was waiting and off I went. I pulled out of the garage and started heading along the road, and gave what I thought was a good level of throttle given the situation. Next thing I know the bike is snaking about and the redline is being kissed. “BRAAADADADADADADADADA” up the road. I could just imagine Stuarts face.
I told you that so I could tell you this.
I got the new tyre on the MT on Saturday there, a Metzeler Z6. Now those of you who have read every post on here (thanks Rossy Boy) will know how I don’t ever mix brands of tyre. By this I mean I don’t have say a Dunlop on the front and a Michelin on the rear. It just doesnt work.
Now when I called Stuart to get him to order a tyre he tried to get me a Pirelli Diablo Strada, the same as both my tyres were before the flat rear. He called back shortly after and said that he couldn’t get a Strada rear and suggested the Metzeler Z6… I said “you told me not to mix brands” and he said that basically Pirelli own Metzeler and the Z6 and Strada are basically the same tyre, same profile, just slightly newer tech in the Strada than the Z6.
If Stuart says its ok, it’s ok.
Saturday I headed down and it was wet (great) and there it was, fresh shiny new tyre. We got chatting about various bikes and his race bike was sitting there. I moaned about how the GSR needs the crap revved out it if you want to go somewhere instantly. He agreed saying his R6 race bike needs a lot of rpm before he goes places, whereas the MT is just BOOM you are off.
“Aye, it isnae the fastest bike but it’ll pull a caravan” he said, I burst out laughing. I’ve never heard torque explained that way before much to my amusement.
So we talked some more and I mentioned the unfortunate situation where in order for Stuarts business to be thriving, people need to be falling off their bikes. He laughed agreeingly. Is that a word? Agreeingly. He laughed in a way to suggest that he agreed with my statement.
Stuart you see is owner of Jackson’s Bikes, the place to go if you need absolutely anything done to your bike…unless you live outside Scotland. There are some shockers in his garage I tell you. He was showing me a bike that hit the back of a bus and the engine casings were split as if someone had wanted to show a section of the engine. Clean through. Unbelievable.
Anyway he parted with the take it easy line and I mentioned my last visit. He burst out laughing saying that he was talking to the waiting guy and heard me redlining it up the road. He smacked his forehead in a “oh no what are you doing…” way and was laughing.
So off I went with this insane torque machine, wet roads and fresh greasy back tyre on. It was ok really, I took it easy but taking any kind of corner on new tyres is always a shaky one. By the time I get round to changing my tyres they are usually well squared off/bald. This means more force is needed to turn the bike, to get it over the edge or lip of the now flat area. When a new tyre is on there’s absolutely no resistance and the bike falls to the side. It’s quite shocking and I always get a “oh shit somethings wrong” instant reaction but then realise it’s how it’s meant to be… Maybe I should change my tyres more often. ..maybe not, at £108.63 a piece I don’t make a habit of it.
Anyway, as the week draws to another speedy close the rain is falling like one of those rainfall shower heads….hang on. I need to get me either a one piece waterproof oversuit or at the very least, a pair of brieks. I am growing tired of getting off my bike only for all the water that has collected in my pants to go shooting down my legs and in to my boots. It gives a somewhat bitter end to the journey.
YamYamBiker.com is steadily growing in popularity and visibility. By steady I mean I have a steady view stat of around 170 folk a day… I would love for it to get a bit more popular, so any hints on what you would like to read about would be appreciated, or indeed what you don’t like reading about.
To help me on my way I have been included in various “TOP ###” motorcycle blog posts, including the ones below. Many thanks for that and I hope people start finding and subsequently enjoying YamYamBiker.com.
All the best for the coming week all,
Gordon
Like a freight train, only smaller…
Weekly Update 3 – 28/07 – 06/08
It’s been an eventful week and a bit, more so towards the end of the week but nevertheless, eventful.
I was off for a week following 2 weeks of utter exhaustion. I was glad to get time off to get my brain pointing the right way, but it took 2-3 days for the transition. I did weekly update 2 during that time so was a bit spaced out. Towards the end of the week both Blair and I went out for a quick trip, it’s been a long time since our last outing and the weather looked ok.
We decided to head around the coast via Leven to St. Andrews, “East looks the brightest so lets go that way” Blair said. Ok.
Within 10 minutes of being on the bike I was soaked, we drove through a torrential downpour only to get to overcast skies. It did start to clear up the closer we got to the coast and dried up in time for us to get some fast corners in. We arrived in St. Andrews with the sun shining and we stopped for petrol.
“You going to give me a shot to the beach?” Blair asked.
“No, I want to rumble through the streets.”
And rumble we did, it was glorious. We got through the streets and got to the beach, where the remnants from the Open (golf tournament) still stood. We had a quick look about, Blair called his lady and I called Em to see how she was getting on but she didn’t answer. Probably because she was getting scoofed with her work colleagues in the middle of Edinburgh but that’s another story.
I gave Blair the MT for our ride home and he was loving it. Every time I got close he would tear away, leaving my open visored face reverberating from both the shockwave and the sound from the exhausts. He did sit really close to the middle line as I was trying to see the right hand side of the bike (the best bit) and he wouldn’t take the hint and move over, so I just had to make do with the left. A few dodgy manoeuvres from Blair thrown in to the mix as always and it was a good day out.
All he said was “yeah, it’s great” when we arrived at my house for the switch back.
That was Saturday, covered around 100miles.
Sunday came and I decided to head to Lochgilphead to visit my Aunty and Uncle. Em and I got ourselves ready to go, complete with tankbag and rucksack, love handles etc and we were off by 10:30am.
Quick nip in to Perth Broxden services for fuel, where the till woman came out to see the bike because “I’m just being nosey”, Em filled in that she had a bike too. A fella on a Ducati Multistrada rumbled in beside me before I ba-boomed the MT in to life. We were taking the usual route of Lochearnhead up to Tyndrum, back road to Inverary and up the coast to Lochgilphead. Stopping in Tyndrum for some chow, which was pretty good, the weather remained decent, with only a small spattering now and again. I had fish, Em had sausage…
We carried on West after our lunch and the roads were on off wet/greasy. Arriving just before Invarary I was suddenly aware of this small, slow moving thing going in front of my bike. Realising it was a frog, I could do nothing but hold my course…spllaaaafff.
I stopped at Inverary to fill up quickly and then finish the journey, which we did in about 25 minutes.
