NW KREW '15 ride outs, banter and man love from Loon
Discussion
A few mates have Multistradas and they have never interested me - I always took the piss 'cos of all the daft jumpers and paddock shoes and everything else they can be seen wearing - always- I did , however guess that these are astonishingly capable machines ....took the opportunity yesterday to borrow one for an afternoon from the dealership my mate manages , went out with Mikey my Geordie pal who has owned the previous model and then the '15 new one . Well, 250 miles in and around some of the best roads in North Yorkshire, I can safely say they are a stunning bit of kit. Instantly easy to ride quickly over varied terrain and more than a match for any sports bike on the smooth and twisty stuff but pretty much like cheating on the slightly broken, bumpy, edgy less than perfect roads. The suspension soaks up everything without a murmur and with a remote adjustable preload to the rear - easily nipped up for the open sections and softened on the scrub....huge torque and tractability , composure and comfort .........got to be the tool of choice for big Euro trips with scratching thrown in along the way .
Big smiles, big wheelies over crests and just ridiculously effortless in its performance whereby its size just disappears the moment you are rolling. Having said all of that - they sort of need to be pretty damned good for £13k base and £15k for the whistle and bells model....
I will be interested to try an older ( first of the 1200s) and see how it compares to the latest one...
Got back to the shop by 4 and was "forced" to take a 1299S out for a quick thrap as Andy ( manager) knows i ride amongst them on track on my S1000 regularly ..... Well, whereas the Multi gets the big thumbs up , the 1299 is not for me, found it hard -everywhere, fully aware of the adjustability available , just too extreme on the road - I can't imagine doing a 2,500 mile Euro trip on one of those in a week , which is easy on the S1000.....
Anyway, nice sunny afternoon out , shame I couldn't get out earlier to meet Jazoli, Loon and then BN , however , maybe not ...!
clen666 said:
LoonR1 said:
A and B road? You're joking. They were those s
te unclassified single track roads, best described as a farm track where someone may have thrown some Tarmac at some point in the last decade or so.
At least the tyres weren't too grippy!te unclassified single track roads, best described as a farm track where someone may have thrown some Tarmac at some point in the last decade or so. LoonR1 said:
clen666 said:
LoonR1 said:
A and B road? You're joking. They were those ste unclassified single track roads, best described as a farm track where someone may have thrown some Tarmac at some point in the last decade or so.
At least the tyres weren't too grippy!te unclassified single track roads, best described as a farm track where someone may have thrown some Tarmac at some point in the last decade or so. curlie467 said:
Hmmm, I must have missed this one, I await it in anticipation.
On the rougher surfaces my bike was all over the road yesterday and I could ny stay in the seat. On some corners, where I would normally roll and turn in, it was pushing on from the rear more than I was expecting. I've got an SC2 in there instead of a normal road SuperCorsa. The tyre is too sticky and too good, it's even fooling the DDC! It s
t me up good and proper a couple of times when it caught me out. Biker's Nemesis said:
Suspension felt rock hard and the brakes didn't feel that good to me but it was comfortable, easy to flick from side to side and went like the clappers.
A fair assessment 
Weirdly, even on the s
t roads, the quicker you 'hit' the bumps the better it feels - pottering around feels crap.I'm not sure if this excuse for excess speed is acceptable or not...
I really, really miss the Brembo's - would yours be a direct fit and how much?
woowahwoo said:
LoonR1 said:
curlie467 said:
Hmmm, I must have missed this one, I await it in anticipation.
On the rougher surfaces my bike was all over the road yesterday and I could ny stay in the seat. On some corners, where I would normally roll and turn in, it was pushing on from the rear more than I was expecting. I've got an SC2 in there instead of a normal road SuperCorsa. The tyre is too sticky and too good, it's even fooling the DDC! It s
t me up good and proper a couple of times when it caught me out. 
woowahwoo said:
May be you lost weight? Or, some joker has reset your suspension settings?
With all of the top dressing going on and the grittier surfaces they leave behind, I keep hitting tarmac that looks smooth but is very far from level.
Not lost weight. It's an HP4, the suspension is electronic. The road was resurfaced last year amd I've ridden it a few times since. I know when a bike feels very different. I can't necessarily explain it, what causes it, but this is the only difference. I know the road is very bumpy. I was out of the seat a lot on my old S1000RR. The HP4 made it much easier, but this was like going back to my 2007 R1. With all of the top dressing going on and the grittier surfaces they leave behind, I keep hitting tarmac that looks smooth but is very far from level.
woowahwoo said:
LoonR1 said:
Not lost weight. It's an HP4, the suspension is electronic. The road was resurfaced last year amd I've ridden it a few times since. I know when a bike feels very different. I can't necessarily explain it, what causes it, but this is the only difference. I know the road is very bumpy. I was out of the seat a lot on my old S1000RR. The HP4 made it much easier, but this was like going back to my 2007 R1.
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
Not long been in.
Day started off bad when the calf zip on my leathers came off in my hand at 9.30am this morning.
Met the lads at 10am, off through Rothbury stopped at Kielder then headed towards Newcastleton the Hawick. Stopped for fuel there then onto Selkirk, St Marys Loch, Moffat, Peebles back through Selkirk, Bonchester bridge, Carter Bar, Otterburn, Nowsgate, Morpeth and back home.
350 miles in total, sorry no pictures of a cup of tea and sandwich with a bike looking wistfully in the background.
Rode a mates 1299 Paingale from Carter Bar to Otterburn on the way back. The bars are nice and wide and the seating position is very good.
I think the QS needs a re-programme as it was really snatchy on up shifts at any rev's and it kept missing the change from 5th - 6th changing up at the redline.
Anti wheelie should be banned on bikes or it should be called the spoilsport button.
Bikes out today were a month old 1200cc BMW GS thing, a KTM RC-8 a KTM 1299 thingy and the Paingale, oh and my old 04 R1.
Out all day yesterday with Paul25 and Jimmy too.
All in all a good bikey weekend
Day started off bad when the calf zip on my leathers came off in my hand at 9.30am this morning.
Met the lads at 10am, off through Rothbury stopped at Kielder then headed towards Newcastleton the Hawick. Stopped for fuel there then onto Selkirk, St Marys Loch, Moffat, Peebles back through Selkirk, Bonchester bridge, Carter Bar, Otterburn, Nowsgate, Morpeth and back home.
350 miles in total, sorry no pictures of a cup of tea and sandwich with a bike looking wistfully in the background.
Rode a mates 1299 Paingale from Carter Bar to Otterburn on the way back. The bars are nice and wide and the seating position is very good.
I think the QS needs a re-programme as it was really snatchy on up shifts at any rev's and it kept missing the change from 5th - 6th changing up at the redline.
Anti wheelie should be banned on bikes or it should be called the spoilsport button.
Bikes out today were a month old 1200cc BMW GS thing, a KTM RC-8 a KTM 1299 thingy and the Paingale, oh and my old 04 R1.
Out all day yesterday with Paul25 and Jimmy too.
All in all a good bikey weekend
legzr1 said:
Nice meeting you again mate - I think the lass tending to her small bush had a thing for me
Yes you too, the silly old bat, her husband is a bit of a prat too, it was funny seeing you lot parked up next to my house, I said to the missus that's legzr1, she said who? I didn't know your real name to tell her and she gave me a funny look!Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff