2005 R1: First proper ride.
Discussion
Well, today was the first day I was able to ride my new (to me) bike. It's a 2005 R1 and it came to me from a friend who urgently needed to sell. I happened to be in the middle of speccing a custom bike and thought I'd take it off his hands. I'd tested it a couple of times before putting it into the garage to get it into top shape and took the opportunity to add a set of Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's, new brake pads, had wheels painted gold and changed the seats to black.
It just so happened that the first trip was to cheer on Lewis (with some Ferrari comped tickets
) at the Shanghai GP. My friend lead the way on his 675 Daytona and the word "awesome" doesn't even come close. I haven't spent much time on bikes and am constantly reminded that I'd swore I'd never get on anything with two wheels, but here I am. Having spent my entire driving career in sports cars, super cars and track cars I approached this biking business with a great deal of respect for these machines. Add to the fact that at best the majority of drivers over here appear completely unaware of anything beyond their bonnets, you simply cannot afford to lose focus for a second. Now I'd class myself as a pretty decent driver on road and track with good awareness and anticipation, here on the public road your skills are tested to the limit on a daily basis. If it isn't the car drivers it's the scooter drivers, cyclists, delivery carts and pedestrians doing all manner of dangerous things every moment you are moving through the city. I liken it to something like a real-life version of Paper Boy (showing my age here) with hazards at every turn.
After a daily diet of electric scooter and a 300cc bike, I'd spent a few weeks on the aforementioned Daytona getting a feel for a sports bike. The R1 certainly feels a lot smoother in power delivery compared to the Daytona, but by Christ the thing feels like it has endless power. Today I was faced with some lovely empty highways, bridges and twisties and although I was getting very comfortable on it I could feel I was barely scraping it's abilities, quite fine with me at this early stage. On the straights I would have bet everything that the needle on the rev counter was nudging the limiter, my indicated 7500rpm told another story
. Everything is just so vivid compared to the cocooned luxury and relative heft of a super car (even a stripped out racer). I couldn't believe there was so much more available all the time. I am not at the stage where I am willing to push beyond my comfort zone as it would be an incredibly stupid thing to do and I've read and seen a fair amount to do my best to start this adventure the right way. I foresee me getting on this thing every single moment I can, I won't bother with the daytime during the week as it will be a pain, but certainly every evening and over the weekends when the traffic is minimal. I could quite happily enjoy what I am able to do with the bike at the moment for a good while, I am in no rush and want to really learn this bike. Overall it's safe to say that I am amazed. I am quite glad I have begun my biking adventures now and not 10 years ago, I think being behind the wheel of a car and seeing all manner of madness on the roads and track time has really helped me ease into bike riding with far more respect than I may have had. A lifetime of learning lies ahead.
The mind boggles at the moment as I watch clips of TT Isle of Mann and MotoGP and wonder what kind of mental override switch they have to commit to being so close to the edge (and over it) time and time again. Balls made of a very different material to 99.9% of the male population.
One thing has struck me and it is this, I really don't think I can look at a super car again in the same way after this. A lot bloody cheaper too! Consider me well and truly turned..