I love Lochgilphead. It’s just a fantastic place to be. If I had the chance, I would move there in a heartbeat. We had a quick bite to eat (read 3 different types of cakes) and caught up with both Aunt/Uncle and Mum and Dad who headed up earlier than us. They were surprised to see us (Mum and Dad) even though I told them the DAY BEFORE that I was heading up with Em. Oldies…
We then headed back, which was a total killer. Emma got a bit tired and was losing concentration (if you can do such a thing as a pillion….hahaha Em) so because we were following Dad in his car, I suggested/forced Em to relax and get in the car. She wasn’t happy at all with this, but later admitted that it was good to have a rest. I trucked on and headed in to a massive rain storm, arriving at Mum’s totally drenched.
Em quickly got her gear on at Mum’s and we nipped back to our house, 5 minutes down the road, soaked.
And that concluded the weekend. Too fast.
The following week was good until Wednesday night, when I got to the roundabout at Kinross and I was quickly aware that the bike felt weird. I ran a bit wide on the first corner, got to a mini roundabout and the bike was all over the place. I stood up on the pegs and looked over the front to see if the front wheel was ok, as it felt like it was going to come off. All fine there, so that left only the rear tyre as the next logical place to look. Pancake doesn’t quite say it.
By the time I got to the turn for my street the tyre was as flat as you could get a tyre. The MT is a heavy bike (quarter tonne) so even when the tyres are inflated it’s hard to shift it round corners. When a rear tyre of this gurth (190 section) is flat on a bike this heavy, it’s near impossible to steer it. Aye you can try turning the bars, but the rims were pretty much on the deck if it wasn’t for the rubber squeezed between it and the road.
I trundled up the street passing many a teenager, feeling like a total muppet. Got home to see this:
The silver scrapes on the rim are from Hagon re-truing the wheel after the SB farce.
So pretty annoyed, and had to get the bus the past few days including today when I was stuck on the bus for over an hour due to the most anti-climatic “serious accident” I’ve ever seen. Tailbacks to dear-knows where, ambulances up the middle of traffic (2 of) and numerous police cars, all for a 5 car fender bender. I have footage. Here it is:
So that’s been my week. New tyre is being fitted today, a Metzeler Z6 which is fundamentally the same as the Pirelli Diablo Stradas, bar the fact that the Stradas have “better technology and grip” in them. Stuart doesn’t seem to mind, so that means I don’t either.
Can’t wait to get my beast back. This is a taster though of what it will be like in winter when I sell my GSR…more on that next week.
Thanks for looking all, keep doing it or I’ll not have the motivation.
All the best for the coming week,
Gordon
Its a big old bus this…
Weekly Update 2 – 03/07 – 28/07
Hello everyone.
It’s been a busy old month in the life of YamYam. Firstly I had my meeting with Glen Richards, to get my artworks signed! It was a nervous time for me for some reason, but anyway it went without a hitch and it was a great experience, Glen is a fantastic bloke. I gave him his complimentary canvas and off he went with it under his arm, to show all the HM Plant boys during his tea! I showed him the Bayliss as well and he loved it, so hopefully the word will spread and I’ll get some more orders!
I’ve been commuting to Glasgow the past couple of weeks on the MT and boy oh boy does it fatigue me. It’s not the riding position at all, in fact it’s the most comfy bike I have ridden. It’s the vibes through the pegs, coupled with the lack of foot movement (on the motorway) makes my feet fall apart after half and hour. It’s not the best and it’s certainly needing some kind of foot restage botch if I wanted to use it as a proper touring bike.
“There is something about traveling at high speed a few feet above hard ground that gets your attention. When the body is right there, the brain tends to be right there with it.”
I was planning on writing a story about the reasons why I believe motorcycles to be safer than cars, but having typed just that in to Google, I found this article here. It pretty much says exactly what I was going to, so there’s no point in regurgitating, I’ll just link to it and write something else!
I have been working extremely hard these days at work…obviously. I have been doing some serious hours an it’s left me with zero time for well, anything. I get home at 3am, I am more concerned about sleeping than updating yamyam or other important things like eating.
After a weekend to forget, even though I already have due to exhaustion, I am now on the recovery and have some free time to do all the things I haven’t been able to do for the past month.
The other night I finished very late through in Glasgow and had forgotten to put my clear visor in my Kriega so had to ride for an hour and a half in the pouring rain with my dark visor on. It wouldn’t have been so bad had it been dry as I could go along with it open to see the road, but because of the rain it was near impossible. But after an hour on the bike and getting saturated through, I was suddenly aware of the cats eyes on the newly laid stretch of road near Kinross. They lit up so brightly that through the dark visor it was almost like a landing strip leading me home. It was amazing, as pretty much that’s all I could see through the visor.
That happened several times over the coming weeks, me forgetting my clear visor, me riding home in the dark, sometimes dry, often wet. I would always love getting to that stretch of road, as it meant I was almost home; the place I have grown to miss through not being there at all the past wee while.
One thing is for sure though, the MT is the best bike to be on when you are knackered and wanting to get home. Once you are in top gear, you just chug along. Nothing else to really think about. That’s what I love about it, if you want to get a thrill, open the throttle quickly. If you want to cruise, just sit back and enjoy. You feel amazing regardless of what style you feel like.
I will be sad when winter comes around again (and at this rate, it’ll be tomorrow)
Washed it for the first time in two weeks today, it was pretty dirty all over and I was secretly worried it had been damaged or rusted, but it was brilliant. All the dirty stains and rusting parts cleaned up a jem and it’s sitting outside my house gleaming in the evening sun.
I am glad I am so fortunate to own such a bike. I see a lot of bikers on the road on bangers and old bikes. I don’t feel bad for them, because they are probably loving it. I just feel fortunate to be able to walk out to the MT every morning, knowing that it will soon be locked up and still gleaming, as the GSR is brought back in to active service. I too will soon be riding around on a banger, but I will also still be loving it.
Sorry for the complete lack of update. It couldn’t be helped.
Cheers
YY
What winter does to your motorcycle…
What does riding your motorcycle in winter do? Well if like me you don’t have a garage or a hose, this:
(click the image for a full whacker)
Unless you are intimate with a GSR’s engine casing, the black shiny bit should sit up against the lip of that bolt you see there. But the road salt has eaten away at it so much, that you can actually see the shaft of the bolt. Now bear in mind, this is about 2 weeks worth of salt sitting on the bolt areas, and this is the damage.
Its pretty crazy to think that 2 weeks worth of shit they put on the road can do this sort of damage but there you go. This is the second casing on this side of the bike, I’ve had 2 on the other as well.
I guess I should have known it would happen but, not this quickly.
Anyway, I thought I would share what the consequences are of leaving salt on your bike. I think I will have to replace these casings and get busy with the FS365 from Scottoiler.
Bums.
Just goes to show how crappy the materials are that Suzuki use on their lower end bikes.
