A picture a day....biker banter (Vol 4)

[hebegb]

Poor jest aside - pic of the year that , phenomenal ! Bravo !

[Gavia]

Jazoli said:

Had a nice run into the Lakes tonight after work

Damn, that's a beautiful looking bike.

[tight5]

hebegb said:

pic of the year that , phenomenal ! Bravo !

Not mine, tho.
Got it of twitter.

[moanthebairns]

[Yazza54]

Gavia said:

Damn, that's a beautiful looking bike.

Mmm sexy Yam

[Yazza54]

moanthebairns said:

Let me just..

There.. better

[spareparts]

Fitted a Wunderlich adjustable gearshift. Great improvement in shift quality - the toe peg rotates to allow it to 'roll' with your boot as it shifts up - instead of dragging against the boot.

[Steve Bass]

spareparts said:

Fitted a Wunderlich adjustable gearshift. Great improvement in shift quality - the toe peg rotates to allow it to 'roll' with your boot as it shifts up - instead of dragging against the boot.

Ade,

Is yours the GS or GSA?

And anything to watch out for/improve on the bikes?
Might be about to pull the trigger on a new GS/A

[Mr OCD]

Jazoli said:

Had a nice run into the Lakes tonight after work

Absolutely stunning Dave.

[graham22]

Mr OCD said:

Jazoli said:

Had a nice run into the Lakes tonight after work

Absolutely stunning Dave.

Sorry Jazoli, I was more taken by the scenery rather than the bike, could be the Italian lakes.

R1 still looking very good, just has great lines.

[graham22]

Steve Bass said:

spareparts said:

Fitted a Wunderlich adjustable gearshift. Great improvement in shift quality - the toe peg rotates to allow it to 'roll' with your boot as it shifts up - instead of dragging against the boot.

Ade,

Is yours the GS or GSA?

And anything to watch out for/improve on the bikes?
Might be about to pull the trigger on a new GS/A

Is that security cable just secured by a crimp on electrical connector? Surely that isn't going to save much if the end come adrift or gets caught, likely to get damaged stamping down on it too.

Understand the reason, see it on brake pedals but normally a length of lockwire between lever/pedal and frame with enough slack to allow up & down movement but to stop bending back.

Just Googled it, known as a Brake Snake(?)

[spareparts]

Steve Bass said:

Ade,

Is yours the GS or GSA?

And anything to watch out for/improve on the bikes?
Might be about to pull the trigger on a new GS/A

It's a MY17 E4 GS, pre-facelift. I don't need the extra fuel capacity of the GSA, and I prefer the handling of the lighter GS. There are gazillions of farkles as you know, but the most useful _functional_ upgrades I've found are:

• the BMW adjustable pegs (made by Gilles),
• GSA screen with MRA X-Screen extender (allows you to ride lid up at speed, but may not be so good if you're going off-road)
• Cymarc screen support bracket
• Mudsling to keep crap off the shock and reduces at least half the spray off the back tyre
• Bumot pannier system
• Sargent seats
• decent tyres better than the crap Anakee3
• remap
• CREE led spotlights
• Bigfoot
• Wunderlich gearshift lever
• Altrider front engine guard
• Altrider engine bars + engine covers (take your pick here as lots available)
• Hex EzCan (I use this to add stuff to the canbus)
• coffee grinds from Starbucks for kudos, although you may not need this in SA

There are loads of others, but it depends on use, and I suspect Malawi riding is quite different to popping down to Starbucks or joining around the M25

Are you going for a new Rallye? I've heard mixed reviews on the new ESA, but the new 'sport' chassis option for off-road with the extra 2" clearance would be quite useful I imagine.

[spareparts]

graham22 said:

Is that security cable just secured by a crimp on electrical connector? Surely that isn't going to save much if the end come adrift or gets caught, likely to get damaged stamping down on it too.

Understand the reason, see it on brake pedals but normally a length of lockwire between lever/pedal and frame with enough slack to allow up & down movement but to stop bending back.

Just Googled it, known as a Brake Snake(?)

The lock wire is screwed on and the blue plastic is just there to prevent the lockwire scratching where it screws to the lever.

[podman]

Out on the LC earlier, spotted a new Porsche Mocan thing ahead of me briskly turn off and floor it down a section of B roads I know well,I wasnt intending to ahead that way but you know...sometimes you listen to the devil on your shoulder.

