BMW K1200, K1300, and K1600 Forum banner

S1000RR at CALmoto

4K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  Razel 
#1 ·
It has arrived!
 

Attachments

See less See more
2
#3 ·
You're everywhere, J! :D

A few closer photos...
 

Attachments

#4 ·
So I rode it...

First ride, part of the break in. Two words: direct connection.

Initial impression: it's nimble and linear, great throttle and brake feel. Gear shift is solid and positive, then add the Quick Shift Assist. It's easy to get used to and to go fast. The DTC works great at keeping the bike tamed.

Then there's the sound... pure mechanical, sharp and crisp tone. There's a bit of a rumble you can hear as it passes by. It's a bit different than the Big 4's.

Riding on the freeway, the bike settled in really well at speed. 70 MPH is at 5000 RPM, stock suspension setup is compliant, even while going on 85S from 101S - I could barely feel the 'washboard' there. It works great for me (165lbs).

I did the wiggle test on the street going back, around the back streets a bit, took turns and all. It's nimble, but no initial drop when you turn. What I feel is light and a bit more linear; yet still easy to pick up and change direction.

The main thing you feel in the RAIN mode is softer and a lot more relaxed throttle response. It's literally like there's a rubber band in there to make sure that you don't snap it wide open and break traction. It actually feels a bit lazy in this mode. But considering what it's intended use for, I'm glad it's there.

SPORT mode is a good all around, feels just like any other sportsbikes out there that way.

Then up to RACE mode, the throttle feel is a bit sharper and more direct.

I'm not a fast rider by any means, but the bike feels very solid tracking sweepers and onramps, with inputs from throttle is noticeably smoothen out by the DTC.

I've only ridden 09 Daytona 675, 07 CBR600RR, 03 Gixxer 1000, and 04 RSV Mille. So, in my very limited experience, I'd say it does feel like the CBR600RR. It doesn't feel as big as the RSV Mille. Probably in between the 675 and Gixxer.

More to come. :)
 
#6 ·
The Quick-Shifter is awesome! Never thought I would see or feel a BMW shift like this thing does.

My only two beefs would be the suspension was tight for me on bumpy roads and I had to rise off the seat a few times once I got some upcoming bumps in my sights. Out of the crate, it must be set for the track or riding on much smoother roads. That probably can be adjusted out (I'm 205 pounds, fwiw). I never managed to get a good rearward view in the mirrors of the CA CHP bike following me either (it was the dealer's mechanic). Might take some fiddling there as some claim they do see well to the rear - or do they mean to the sides? When I tried to get a good rearward shot, seems I was looking at me. Maybe stalks are too narrow for me? Dunno. :confused:

It's very compliant in turns. Didn't scare the crap out of me like sometimes happens on a new bike. I like that it doesn't weight 800 pounds or something like a Gold Wing too. It ain't your Navy's barge.

Accolades to the BMW Motherland!


Mack
 
#7 ·
I think the suspension feels tighter/firmer for you is because it's in stock setting, dialed for a 160-180lbs person. :snowlaff:

To me, at 165lbs, it feels great. It soaks up the bumpy section of 85S from 101S well (ordinarily it feels like a washboard). It's actually feel a bit comfy/soft. I would dial it up a tad, which I think would make it better for my size. But then again, we're talking about subjective preference here.

Bottom line is, we agree that BMW nailed it pretty well, considering such a bike can cover quite a range of riders. :)
 
#8 ·
Two more arrived today

The truck decided to show up today and unloaded the Mineral Silver one and the Motorsport color scheme one.
 

Attachments

#10 ·
That silver one is the one I ordered... but it looks like I'll have to catch the next one. Gotta sell the K12R first. :dunno:
 
#11 ·
iehawk said:
I think the suspension feels tighter/firmer for you is because it's in stock setting, dialed for a 160-180lbs person. :snowlaff:

To me, at 165lbs, it feels great. It soaks up the bumpy section of 85S from 101S well (ordinarily it feels like a washboard). It's actually feel a bit comfy/soft. I would dial it up a tad, which I think would make it better for my size. But then again, we're talking about subjective preference here.

Bottom line is, we agree that BMW nailed it pretty well, considering such a bike can cover quite a range of riders. :)

i don't want to hi-jack this thread, but, how do we manually tuned for KS/R :ghug: , if we do not have ESA? thank you for your trouble.
 
#12 ·
tonytsai0429 said:
i don't want to hi-jack this thread, but, how do we manually tuned for KS/R :ghug: , if we do not have ESA? thank you for your trouble.
Hmmm... good question. There should be a table of some sort that can help you determine what's a good setting for a certain weight.

Have you searched in the technical section here or any other forums?

I'll look it up at work tomorrow, there's one non-ESA K12R there. :)
 
#13 ·
iehawk said:
Hmmm... good question. There should be a table of some sort that can help you determine what's a good setting for a certain weight.

Have you searched in the technical section here or any other forums?

I'll look it up at work tomorrow, there's one non-ESA K12R there. :)

i'm guessing our bikes would need to installed aftermarket shocks to get that satisfication.
 