Yamaha MT-01. I beg your pardon?
Artworks are consuming my every moment of living…that and putting up blinds in the house. When I am not painting or drilling, I am either eating, sleeping or riding my bike. Anyway, just so you know, I feel guilty. But thinking about it this instant, guilty for what?
My GSR is running it’s bland life fine at the minute. My back tyre is squaring and the head bearings are clicking. My headlight was turning off whenever I turned the steering to full lock left, but I soon found out that the connector had worked itself loose after me prodding it every time. A quick click back on sorted that out.
I’ve had the GSR for over 2 years now, and after a fatal mistake by Em of looking at other bikes, we have been thrown in to discussion.
Discussion about the future of my biking life. Don’t worry, I am not giving up. The issue revolves around the GSR and winter. You see, Winter in Scotland is a very unwelcoming place to be. It’s usually cold, usually wet and always miserable. This is true for everyone, pedestrians, car drivers, hillwalkers. For motorcyclists it’s a freakin nightmare.
I spoke a while back regarding the new VFR1200F as my main motorcycle and the response was mixed. Some agreed with my points regarding the output of the bike/lack of fairing protection. Other’s took their chance to call me a sissy and offer me a moped. The question in point was getting a bike that would give me year round satisfaction, with the benefit of not falling to bits.
It seems that my thinking was going down the wrong path. You see, I was going down the path of a one bike outfit, something bullet proof that would ease my woes. But after big discussion with Blair, Em and anyone else who would listen, having a second bike seems like the way to go. The reasons are thus:
One bike = High price, high mileage, high wear & tear, quick boredom. A one bike house would mean running a bike throughout the year including winter and thus exposing it to the same bike rotting salt.
Two bikes = Lower price, low mileage, low wear & tear, less quick boredom. A two bike house allows use of one bike for summer/dry days, another for winter/salty days.
It may seem excessive to many, but the argument is sound. Why sell the GSR and buy a new bike, only to inflict the same torture to it, road salt, sitting outside in the rain rotting. It would be the same situation all over again and it seems totally pointless to continue buying new bikes only for them to fall apart because I ride them at a time that these bikes aren’t designed to be ridden.
If I have a bike for summer/dry riding, I have the excitement of a fresh bike. I have the reduced mileage on both the new bike and the GSR. Once it gets wetter/colder, I switch to the GSR. I would be able to look forward to summer again, because at the minute, I am still riding the same bike in summer, winter and every other time.
I’ve paid off the GSR now, so it’s mine. It wouldn’t matter if I wanted to sell it anyway, because after speaking to a few garages, no-one would even entertain the thought of trying to resell a 2-year-old GSR with 30,000 miles on the clock, a bit rusty here and there and generally a hack. So no-one wants it. And I aint giving it away.
The added bonus to strengthen the argument is insurance. Insurance companies seem to go on the assumption that more miles = more chance of crashing. This means that the premium goes up massively. Take my old Buell for example. I put 18,000 miles annually on the insurance form and it returned a premium of £1,600. Put in a mileage of 5,000 and it’s £300. I couldn’t afford to run it based on that kind of money, so I sold it.
SOOOOOOO
What am I saying then? Well I will be looking for a Used bike to ride during summer/dry days, and I will be keeping the GSR for a winter hack. It makes complete sense.
Now those of you who have been here from the start (Thanks Rossy Boy) will know I had a Yamaha MT-03 as my first bike. The seat melted due to faulty exhausts, Yamaha didn’t give a shit. I got a Buell and so the nightmare unfolded.
I swore I would never return to Yamaha. I lied.
Now that I have the opportunity to basically get any bike I like (within a £5k budget), and having spent the past 4 years knowing that someday I would own a Yamaha MT-01 I thought, this is my chance.
And so it is.
Now a lot of people in reviews and in person lament the MT due to the lack of jail baiting top speed. They see 1700cc and get disappointed that they don’t fly at the speed of sound. They get upset that the bike has R1 derived brakes and chassis, but when you try to get your knee down the headers threaten grounding.
I think that they don’t understand it. Whereas I do.
The MT is a bike that gives you the unbelievable thrill of torque, without getting you in to trouble before you know it. It’s a bike to fart along the back roads on knowing that at the twist of a throttle you will instantly be rocketed forward. None of this IL4 surging at 9ooorpm (a-la GSR).
A lot of reviewers say it’s bland because the power is so linear (in other words when you open the taps, the power doesn’t waiver or surge in, it’s just “flat” all the way to peak RPM).
I think the MT is perfect. I would have a V-twin over any other engine until the day I die. I love them. I want a bike I can get on and just enjoy. I don’t want to look down and see I’m cruising at 100mph and not realising it. I want to go down the street and small children fall to the ground from the vibrations…maybe not.
I think what I keep remembering is when I went to France on the Buell. I was going down the street and a gang of youngsters on mopeds/125′s were all gathered down the road. I saw them, and they heard me. As I drifted past them with the beat of the 1200cc V-twin beneath me, I knew that I was on something special as they all stood open mouthed. Then I noticed the collection of skinheads standing up from a cafe, perhaps expecting some kind of chopper or harley, to see this small bug eyed gold wheeled machine. It made my year. It made me love biking.
It won’t quite be the same with the MT, for a start its huge. But its also deeper, louder comfier.
So.
I am going to have a wee test ride on one to see if all the reviews are correct. From there it’s either buying one, or looking elsewhere, but something tells me I will be rumbling home once more.
Updates (hopefully) as things start to unfold.
Welcome to 2010!
Well welcome one and all, for it’s two-thousand-and-ten A L R E A D Y.
The weather here is atrocious at best, so because of this my bike has been constrained to the work garage, as I couldn’t get it home. Because of this, my bike has sat for a week and now that I have returned to see it, the ignition is seized stopping the key from turning (you can still get the key in though…) and thus I can’t start it, thus I can’t unseize the rear brake that’s now jammed on.
Ace.
It’s going to be a few weeks I would imagine, before this snow and ice clears up. This isn’t good because my bike needs to be in active service asap. I think what I might do is get Stuart to come and get it and do a service. Then I can just wait until the weather is a bit kinder to 2 wheels.
Anyway. I hope Santa was good to y’all and you had a great and happy new year’s celebration. We had a great time, with a new Fraser in the family (Lily, both mother and daughter are well!) and some nice relaxing fatty-eating-chocolate-and-other-leftovers joy.
2010 has to be a good year, because 2009 wasn’t. And for this reason, I have made a promise to update YamYam at least twice a week. Let’s see how I do.