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It just so happened that the first trip was to cheer on Lewis (with some Ferrari comped tickets
) at the Shanghai GP. My friend lead the way on his 675 Daytona and the word "awesome" doesn't even come close. I haven't spent much time on bikes and am constantly reminded that I'd swore I'd never get on anything with two wheels, but here I am. Having spent my entire driving career in sports cars, super cars and track cars I approached this biking business with a great deal of respect for these machines. Add to the fact that at best the majority of drivers over here appear completely unaware of anything beyond their bonnets, you simply cannot afford to lose focus for a second. Now I'd class myself as a pretty decent driver on road and track with good awareness and anticipation, here on the public road your skills are tested to the limit on a daily basis. If it isn't the car drivers it's the scooter drivers, cyclists, delivery carts and pedestrians doing all manner of dangerous things every moment you are moving through the city. I liken it to something like a real-life version of Paper Boy (showing my age here) with hazards at every turn.After a daily diet of electric scooter and a 300cc bike, I'd spent a few weeks on the aforementioned Daytona getting a feel for a sports bike. The R1 certainly feels a lot smoother in power delivery compared to the Daytona, but by Christ the thing feels like it has endless power. Today I was faced with some lovely empty highways, bridges and twisties and although I was getting very comfortable on it I could feel I was barely scraping it's abilities, quite fine with me at this early stage. On the straights I would have bet everything that the needle on the rev counter was nudging the limiter, my indicated 7500rpm told another story
. Everything is just so vivid compared to the cocooned luxury and relative heft of a super car (even a stripped out racer). I couldn't believe there was so much more available all the time. I am not at the stage where I am willing to push beyond my comfort zone as it would be an incredibly stupid thing to do and I've read and seen a fair amount to do my best to start this adventure the right way. I foresee me getting on this thing every single moment I can, I won't bother with the daytime during the week as it will be a pain, but certainly every evening and over the weekends when the traffic is minimal. I could quite happily enjoy what I am able to do with the bike at the moment for a good while, I am in no rush and want to really learn this bike. Overall it's safe to say that I am amazed. I am quite glad I have begun my biking adventures now and not 10 years ago, I think being behind the wheel of a car and seeing all manner of madness on the roads and track time has really helped me ease into bike riding with far more respect than I may have had. A lifetime of learning lies ahead.The mind boggles at the moment as I watch clips of TT Isle of Mann and MotoGP and wonder what kind of mental override switch they have to commit to being so close to the edge (and over it) time and time again. Balls made of a very different material to 99.9% of the male population.
One thing has struck me and it is this, I really don't think I can look at a super car again in the same way after this. A lot bloody cheaper too! Consider me well and truly turned..
[url]Edited by Justices on Sunday 20th April 14:58
GTIR said:
Nice.
What does it say on your helmet, Lawless?
Is that your surname or a reference to your attitude to the Chinese governments laws?
I just whacked some printed stickers on for F1 day, not sure they'll last long. I've gotten in touch with Rich Art thanks to everyone on BB, so I'll leave him to work his magic on the new lid. A European chap here paints them a little cheaper but I'd much rather give the work to someone back home.Just woken up here at 930am, a solid 4hrs behind my usual schedule. Yesterday clearly a little more exhausting than I'd thought.
r1flyguy1 said:
Nice write up.
What's with the chain on the Honda??
Where you based?
Dunno, my friend carried this with him to lock his Daytona up everywhere he goes. Bike theft is rampant here, with a large number of bikes that aren't technically allowed in certain cities being lifted from other countries/cities. Officially imported bikes cost on average 200% more than the dealers sticker price back home. Then you've got £14k for the number plate if you want to drive in the middle of the city to factor in.What's with the chain on the Honda??
Where you based?
This bike is in Shanghai.
Biker's Nemesis said:
Start a thread in GG about how easy it is to drive a car compared to a bike.
I know that driving a 300 bhp Atom (with Aero snigger) is a breeze in the park compared to a bike on track.
Oh, hello and welcome.
The level of concentration required to ride a bike is phenomenal. I found myself very aware of how much physical space I am NOT taking up on the road, driving something like a Murcielago you find people make the extra space for you, they tend not to pull out in front of you and let you pull out etc. On the bike this hasn't been the case so you really have to actively think about hazards, developing hazards and potential hazards and prepare earlier. Things you might take for granted in a car, braking for example, you have to be extremely conscious about as you are not strapped into anything I know that driving a 300 bhp Atom (with Aero snigger) is a breeze in the park compared to a bike on track.
Oh, hello and welcome.
Lifting your head at speed is also not something I'll be doing again in a hurry! Bloody hell! The margin for error is virtually non-existent so I am choosing the wisest times to ride and driving accordingly. So far so good but with a fair amount of rain predicted during this week and coming weekend I am dying to get out and practice.Cheers for the welcome, prepare yourselves for many questions from a novice that you've likely answered a million times already!
Edited by Justices on Monday 21st April 16:14
Prof Prolapse said:
Biker's Nemesis said:
Start a thread in GG about how easy it is to drive a car compared to a bike.
Please do this. It will then end up linked to a thread where people spend their precious moments on Earth arguing if the content is cringeworthy or not, which is cringeworthy in itself.It's safe to say that this bike business is nothing short of biblical.
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