#14 ·
Depends on the factory-installed shocks. Do they have anything but preload on the rear shock? You have to go from there.
Most front suspensions have 4.5" of travel. Most rear have just about 6" (anywhere between 5.5" and 6" unless it's a dual-sport or dirt bike ... then the numbers jump to around double that of a sportbike).
With the bike loaded, you want to be compressing the suspension 33% into it's full travel. That's what the pre-load adjustment will do for you. Rebound next, and you want the shock to return from a compression movement back to that 33% point and at rest in the fastest time possible. Too little rebound damping and the suspension pogo's, taking too much time to get to the rest point. Too much rebound damping and the suspension is again taking too much time to get to that rest point. Compression adjustment is more of a rider-feel than what can easily be measured. For bumps, the least amount of energy passed to the suspended part of the bike, the better. But, you've also got compression due to braking and cornering. More often that not, though, those last two are track-related, and your best source is someone that does suspension work for a living. Some tuners have shock dyno's so they can get things pretty close to optimum, the rest is based on what the rider tells them on how the bike handles the track. For do-it-yourselfers, generally you set the compression (low and high if you have both) to the middle, then try 2 or three clicks either way and see what difference it makes to you. If you have both the high and low, they shouldn't be more than 4 clicks different than the other (high vs. low-speed) Low-speed first, then high-speed.



 
#15 ·
Razel said:
Depends on the factory-installed shocks. Do they have anything but preload on the rear shock? You have to go from there.
Most front suspensions have 4.5" of travel. Most rear have just about 6" (anywhere between 5.5" and 6" unless it's a dual-sport or dirt bike ... then the numbers jump to around double that of a sportbike).
With the bike loaded, you want to be compressing the suspension 33% into it's full travel. That's what the pre-load adjustment will do for you. Rebound next, and you want the shock to return from a compression movement back to that 33% point and at rest in the fastest time possible. Too little rebound damping and the suspension pogo's, taking too much time to get to the rest point. Too much rebound damping and the suspension is again taking too much time to get to that rest point. Compression adjustment is more of a rider-feel than what can easily be measured. For bumps, the least amount of energy passed to the suspended part of the bike, the better. But, you've also got compression due to braking and cornering. More often that not, though, those last two are track-related, and your best source is someone that does suspension work for a living. Some tuners have shock dyno's so they can get things pretty close to optimum, the rest is based on what the rider tells them on how the bike handles the track. For do-it-yourselfers, generally you set the compression (low and high if you have both) to the middle, then try 2 or three clicks either way and see what difference it makes to you. If you have both the high and low, they shouldn't be more than 4 clicks different than the other (high vs. low-speed) Low-speed first, then high-speed.
Ray, thanks for tunning 101~ :clap:

i actually played a bit tonight, and seems it working well as i rode home later. The most important part, is how each click or turn is going to make me feel as i'm heading up NorCal this weekend, and maybe go to laguna seca on back to SoCal.

Today, i followed the owner's manual, and turned the damping one and 1/4 (one less 1/4 turn) turned back. and preload to 15 clicks (2 more clicks), i'm about 195 now, and should be around 205 when i load everything, Lets see how it does; excited to learn more about these tunning stuff.... :tim

with mixed of highway and twisties, should of got the model with ESA... :spank1:

thanks again!
 
#16 ·
tonytsai0429 said:
Ray, thanks for tunning 101~ :clap:

i actually played a bit tonight, and seems it working well as i rode home later. The most important part, is how each click or turn is going to make me feel as i'm heading up NorCal this weekend, and maybe go to laguna seca on back to SoCal.

Today, i followed the owner's manual, and turned the damping one and 1/4 (one less 1/4 turn) turned back. and preload to 15 clicks (2 more clicks), i'm about 195 now, and should be around 205 when i load everything, Lets see how it does; excited to learn more about these tunning stuff.... :tim

with mixed of highway and twisties, should of got the model with ESA... :spank1:

thanks again!
Laguna Seca? Trackday/Track school? Let me add one further piece of advise from Dave Moss: Crank in all the preload you can.

My take on it:
The 33% is based on what kind of road "events" you might encounter. Like potholes, RXR tracks, CalTrans re-work on pavement. At the track, though, you're unlikely to need the suspension set for a lot of initial downward movement ... you really don't need that part of the suspension travel reserved for pushing the suspension down (upper 33%) to handle pavement dropouts. Almost all of the session on a track, especially one as well maintained as Laguna Seca, will be compression-oriented. So, all the preload in will put you maybe up to 20% instead of 33%, giving you a lot more compression travel for braking and cornering.



 
#17 ·
Razel said:
Laguna Seca? Trackday/Track school? Let me add one further piece of advise from Dave Moss: Crank in all the preload you can.

My take on it:
The 33% is based on what kind of road "events" you might encounter. Like potholes, RXR tracks, CalTrans re-work on pavement. At the track, though, you're unlikely to need the suspension set for a lot of initial downward movement ... you really don't need that part of the suspension travel reserved for pushing the suspension down (upper 33%) to handle pavement dropouts. Almost all of the session on a track, especially one as well maintained as Laguna Seca, will be compression-oriented. So, all the preload in will put you maybe up to 20% instead of 33%, giving you a lot more compression travel for braking and cornering.

Ray, thanks for the advise, i will certainly share with my other riders, whom also rides the K1200s into the track days; which going to happen on next Tuesday. its going to be my first... :D
 
#18 ·
tonytsai0429 said:
Ray, thanks for the advise, i will certainly share with my other riders, whom also rides the K1200s into the track days; which going to happen on next Tuesday. its going to be my first... :D
First track I ever got to ride on. Keith Code, Calif Superbike School. As you approach turn 5, pin it. It's a nice curve, and goes uphill. However, turn 6 is partially invisible, so you want to early-apex it. Turn 8a and 8b (Corkscrew) will only frustrate you. Turn 11 is ... a very sharp (did I say VERY SHARP?) right hander. Treat it with respect until you are used to it.

Edit: Oh, yeah ... turn 2. Double apex. Went off-road there one time on that first introduction to Laguna Seca. Turn 3 will get your attention, as it's ... flat.

Love that track.



 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top