Oh and the 25th of January will celebrate my 3rd year of YamYam and 2 wheeled joy. Insurance AHOY!
Cheerio for now!
Gordon
YamYam’s Top 10 Posts Ever.
So whilst I await the melting of the Fife Ice Caps, I shall collate some data…Geek Style.
I am always amazed at how sparse reviews are for products, or how biased a lot of reviews seem to be. Motostrano Blog said it excellently:
“I rarely read product reviews these days. They are all advertisements and we know it- pure fantasy. On the other hand, there’s the ‘discussion forums’ where you can read countless essays written by lonely males holed up in their mancaves about the products they’ve purchased, sharing with others the ins and outs of why the product they invested in is so great. Of course it’s great, you bought it and you’re actually wasting life hours writing about it. We beat our chests about the little gizmos and gadgets we’ve been able to scrounge up on our hunting and gathering missions out in the shopping wilderness. Heading back to camp with our gear speared on a stick- which is really a lonely little desk away from the kids or wife – we review the goods, inspect it, try it on, pose in action shots in front of the mirror, perhaps in our underwear, perhaps dressed up in our leathers in the garage. Then, as if to map out a terrain that no other fellow savage has explored, we set up to transpose our inner most thoughts on digital paper about whatever it is we just bought, signaling to other tribe members where to go and what to see along the adventure.”
So it’s with great satisfaction and indeed pride, that I have been complimented on my reviewing technique and detail. This is probably why (and you will see soon enough) my reviews are the most popular out of my posts. Naebody cares about me seeing a plane almost hitting the Forth Road Bridge. They want to know why I think the Puma Desmo’s were the best boot ever made.
Anyway, lets move along. I give you the top 10 favourite posts on YamYam ever (in descending order):
#10: Review: Respro “Foggy” Anti-fog Mask
#9: Review: Puma Brutale Gore-Tex Boots
#8: Update: AGV GP-Tech Helmet
#6: Review: Shark RSI “Eden” Helmet
#5: Yamaha MT-03
#4: Review: Puma Desmo 800 Boots
#3: Tutorial #1: How to change grips and handlebars
#2: Kawasaki ER6n
The most popular post on YamYam ever is, surprise surprise:
#1: Review: AGV GP-Tech Helmet
So there you have it. I think the reason is I got the GP-Tech really early, as in first batch. This allowed me to get a head-start and offer the viewing public a chance to see what this new helmet was like before going out to purchase it themselves.
It’s a good indication of what people are after when looking around the interweb for motorcycle type stuff.
I hope you enjoyed reading the top 10 posts, but also have a wee look around the archives at the non-review stuff. You might be pleasantly surprised…or endlessly bored.
All the best
Gordon
Winter Hack
What what what.
My last post to have the blue banner of information said that I was in a so-so mood, had done 24486.3 miles on my GSR and…go to yamyambiker.com.
Since then, as you can see with my new blue banner of information, I have increased in mood by 3 bars, I have covered 2619 more miles on my GSR and you’ve still to go to yamyambiker.com.
So what’s the chat? What have I been doing that’s so damn interesting to keep me from my YamYam duties. Well as you know, I sometimes go for ages and then end up writing a long assed post, so perhaps this might be one of those moments. I’ll start from where I left it…that is I had just reviewed my current jacket (Wolf Titanium if you ask), I had been told I would be better suited to a scooter because I couldn’t handle my Kwak ER-6n and I was off to Tenerife. Not before emailing West Coast Harley about their current Buell stock, a small yamyam probe to see what the deal was (deal…get it?)
Well I got back from a spectacular 2 weeks of sunshine, sleeping, eating (a lot) and bobbing in an extremely cold pool. Like a true Scotsman, I sucked it up and I was in there pretty much every day, floating like a fleshy coloured iceberg, whilst others sat shivering on their sunbeds. I didn’t care. I wasn’t thinking about work, I wasn’t thinking about the thousands of troubled thoughts that plagued my mind on a daily basis. For 2 weeks (well, 1.3 really) I was awol from my mind, from my life back in Scotland and all that was really to do was decide what to eat (crisps or bread), what to wear (usually just shorts…easy ladies, and a t-shirt) and what to do; float or read…or watch a film…or go for a walk.
We arrived back in Scotland to an extremely cold, windy, wet Saturday morning, having had our plane delayed a wee bit. I sat on my couch at 6am deliberating whether or not to go to bed or just ride it out and see how far I made it. I went to bed.
It was great being back really. I love Scotland and no matter how many Hunters Chicken I ate (a delicious meal prepared by someone other than me in a restaurant filled with alcohol and sunshine), it’s still no match for the stiff, crisp Scottish air. Refreshing some might say.
Before heading away on holiday I had realigned my broadband duties from Virgin to O2, because I found Virgin’s internet to be slow in the evenings, slow enough that I had to buffer some films from Sky Player a few times.
What a mistake that was. From the get-go O2 were dismal, utterly dismal. Think along the lines of trying to open a YouTube video, only to have someone actually come out of your screen and scream “Who do you think you are!?” at you for even trying. I couldn’t load any videos, surfing was a task and I was totally fed up. However I had a 30 day “Happiness Guaranteed” period where I could opt out and nothing would be said of it. I gave it a little while as I was promised that the service would start to pick up shortly because of some maintenance they were doing to the lines or something.
Well guess who got their math wrong? ME. I got back from Tenerife thinking I had a good week left of my 30 days, only to find that I was actually, from Saturday of my arrival onward, 1 day in to my contract. The service was no better by the way, still as crap as always. I should have been getting 8mg. I was getting 0.3mg.
So with no time to lose, I called them up and got my MAC code, then requested my account be cancelled to be told that I am now “within contract period and it’ll cost £160 to get out of it.” After much argumenting and deliberating from O2 I got out of my shockingly bad contract and luckily I was able to go to a more safe bet, BT. Now that I have, my internet is ace, I can watch films, watch YouTube and I’ve even updated www.gordon-fraser.com to celebrate.
But all this has taken it’s toll on my time available to post here, that and just getting on with riding my bike every day with pretty much no incident.
Since getting back the weather has steadily decreased to the point of no-feely-handies. So I decided that it was time to forget looking swish, and buy some hand guards for my Gisser. I did buy them (£38) and fitted them with Dad with a little trademark Fraser persuasion.
What a difference, my hands are now wind free and really a lot warmer. Then the weather got to the point that in the morning my bars would be iced up, so really even though my hand guards were preventing wind and rain from chilling my fingers, I was still holding on to a frozen piece of metal, so my hands still got numb. The ride home however is a different story and I am ever so thankful I took the plunge and fitted them. I also re-fitted my screen unit and it’s keeping a lot of the rain and draught off me so that’s ace. The only problem is the increase in ease of speeding. I am always so used to having the drag on my body that the position I sit at naturally on the throttle is causing me to cruise faster with the aerodynamic advantage of the fairing. It has been a few times I have glanced down to see that I am not sticking to the speed limit without knowing it. ANYWAY.