Anyway, he was trying and tried harder when I imagine what appeared to be a noisy 125 came up behind him, whilst the LC is a slow bike Vs almost anything else nowadays, they aint that slow to 80ish MPH and on these roads its ample, I enjoyed overtaking him and leaving him for dust , I hope he clocked it was 36 years old ..

[Steve Bass]

spareparts said:

Steve Bass said:

Ade,

Is yours the GS or GSA?

And anything to watch out for/improve on the bikes?
Might be about to pull the trigger on a new GS/A

It's a MY17 E4 GS, pre-facelift. I don't need the extra fuel capacity of the GSA, and I prefer the handling of the lighter GS. There are gazillions of farkles as you know, but the most useful _functional_ upgrades I've found are:

• the BMW adjustable pegs (made by Gilles),
• GSA screen with MRA X-Screen extender (allows you to ride lid up at speed, but may not be so good if you're going off-road)
• Cymarc screen support bracket
• Mudsling to keep crap off the shock and reduces at least half the spray off the back tyre
• Bumot pannier system
• Sargent seats
• decent tyres better than the crap Anakee3
• remap
• CREE led spotlights
• Bigfoot
• Wunderlich gearshift lever
• Altrider front engine guard
• Altrider engine bars + engine covers (take your pick here as lots available)
• Hex EzCan (I use this to add stuff to the canbus)
• coffee grinds from Starbucks for kudos, although you may not need this in SA

There are loads of others, but it depends on use, and I suspect Malawi riding is quite different to popping down to Starbucks or joining around the M25

Are you going for a new Rallye? I've heard mixed reviews on the new ESA, but the new 'sport' chassis option for off-road with the extra 2" clearance would be quite useful I imagine.

So Malawi is long gone, it's Saigon now
The little 400 is proving tiresome because it's, well, a 400. 2 up is a pain, it's not great for long distances with pillion and i'm hankering for a bit of poke.. Not that you can use it here but that's besides the point.
So the decision has come down to a choice between the GS, GSA or Multistrada. The new Versys 650 is an outside choice but dealer support is crap. They'll sell it but not maintain it....
However, no such issues with BMW or Ducati, both have official dealers here with full service facilities.
So, down to the contenders....
As much as i love Ducatis, the MTS isn't the best bike for here. It's killing me but it's the truth. Comfort is king and as much as it pains me, the GS is the right bike. The MTS seat is too short in fore and aft movement. Sounds silly but it's normal to take 8 hours (excluding stops) to cover 300kms so being comfy is paramount. The MTS seems to naturally err on the Sporting side. So even comfort mode is Sporty Comfort.
The BMW dealer is 2 mins up the road from me and they have 2x GS's in and a GSA. All the bikes are fully specced with all the BMW kits. ESA, Keyless go, LED lights, SatNav prep, the works.
An added bonus is that a bike registered in my name is permitted over the border into Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The 400 is a local registered bike which can't be put in my name so it's a non starter.
The only hang up now is me taking enough deep breaths to get over the asking price here..... $35k!!!
Farkles I have covered as a mate in JHB has an aDV shop so i can get all the Touratech and Wunderlich bits I can carry. The remap however, not so easy. Care to explain the reason for needing it?
The Ducati on the other hand is available in normal, S and Pikes Peak flavours. The price difference between the base and the S makes the S a no brainer (depending on the kits fitted) and has Skyhook suspension and the DVT motor. The PP is way out of the game as is the Enduro model due to eye watering prices.
But we'll see. Nothing is being decided until October but It's likely a new Red or Frost Blue GS will be in my life.... Unless I capitulate and get the MTS (which is a few $k cheaper) and an Airhawk seat

[spareparts]

Steve Bass said:

So Malawi is long gone, it's Saigon now
The little 400 is proving tiresome because it's, well, a 400. 2 up is a pain, it's not great for long distances with pillion and i'm hankering for a bit of poke.. Not that you can use it here but that's besides the point.
So the decision has come down to a choice between the GS, GSA or Multistrada. The new Versys 650 is an outside choice but dealer support is crap. They'll sell it but not maintain it....
However, no such issues with BMW or Ducati, both have official dealers here with full service facilities.
So, down to the contenders....
As much as i love Ducatis, the MTS isn't the best bike for here. It's killing me but it's the truth. Comfort is king and as much as it pains me, the GS is the right bike. The MTS seat is too short in fore and aft movement. Sounds silly but it's normal to take 8 hours (excluding stops) to cover 300kms so being comfy is paramount. The MTS seems to naturally err on the Sporting side. So even comfort mode is Sporty Comfort.
The BMW dealer is 2 mins up the road from me and they have 2x GS's in and a GSA. All the bikes are fully specced with all the BMW kits. ESA, Keyless go, LED lights, SatNav prep, the works.
An added bonus is that a bike registered in my name is permitted over the border into Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The 400 is a local registered bike which can't be put in my name so it's a non starter.
The only hang up now is me taking enough deep breaths to get over the asking price here..... $35k!!!
Farkles I have covered as a mate in JHB has an aDV shop so i can get all the Touratech and Wunderlich bits I can carry. The remap however, not so easy. Care to explain the reason for needing it?
The Ducati on the other hand is available in normal, S and Pikes Peak flavours. The price difference between the base and the S makes the S a no brainer (depending on the kits fitted) and has Skyhook suspension and the DVT motor. The PP is way out of the game as is the Enduro model due to eye watering prices.
But we'll see. Nothing is being decided until October but It's likely a new Red or Frost Blue GS will be in my life.... Unless I capitulate and get the MTS (which is a few $k cheaper) and an Airhawk seat

I'll let the picture do the talking since I know you are far more keen than I am on the technicals But I can testify that the difference before/after is significant. Natural cruising speed of the GS used to be 85 and starting becoming asthmatic at the ton. Euro4 means the thing just ran ridiculously lean. Post-remap, the GS happily cruises at 110 and pulls strongly to the redline at 125+. It simply has much bigger twist compared to anywhere else. It's the same dyno and remapper as used by MCN on their recent dyno test of the new GSXR... BMW couldn't detect the remap (I just got my bike back from the 6k service today) and the remap proved itself to me over a 1500 mile trip to the Ring and back.

Oh, and comfort on the GS is just the best there is imho for long days in the saddle. It just floats. But get a Sargent seat for a big improvement and stops your nads sliding into the tank all the time. Multidoodle is sporty and always up for it. Chain is a faff. I agree with you on the reduced space/comfort, and that was what stopped me from getting one over the GS.

Edited by spareparts on Thursday 4th May 15:24

[spareparts]

Steve Bass said:

So Malawi is long gone, it's Saigon now
The little 400 is proving tiresome because it's, well, a 400. 2 up is a pain, it's not great for long distances with pillion and i'm hankering for a bit of poke..

If you're planning to ride 2-up, I really recommend getting the Wunderlich pillion peg extenders. Mrs Spareparts complained of leg cramp without them, but with them says it is super comfortable and we've done several 8hour 300 mile days with no issues. Mini-Spareparts also says the same thing.

Saigon - awesome. I'm hoping to go there this summer

[rat840771]

Same remapper for the MCN GSXR test? Are you sure, i recall watching the MCN video online and it was BSD that was used.

I'm off to get my bike remapped tomorrow there so i will ask if it was them, whilst we are on the subject of remapping, i see that after your remap the A/F ratio is consistent but very high, is this ok? My bike is currently running at 15/16% between 2-6k and i was informed this reading was too high, hence why i am getting it looked at tomorrow.

To be clear i am no expert on this, i am just going back as i was advised by BSD to do this, as it running too lean low down and could damage the bike.

[rat840771]

arrrgh, i see, the blue line is post remap and alot richer!

That is really lean pre map!

[spareparts]

rat840771 said:

Same remapper for the MCN GSXR test? Are you sure, i recall watching the MCN video online and it was BSD that was used.

I'm off to get my bike remapped tomorrow there so i will ask if it was them, whilst we are on the subject of remapping, i see that after your remap the A/F ratio is consistent but very high, is this ok? My bike is currently running at 15/16% between 2-6k and i was informed this reading was too high, hence why i am getting it looked at tomorrow.

To be clear i am no expert on this, i am just going back as i was advised by BSD to do this, as it running too lean low down and could damage the bike.

Not BSD. Hilltop. Best to ask more knowledgeable than me... but rich running is better than overly lean running which can cause hotspots/detonation given timing advance. More fuel helps everything run cooler (and smoother too).