Day One
The Old: 1986 Yamaha Virago (XVS)
1100 cc
The New: 2003 BMW R1200C
17 April 2004
It was so quiet. That was what impressed me most today on
the run back from the dealer’s at Lismore home to Byron Bay. I love that
after the noisy custom pipes on the Virago (1986 Yamaha 1100 cc cruiser).
Those pipes were not really my choice but what I could afford of what was
available (rural area). The other was how easy it is. Just a joy to feel the
surge of an easy pull up a hill. This is a lovely bike to just ride. The
trip home is about 44 km, varying in top speed from 60 to 100 kph (40 to 60
mph) and from double lanes (one each way) to four-lane stretches, with some
nice hills and curves. It was raining lightly but steadily for the last
third of the journey, but this made almost no difference to the BMW’s
handling. It felt very safe with that big fat tyre to sit on, and I felt
much safer in the wet than I did on the Virago. Everything works, including
the beautifully designed windscreen that throws the rain off, keeping
beading to a minimum and making visibility about 30 per cent better than the
Virago in the rain. Just an excellent screen. I had a German one on the
Virago, I forget the make, but it wasn’t as good as this. Does a great job
of wind protection too (essential in my view for a cruiser).
No problems at the dealer, everything checked out, the
screen and panniers were fitted and the pannier locks turned up by courier
while the paperwork was being done. Picked up a new helmet and rain gear,
tyre pressure gauge and Titan lock, along with cleaning products and
materials, and I was off. No problem backing up to get off the workshop
slab, no problem getting into first gear after all the hints here. Very easy
once you know. I missed the change from first to second twice on this first
journey as owner. I’ll have to go back to my old habit of preloading. It’s a
smoother change that way anyway.
Other first impressions. One, it’s a big bike, a bit more
of a handful to manoeuvre when parking and starting, so I’ll have to be a
little bit more careful where I park. Needs all my weight to get the back
tyre over the little hump where the shed opens out onto the concrete slab.
I’m 5ft 4 and about 130 lb. (162 cm, 65 kg).
Two, it’s delicate. I started reading the riders’ manual.
Man I don’t know if I dare let it out in the sun. Can’t idle it standing,
can’t run out of fuel, can’t let it sit for more than about a week without
molly coddling the battery, what is this, a bike or a baby? What do you guys
do in traffic? You can’t keep stopping the engine, either, can you, because
that will drain the battery too? Glad I don’t live in the city. I know, it’s
not a city bike anyway, but I do still visit occasionally. I’ll just have to
get used to lane splitting. Later I was to discover it's not nearly this
bad; the Germans like to take extreme precautions.
Three, it looks such a treat and that’s more than half
the reason for the decision (irrational but at least I’m honest). Some say
it’s not pretty, but to me it’s the best looking bike on the road.
Four, the ride is effortless, if not quite as smooth as I
hope it will be as everything settles in. I’m looking forward to the seat
dropping a little so I can actually fully flatfoot it (can’t quite do that
at the moment). I love the way it gets up to speed, very nimble and sure and
easy to handle; the speeds I did on the Virago don’t seem nearly as fast on
the BMW. That’s good! It feels safer to me.
When I pulled in to the local bike shop to brag a woman
was there on a new Hyosung Aquila 250cc. She was tiny, five feet nothing.
She loved the look of the BMW, riding over straight away to get a close up,
but said it was way too big for her. She’s probably right as a beginner. She
may try to talk her partner into getting one. She was virtually open
mouthed.
The guys were not so quick to show their appreciation.
“Hasn’t got a fuel gauge? Send it back. Top speed 170 kph (105 m)? It’s a
lemon.” But they were fascinated just the same.
After getting home I rode over to Paul’s, on the way
enjoying being able to use low end torque to good effect, pulling away from
town traffic and skirting slow cages, in a way that would have blasted the
whole street with noise on the Virago. Lovely feeling to be gone in a flash
and they didn’t even hear you coming. Paul rode the BMW back to my place to
pick up the Virago, doubling me as a pillion on my own bike. That’s
something I imagine a lot of riders never experience but which I wanted to
try as soon as possible. It was an eye opener. I haven’t ridden as a pillion
since I started riding bikes myself about five years ago. That was such fun.
The big comfort seat (mine is the BMW model and very functional), essential
if you’re going to be doing much pillion riding, has acres of room and you
can sit right back and up, just loosely holding the grab rail behind, get a
great view of the traffic and all the controls. It’s almost as much fun as
riding. Wow. You should try that if you’ve never done it. If you have a
rider friend, especially one who’s without a bike for a while, suggest going
out on your bike double up, one riding out and the other riding back.
Day one ended with a good wash, using only water and a
micro fibre mitten. It was all that was needed. The little bit of mud from
the rain came off very easily and the chrome dried and polished up nicely
with a chamois. So even this was not quite the chore I had expected.
Stainless steel spokes; what a great idea! Johnny’s
Harley Night Train, a year and a half old, has metal spokes (not stainless
steel, I guess just plain steel since they’re not chromed) and without the
almost daily loving care they demand they have lost any lustre they had and
the surface has become dull and rough. The rest of the bike is in immaculate
condition, a very beautiful machine. We live near the sea so we have to keep
our bikes scrupulously clean to make sure the salt laden air is not allowed
to build up a corrosive deposit.
I have to go. Haven’t finished reading the rider’s manual
and service booklet.
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04/04/06