Hand guards were from a V-Strom 650, for all you like minded GSR riders, and can be picked up from your local Suzuki dealership.
I mentioned the email to Buell Glasgow.
Well I sent a wee informal “Now that Buell is going south, what deals you got?” email to them and I’m not exaggerating here, 8-9 calls later they are still trying to get me in to have a chat. I’ve decided to forget going for a new Buell because I spoke to Stuart @ Jacksons Bikes about it and he said that because of the miles I do, I could quickly find myself in a position that I need a part and they can’t supply it. Say if the engine management computer packed in, and I couldn’t get a replacement, that’s my bike written off, even if the rest is in mint condition. So aye, even though I LOVE LOVE LOVE Buells, I just can’t justify it really. I’ll stick with the pain in the arse and rusty boy until it packs in (it’s been a while so touch wood nothing will happen…)
So that’s really where we are at. It’s a week until christmas, Blair is soon to be a Daddy (it could hit off anytime now) and work is busy as feck.
In a week there could be a small, brand new Fraser in this world. After a year of utter SHITE, I am desperately holding on to the hope that it’ll end well. I am hoping.
2010 is a new year. It’s a fresh start. One things for sure, it really couldn’t get any worse than what 2009 was. If it does, there’ll be bigger problems than my hands getting cold, or BT internet. 2010 could be the greatest year of everyones lives, purely for the fact that we had one of the worst years just before it. I hope for all our sakes it will be.
AHHHHHHHHH
It’s definitely time to draw a line under this post. Word count is 1308 as of this word HERE.
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Go check out my home website WWW.GORDON-FRASER.COM and feedback me.
All the best for the remaining 2009. I will speak before the bells.
Thanks for visiting all,
GORDON!
Suzuki GSR600 – Well Well…
My GSR and I have a chequered past. Our relationship started out so well and quickly turned in to a nasty affair.
I have to date done 22,800.5 miles on my GSR, that’s since January 26th 2008. 19 months of GSR experience has left a sour taste in my mouth and I am done. Last week for the 3rd time my throttle began sticking. In an attempt to see if it was just a fleeting hiccup in time, I gave it a few days. By the 4th day the throttle was so awful that I would twist it and it would just stick open, a definite annoyance especially at traffic lights, when I would sit stationary, idling at 8,000rpm. Thank goodness I don’t have after-markets, or it would be atrocious. For now however, I’ll stick to ridiculous.
I took it to the garage this morning after speaking to them yesterday. I got in to the garage around 9:15am and handed the bike over. I knew it would be something to do with the throttle linkage or shaft, as that was the problem before. I got my £6 a day SV650 and off I went, fully prepared to ride back only hours later when they had fixed the issue. Sure enough, 12pm came and I got the call.
Upon arrival my bike was sitting outside the garage waiting. I headed inside and spoke to the bloke there, who spent a few moments muttering to himself and staring at the computer. “He’s going to charge me for this” I thought, and when he started speaking I actually thought he was.
In a nutshell he basically said that Suzuki are getting a lot firmer with regards to warranty jobs and my problem here, the throttle linkage being totally corroded, would start to become un-warranty-able… He said that it’s a “maintenance” thing and I need to look after my bike. I said that I wash it every 1-2 weeks, but then mentioned that it sat outside every night as I don’t have a garage. Would that contribute to this corrosion?
“Oh aye” he said, going on to mention that the condensation from both the rain and the hot engine will sit on the throttle assembly and turn to rust. This will then start corroding away. I told him I spoke to the warranty boy there and he mentioned it was a sealed unit. He agreed but then said that the moisture can get up through the bottom of the engine and basically that I need to clean my bike even more regularly including taking the tank off and cleaning the throttle assembly.
I got charged £6 for the SV, even though I had only had it for 3 hours.
We had a chat outside when he was checking the loan bike over and he openly admitted that Suzuki has made their life a lot tougher about the warranty jobs. They now have to submit pictures of the problem, Suzuki then decide aye or no to a warranty issue. He also mentioned that he thinks the reason why is because down south somewhere a garage was claiming warranty jobs, fixing the broken parts on the bike and keeping the new parts from Suzuki, then selling them thus doubling his money.
Fair enough. But.
If Suzuki are going to start saying no to issues like seized throttle bodies, then what the f*ck is the point in having a warranty? I have therfore come up with the following conclusion:
Suzuki manufacture motorcycles that are sold in the UK. These motorcycles are perfect for anyone and everyone wanting to get on 2 wheels at respectable prices. However, if you do want to buy a Suzuki, you must never ride it, and more than that, you need a warm dry garage to keep it in at all times. You must also clean it after every ride, regardless of if it’s wet or dry and forget right this second riding it in winter. PFFF
Also, where in the manual does it mention cleaning the throttle linkage below the airbox?
The side of my bike looks like a mess, but that dark splatter and massive patch on the casing is actually oil. It seems either that I now have another leaking engine part or the garage today went a bit overkill with the lube for the throttle bodies, because it’s everywhere. I’ll have to double check this as I only just noticed it after being out at the bike to take photos.
Well about 10 minutes ago I got a call on my mobile. It showed “Private Number” which usually is my Mum, because her phone is a dork. Anyway, I answered “HEeeeeeeelllooooooooooo?” and an Englishman replied, “……hi.”
Oops.
It was a guy from Suzuki GB, giving me a courtesy call about my email I had sent on Thursday. In this email, done entirely though the Suzuki website, I had written down every single problem I had with my GSR since buying it new, and just hung it out there for Suzuki to either respond to it, or forget about it. I was really expecting the 2nd one, but much to my flabbergastery, the bloke from Suzuki GB called me to say that he had received the email, had gotten in touch with my garage and had started the path to making me happy. He said that the amount of issues I have had was a bit strange and he was going to try and set it straight. Then he said cheerio.
Amazing. A quick phone call just to say hello and yes, we are going to do something. I am really delighted about this effort to let me know my issues are being listened to, but I am a bit apprehensive as to what will actually happen. I will obviously keep you in the loop.
Anyway,
Update on the bike over, next: The Bridgestone BT021 Sports Touring rubber, good? Hell yeah.
G
Autoglym Clean Wheels. The best for the worst.
Right.
