Have I been buying the wrong type of bike?

[Esceptico]

Picked up the K13 on Friday. Have done around 350 miles so far. Mainly B roads (eg B660 near Peterborough and the roads around Finchingfield for those that know them).

A bit blown away by the K13 to be honest. I bought it to do some touring but after 3 days I’m wondering whether it is the best bike - for road riding - I’ve owned. Maybe I’m getting carried away. I’m off for Rockingham on the GSXR tomorrow so will have to see will be interesting to see what I think when I get back home.

Despite being heavy to manoeuvre around the garage, once on the move the weight of the K13 seems to disappear. Dropping into corners doesn’t seem a problem at all and once over on its side it seems very stable. Seems more agile than I remember the K13 from testing a couple of years back. The Motorsport has forged wheels but surprised that would make such a difference to the feel and handling.

The engine dominates the experience. Seemingly huge shove anytime and anywhere. Just perfect for chasing the vanashing point and blasting past traffic.

Now wondering whether I need a full-on sports bike. I don’t do enough track days to really justify ownership on that basis (and for various reasons of the dozen or so trackdays I’ve done only two have been with my own bike).

[black-k1]

Esceptico said:

Picked up the K13 on Friday. Have done around 350 miles so far. Mainly B roads (eg B660 near Peterborough and the roads around Finchingfield for those that know them).

A bit blown away by the K13 to be honest. I bought it to do some touring but after 3 days I’m wondering whether it is the best bike - for road riding - I’ve owned. Maybe I’m getting carried away. I’m off for Rockingham on the GSXR tomorrow so will have to see will be interesting to see what I think when I get back home.

Despite being heavy to manoeuvre around the garage, once on the move the weight of the K13 seems to disappear. Dropping into corners doesn’t seem a problem at all and once over on its side it seems very stable. Seems more agile than I remember the K13 from testing a couple of years back. The Motorsport has forged wheels but surprised that would make such a difference to the feel and handling.

The engine dominates the experience. Seemingly huge shove anytime and anywhere. Just perfect for chasing the vanashing point and blasting past traffic.

Now wondering whether I need a full-on sports bike. I don’t do enough track days to really justify ownership on that basis (and for various reasons of the dozen or so trackdays I’ve done only two have been with my own bike).

There really is very little on the road that a litre sports bike can do that the K13 can't. But, there's lots the K1300S can do that a litre sports bike can't.

Two Old Gits, each on a K1300S, did Draguignan in the South East of France to home (over 800 miles, with luggage) on Saturday. Try that on a sports bike.

[Esceptico]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That is what I thought but found it can be hustled pretty quickly - at least as quickly as I am prepared to ride on the road.

[Esceptico]

The suspension definitely gives the bike a different feel. However once you get used to it you stop noticing (at least I have).

I’ve read that it isnt that agile in tight bends but that doesn’t seem to be a problem in practice. Some of the roads I ridden down were pretty tight with crappy surfaces in places. Coped fine.

[warch]

The beauty of bikes is that you can use any bike for anything within reason, on the public roads it's usually mostly about the skill and experience of the rider. Plus you can really exploit the feeling of smug whilst you outride someone who's on a much more focussed machine.