Today I cleaned my bike so it was clean enough to eat your dinner off it…except for the rusty bits…anyway,
I clean my bike religiously but I often clean the wheels enough so that most of the muck is off. I guess I just got fed up with the winter hash being all over them and got bored with the elbow work.
Well today I thought that it was high time that I restored them to shiny lovelyness. And to do this I opted for the tried and tested easy-most-definitely-better way of doing it. I bought myself a brand new bottle of Autoglyms Clean Wheels.
Now for those who spend possible hours gubbing away at your rims only to find you’ve just smeared the chain fling around then this is for you. You basically spray this liquid acid on your alloys and let it sit for 1 minute. Then you get your sponge and wipe the stuff off…that’s it.
I lie.
That isn’t it, because today after 2 months of “That’ll do” rim cleaning, the first pass didn’t take off a few patches of stubborn crap. So I sprayed the bits again, and left it for an extra minute.
B L I N G
That’s all I have to say about that.
If you want the easiest and best way to clean your wheels of all chain fling and dirt, then get yourself a £7 bottle of this stuff. It’s the BUSINESS.
Thanks for reading,
Gordon
Suzuki GSR600s K7 – The Big Review
Hello.
This post would have been done a looong time ago had it not been for my bike breaking so much, so apologies for that.
It has been more than a year now of owning the Suzuki GSR600 and I am about to review it. It won’t be positive in any sense of the word so if you are in a good mood, please navigate to another post on YamYam until you are angry enough.
I guess I’ll start from the start then.
I bought my GSR600s K7 in January of 2008, it was my 4th bike and the last chance of a bike for the next couple of years. I had a Yamaha MT-03 (which melted), a Buell XB12Ss Lightning which costed £2000 for insurance and a Kawasaki ER-6n which was crap and I crashed it and then sold it. The GSR was the bike that I had to get on with as I wasn’t able to afford anything else.
Brand Spanking New.
Blair had one since November 2007 and after having a sit on it and seeing it going etc etc I liked it. I had never had an in-line-4 and had never had access to these kinds of rev’s so was looking forward to it…actually the only thing I haven’t had is a triple.I picked up my bike on the 24th of January 2008 and it felt good. The ER-6n was away and stability was finally here. And it stayed that way for 3 months.
The first thing to go was the electrics. And when I say the electrics I mean the whole thing. The garage replaced the whole wiring loom after a week of diagnostics turning up nothing. It was highly frustrating as we had booked our Scotland Tour for the end of May and I didn’t want anything to stop us from going.
Turns out that they couldn’t find out what the problem was but it was working now and I was happy. If I remember correctly the warranty bill came to something like £600 odd.
Debugging
A couple of months later my bike suddenly failed to start. After many attempts at the house to start it I was off, however on the return trip from work that evening I went to the petrol BP at the Forth Road Bridge and it wouldn’t start for love nor money. After half an hour of attempts it fired up and all was ok for the rest of the week. But then it totally failed to start and it was buggered. After another few days of non-biking bus journey to work the garage had fixed it, with a dirty starter coil or something like that the issue.
My bike then developed a knocking when accelerating in 6th. It wasn’t any other gear, just 6th. As you twisted the throttle I could feel through the pegs a “knock knock knock knock” which sped up as I accelerated. This grew over time in to a knocking at all revs and gears.
My indicators also broke but strangely started flashing really fast. A new indicator relay fixed this. An annoying trait started to appear as well with the mechanic at the garage. He was completely unable to fit my indicator pods back on properly, leaving a huge gaping hole between my tank and the indicator pods. Hair pullingly annoying to say the least.
The knocking became so loud that I had to do something about it. I bought a new Renthal chain/sprocket kit and got it fitted. Turns out my chain was totally feckered and my sprocket had 3-4 teeth missing. Problem solved and the shitty GSR stock drive system was OUT.
Whilst this problem seemed to have been solved, another problem was rearing it’s ugly head. The throttle.
Now I was fully aware of the throttle issues with the GSR and how it lurched forward and back when you accelerated/decelerated, but this was different. The throttle was sticking and I had to force it open and closed if I wanted to get anywhere. This was crap for a few reasons, the first of which was that it’s really unsafe to have to shut the throttle off manually whilst trying to slow down. A number of times I found myself having to brake harder to try and overcome the throttle being slightly open. Also when I am changing gear, the throttle will stick open and rev the bike to 8-9000 revs, which is shit if you are trying to be smooth.
After months of putting up with it I took it to the garage. A week and a half later the bike was fixed. The throttle bodies were siezed, making the butterfly’s stick open. This accounted for the need to force the throttle open and shut and after they were lubed/released the bike was running sweet. This also solved a problem with the bike cutting out in the morning. I would start the bike, let it warm up and then start off to work. I would get to the bottom of the road and change down the gears only for the bike to cut out. I would then have to restart the bike whilst still on the move. I had a suspicion this was to do with the idle speed and I was right.
How my GSR looks now, 2009
The brake switch in my front brake lever broke as well, rendering cars behind me oblivious to my slowing down. The back brake pedal had siezed up due to excessive lack of brake pad so I only had my front. This was replaced under warranty.
January 2009 saw me falling off my bike in the office carpark. This would have been a minor spill had it not been for the engine casings on my bike being corroded. And it was on both sides, and it was leaking oil. The first was fixed under my dollar, but the second corroded engine casing was a warranty job. The spill damage (rear brake lever, engine casing) as well as a 16k service came to £580, which was irritating as the only reasoon I fell off was because the office had left the entrance to the carpark un-gritted. There was not a sausage I could to to stop my front folding from underneath me.
How my GSR looks now, 2009 - The new non-corroded engine casing.
The rear left hand pillion footpeg mount then suspiciously cracked. It’s bizarre but the bottom of the casing has a big crack along it. I thought it would be covered under warranty but no it aint. £160 for that to be replaced by me and Em can’t get on it until a week today. What with the excellent spring weather we are having at the minute, this is a major annoyance.
How my GSR looks now, 2009 - Rusty. F*cking Rusty.
The finish on my right hand mirror is gone. This is frustrating but will be replaced under warranty with some K8 mirrors, which anyone who rides a GSR can do. There is a deal at the minute whereby anyone who has a GSR can get their mirrors swapped under warranty due to excessive vibration. I never use my mirrors for anything but seeing what’s directly behind me, so I wasn’t bothered. However for those who like to look at themselves or read the car numberplate behind them, this seemed to be a reason to get on to Suzuki. I can think of a few more important issues that they could attend to first though.
How my GSR looks now, 2009 - The frame saving R&G Crash Mushroom. Cheers!
And to top off all of this, the throttle issue returned. There seems to be a pattern of things happening twice, but this time it was the throttle shafts not being lubricated enough and now that they are, the problem is fixed.
How my GSR looks now, 2009 - Aye...build quality is an issue folks.
The real bone of contention for me is the crazy lack of durability with anything on this bike. It’s like the boy in the garage said, “They give you the bike for free and then rob you for parts” and I have to agree. I am a guy who takes pride in the finish of his bike and to see the paint falling off, rusting, flaking, cracking, badly designed parts on my GSR is a major issue. My rearsets are totally wasted with the paint finish blowing off with the wind to leave a nice fresh bit of metal to rust up.
How my GSR looks now, 2009 - Cracked footpeg, conveniently held up with a zip-tie.
I ride my bike 5 days during the week and then when it’s nice, some weekends. I try to wash it every weekend and when I don’t, it’s the 2nd weekend. A bike shouldn’t be this easy to ruin and a bike certainly shouldn’t be so easy to break.
How my GSR looks now, 2009
That’s the negative out the way, and when I say negative I mean in excess of £1500 worth of warranty and non-warranty negativeness.
How my GSR looks now, 2009
So now after I have stated all the problems I have had with the GSR, where does that leave me? Well to be honest I like my GSR. If you ignore all the issues the GSR is a nice bike. The throttle issue can be worked around but now and again still catches you out.
The looks of the GSR are still one of the reasons I love it. It’s quite unique and still get’s a lot of attention, but I suspect it’s people thinking it’s the B-King and not the GSR.
How my GSR looks now, 2009
The power of the GSR still makes me smile with the bike really coming alive after 9k all the way up to the redline at 13.5k. The roll on speed at 70mph is brilliant and leaves nothing to be desired for motorway duties, with low speed stability and controlability superb, so long as you use a good helping of back brake at 3-4mph.
The running costs of the bike are pretty good. I pay circa £224 a month for everything, bike £80, insurance £30, petrol £110 (varies), tax £48 (yearly) so this is a big positive.
The time saved in rush hour alone is enough to justify the expense on parts braking and consumables like tyres and services. I can’t really picture what it would be like commuting to Edinburgh in a car. I would have to leave at day break and get home at sunset and this would drive me mad. With a bike I get up and out to work in 20 minutes and am in the office 40 minutes later. The return is pretty much the same and there is absolutely no waiting in queues at all.
Also as a point in favour of the GSR: It took me and Em around Scotland, laden with luggage, camera gear, sweets and maps unflinchingly easy, and gave us the best time on my GSR, including some sweet handling, power and lack of fuss that we would have wanted. This was a big ask of the GSR and it didn’t even break sweat. Thankfully…
So in summary then, how has the GSR performed over the last year/16,000 miles?
Let us not forget first and foremost that the Suzuki GSR600 is a relatively cheap JAPANESE motorcycle. The finish on the parts is to a budget and it almost certainly, everywhere, shows. With exception to the wheels and handlebar, there is not a part on my bike that isn’t rusted or showing signs of deterioration, whether it be finish flaking off or just turning nasty due to cheapness of material.
There are a number of design touches that are completely stupid and worth slapping the designer over the face for. First is the rearset, which is a cast block of metal. This block holds both sets of pegs and the finish on it is a very nice easy scratch silver paint. If you happen to snap a peg mount point, you have to replace the whole damn thing.
The next is the seat, which is paper thin exactly where your bits naturally sit when you are on the bike. After prolonged periods on the road or if you wear thinner trousers, this can be excruciating very quickly. Not only is the seat thin, but it’s also angled such that your body slides forward in to the tank at the whiff of slowing down. A bit of a flatter angle on the seat would irradicate both problems.
The clutch cable obstructs the temp gauge on the dash. This isn’t so crucial but is annoying.
The clock pod vibrates at exactly 6000rpm and it’s LOUD AND VERY ANNOYING. Something has broken off inside this part and is causing it to vibrate, but I haven’t hit it with anything or tampered with it at all, so there’s obviously an inner stress within this part that fails whenever a mildly big bump is hit.
The throttle issue is something that I knew about and folk who know what a GSR is know about. The fix (looking at the GSR forum) is the throttle position sensor being manually set in the build stage of the bike to a preset place. If you get your bike apart and override this setting by adjusting the position of a lever, the bike runs fine. How Suzuki couldn’t advise their garages to fix this themselves to eradicat this highly irritating and potentially dangerous issue is beyond me.
Ridden 50%, broken 50%
Well, there you go. The GSR is a decent bike let down by STUPID build quality issues and a severe lack of durability to their parts. When I am due for a new bike I wont be looking to Japan for my new metal, I will be looking to either Austria, Germany or Italy…although I am sure I said that if you want a cheap bike you need to look no-where else but Japan….who knows. One things for sure, Suzuki really have something to answer for with the GSR and it seems that when Suzuki released the GSR to the world, the didn’t expect anyone to actually ride it that much. For example Blair’s bike has 4,000 miles on it in a year and a half, and it still looks fresh as a daisy. I’m hitting 17,000 in a year and it looks like a pile of rusty ming. I dont want to even think what it’ll be like this time next year…oh dear.
The Summer Luvvies are BACK…
…and I’m annoyed.
Well hello folks, it has been a very frustrating 2 weeks in YY’s life. But hey, whatever.
The summer luvvies are back, resplendant in full race leather, knee sliders ‘n all and it’s havoc! This morning I finally got my bike back and I was up in good time to get going (instead of waking up and getting out the door in 10 minutes.)
It was still quite cold today, a temperature that made me swither on wearing my summer gloves, but I opted for my winters, which was a good choice. As I was cruising along the motorway a guy on an old Kawasaki (i think) went shooting past me wearing a leather jacket, cream jeans and some Timberland boots.
Reaching the city another guy with pillion went weaving through the traffic at high speed, not even flinching as he flew past a bike cop.
It’s been so quiet for the past 3 months and I miss it. I miss seeing the regulars and us both enjoying the fact that we were among relatively few (out of the whole biking frat) that were out in winter weather. Anyway, it’s all good.
The spring is arriving and it’s feeling milder, considering it was only 2 weeks ago I dropped my bike in snow and ice. The sun is out most days and I am loving it.
Bike has been fixed after the small spill.
So the 16k service was done, complete with a new set of brake pads front and back.
A new air filter was fitted and the spill damage was repaired; a new engine case/seal/bolts, new rear brake pedal. Then I got a call last minute to say my valves need shimmed, which would take a wee bit longer.
The bike was ready last night, having been road tested and cleaned (which was great as it looked ace) and the bill came to circa £580. I have gotten used to this figure so don’t flinch when I see it, but when I first was told I almost ate my phone. This biking lark is expensive! haha.
The bike feels great, really solid again. It’s amazing how quickly you can adapt to failing mechanics. It’s like the short story “The Machine Stops” where the machine starts to fail, but they find ways to adapt to it’s failings and make do. That is until it gets ridiculous and the machine fails.
I think it’s safe to say that riding with brakes on the steel is a wee bit harder than riding with new brake pads.
Anyway, biking is ace, and I would never change it for anything. 16,000 miles and counting. I promised you a review of the GSR and that will be the next outing.
Thanks for reading guys, (and girls)
Gordon
Repair Bills and Suzuki
Goodevening all.
This weekend was a mixture of good and bad. But lets be positive and start off on the good.
Got the ER6 back on Friday, one of the windiest days so far this year. It was looking ace in the dark, really shiny and it was cleaned quite well. Got all my still dirty gear on and headed home from the Garage. It was a weird feeling riding for the first time after the accident. But moreover it wasn’t a secure feeling on the ER6. Really twitchy.
The repair bill was quite reasonable. The parts list was as follows:
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Gear Lever £25.98
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Generator Cover and Gasket £52.62
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L/H Front Indicator £23.67
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Front Brake Lever £25.45
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Rear Brake Lever £20.30
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R/H Footpeg and bank sensor £46.62
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Clutch Lever £7.67
So there you go.
On Saturday I went to the Suzuki garage and started arranging the GSR. I chatted away with the guy about it all and gave some details, £200 holding fee which they refund me in a weeks time….silly, and some details about the ER6, at which point he asked what the condition was of it. I said that it was good condition and that it was a test ride bike so has marks on the footpeg hangers. There is also a crack on the fairing. At this point he took interest and asked what sort of crack etc. And eventually he said well we need to do a workshop check before agreeing on the price for the ER6. He wants it in showroom condition so may need to order some parts in. Ok I said and off we went, agreeing that Saturday was the time to do it all.
When I arrived home i went out to the ER6 and took the front fairing off to inspect in in the kitchen and it was scraped to buggery. If he sees this he’s going to know that it was dropped etc so I need to replace it.
So I will call the Garage tomorrow and get one ordered as I dont really want to go in Saturday and they say “ooo it’ll cost you £200 for a new one so we’ll take that off the part exchange price..” when it actually would have cost me £50. At least it gives me proof of them trying to pull my pants over my head. But it’s all depending on what the boys at Suzuki deem to be “Showroom Condition.”
We’ll just have to wait and see. Me and Em went out for a 2 hour ride today and I put the helmet cam on her this time. Which shows a really smart angle. I’ll convert it tomorrow and post it up to let you see. However the lens gets dirty again. I am starting to think that this camera will only be really good in the complete dry weather. But it was a good ride out and already my confidence has came back.
I also got my quote through from Express Insurance, with £395 as the official quote.
So yeah, I’ll keep you posted on what happens with Suzuki.
Thanks for looking folks,
Gordon
Last Chance Cafe & Crash update
Hello all,
Firstly the quote for damage to my bike has came in.
After I dropped my bike off etc I gave Stuart a call back the next day and we chatted about what to do. The options were that he orders some of the parts and he plastic welds and paints the fairings, or just orders all the parts except the fairings and tries to make them look as un-broken as possible.
So the option two was better because 1: it was £200 cheaper and 2: Stuart is a wizard and I’m sure he can make it look presentable.
The parts list was a new front brake lever, a new right hand peg, a new engine casing, new rear brake lever and a new gear shifter. This all comes to £212, with labour etc totalling it at £284.
I was a bit surprised as I got a quote for the peg and lever at Edinburgh Kawasaki and it was £60 for the peg and £30 for the lever. Which means that for £122 I am getting the engine casing, rear brake lever and gear shifter…I got a new rear brake lever for the MT-03 and it cost me £15, so say another £15-£20 for the gear shifter and it leaves £92 for the engine casing. It is a cast lump but £92 for f*ck sake. OEM parts eh…
So yeah it’s all good on that front, I was expecting at least £400 of work, but I suppose the fairing would cost a bit anyway.
Bike should be ready to go this week some time. I can’t wait because it means I will be moving on for the final time. And this time I have to get the right bike.
I was looking at the Z750 before and I was totally dead set. I had read the reviews online and they all pointed to a nice bike. But then I read my BIKE magazine, which I respect 100% and they said the Z was completely crap, bottom of the table in a shootout with a Street Triple, Hornet, Fazer and a GSR600.
They said the forks were crap, the power was pretty gutless, the handling was good but the whole experience was disconcerting and very uncomfortable. I was really disappointed. Then I read the reviews for the other bikes and although the Street Triple didn’t really come out top in anything tables wise, it was their pick of the bunch. Fair enough, but they forgot to mention the ludicrous pillion pegs. This was a one person bike from the off, which was also disappointing.
The I looked at the Fazer, which had a pretty duff write up as well. But it was closely matched to the GSR600. Which my brother has.
Upon reading the review the GSR was left in pretty good light, with great power, great handling and great looks, but fell on tank size and snatchy throttle issue.
It left me thinking…What do I want from a bike?
I want:
• Comfortable
• Fast
• Stability
• 180 rear section
• Comfy 2 up riding
• Good dials
• Good lights
• Nice posture
• Quality build.
The GSR has pretty much all of those, with exception to the tank range, which tops at 140 miles by BIKE standards, which is what I am getting with the ER6 at the minute so no change there.
I would have had a GSR off the bat had the throttle issue not been there. Basically when going from no throttle to introducing the throttle there is a lurch. Going from Positive throttle to rolling off the throttle, there is a negative lurch. This not only is annoying but it unsettles the bike mid-corner and can be quite dangerous should you forget about it.
However upon reading the GSR forum for a bit, I came across the o2 sensor eliminator fix, which you buy for £18 and it fixes the snatchy throttle. It does this because as a standard bike the GSR runs lean, to pass fuel emission regulations. This means that at low throttle openings the bike lurches about. This o2 eliminator tricks the bikes ECU in to running rich, which removes the lurchyness.
If this works, then I think the GSR would be a great bike.
But with all this said, I have to remember one thing: This will be the very last chance to get it right. I have had 3 bikes in a year and I can’t go on like this. So I think I will go for the GSR, which will make me have the same bike as my brother but I like the looks, it sounds amazing and has everything going for it. But should this O2 Eliminator not work, I could have to put up with it for at least 3 years. Anyway, I am just glad the ER6 is going, because it’s unsafe.
Sorry for the long post folks!
Thanks for looking again,
Gordon
