07/30/07

Week One

Day Two

Pulled the cover off early and backed the bike out of the shed to check it; everything looked fine, gorgeous colour in the morning sun. It was about 7.30 am. I sprayed the whole bike (except screen and pannier leather) with Pro Prep, a protective coating that my friend uses on his Harley. I’m hoping it will help keep the chrome from corroding in the salty air. Wiped it off with a cloth and was ready to go. Checked the new helmet and found the coating on the inside visor had delaminated, leaving a sticky glue-like substance all over it that severely reduced vision. Hoping it would be replaced under warranty, I decided to wear it anyway.

Rode up to Johnny’s and waited for him to get the Harley Night Train out and off to Ballina (accent on first syllable which rhymes with pal), about 30 km (20 miles) away along the single most fun stretch of the Pacific Highway I know of between Sydney and Brisbane. Great to have it just at our doorstep. From Byron it’s about 6 km to the highway, and immediately there is a long steep hill with a 100 kph rating to climb, with four lanes so you can jump past the slow traffic up to the top of the ridge. Then you’re riding the ridge, looking down over a lush green rural landscape on either side, with some lovely winding curves, still at 100 kph. I let Johnny lead the way at first but enthusiasm took over near the top of the hill as he hung back in the left lane behind the traffic and I spurted ahead. Nice to be out enjoying it together, and the BMW just gets better and better as I get more used to it.

He passed me on a straight stretch a little later and got an advantage when he was able to scrape past a bus just before the road narrowed to a single lane each way. He was waiting for me just outside Ballina, since I wasn’t sure of the route to his mechanic, where he dropped the Harley off for a service and to have his front wheel rechromed, rims, spokes and all. He envies my stainless steel spokes. Annie followed in the car to take him back home while I continued on to Lismore to finalise insurance and paperwork and get the rego transferred. That’s a nice trip too, very rural and relaxed, lovely country around here.

It was then I discovered that “On the Road”, when it comes to a pre-owned bike, does not include transfer fee and stamp duty, so there went another $A530.  The On-the-Road price of a bike is supposed to mean fully paid up and ready to drive away but in this case that only covered rego and compulsory third party insurance. I also paid $666 (woooo number of the beast) for full comprehensive insurance, including a top-up to cover the bike when other riders are on it. Wouldn’t it hurt bad to have a friend write it off? And I love going out on rides and swapping bikes.

After swapping the helmet visor for a new one, free of charge, it was off to the RTA (traffic authority) in Lismore to transfer the rego to my name and then back home in time for lunch. The same trip I did yesterday was even more pleasurable today with less traffic and no rain. Back in Byron, I stopped off at the local leather shop and bought a preparation called Gee-Y, recommended by the maker of my leather jacket as a protective coating. I laid the jacket out in the sun by the bike to warm it up, applied a thin coating of the pink liquid, and then did the panniers. Left it to penetrate and then wiped off with a soft cloth. The jacket came up like new (it’s only a year old) and the panniers seemed to soak it up like a drink.

After lunch it was time to take Annie on her first ride as a pillion (except for a very short ride behind the dealer on the day of the test ride two weeks ago). First time with me, anyway. We hopped over to Mullumbimby (accent on third syllable), the next small town west from the coast, about 20 km away, for coffee, taking the scenic route, the back road through dairy country. Some slow riding practice here through a herd of cows, many of them heavy with calves, the farmer nodding to us as we passed. When we landed and checked the bike the lower front was caked in cow shit. A wash definitely needed tonight!

Annie was ho-hum about the experience, saying she got jerked around a lot. I notice I’m changing down much more often on the BMW than I did on the Virago, which used to pull away from around 50-60 kph (30-35 mph) quite happily in top gear. The BMW will do that too, but seems happier in a lower gear at these speeds. Moving through the gears more means the pillion does get few more jolts. My changing will get smoother, and I also know I’ve been riding the bike fairly hard within the limits imposed by running in, getting to know what it can do. To me the bike was very comfortable with a pillion passenger. It made less noticeable difference having her there compared to the Virago. I think Annie will be okay after I’ve put the bike through its paces properly (sometime after the first service) and I can calm my excitement enough to take it very easy for her.

Back home just before dark, with not quite enough time to let it cool properly before washing in the remaining daylight. Got the cow shit off but it will probably have to be washed again in the morning as I couldn’t see properly and there’s no light yet in the shed where I park it. Before putting her away I decided my first night ride was in order. Just had to check out those fog lights. Man, what an experience! Being able to see that well on a bike at night was such a treat. The combination of brand new helmet visor, new screen and the awesome power of the fog lights that widen the light thrown so that it reaches from one side of the road to the other make night riding a real pleasure instead of the rather dim light and sometimes scary lack of vision on the Virago, even with clean screens. Somehow everything just works better on the BMW.

That’s it for another day. Still smiling too wide. Have borrowed a digital camera and will take pics tomorrow.

Day Three

Washed the bike again this morning and rode downtown to get batteries for the digital camera. Back home, took pics from 7 different angles which I will post as soon as I have the software worked out to download from the camera. Annie wasn’t around, so no pics with me on it yet.

Took it round to Brent’s place to show it off and got admiring looks and comments from him and Stephanie. She played with the inner pannier bags and raved about good design. He sat on the bike, started it, revved it and noticed the torque pull. He wouldn’t ride it, although he was invited. Too nervous about something bad happening. But both of them loved the design, colour and look of the bike.

I mentioned to Brent that it doesn’t like being started within 4 seconds of the ignition being switched on (I read this somewhere but can’t find the reference now). So much for it being used by James Bond as a getaway bike. Jump on the bike, ignition on, one, two, three and whoomp! the baddie’s knocked you off. Or else “just give me four seconds, bad guy, while the electronics warm up, and then you’ll never catch me.”

A wonderful ride down to Ballina this afternoon with another lady friend, Elisa, as pillion. I took it real easy and found that’s a good way to ride, just letting it do what it does without pushing. What cruising is about I guess. The bike performed flawlessly, doing everything I asked of it with ease and grace.

Power uptake is getting smoother as I get more used to the bike. I need a little more throttle when starting off in first gear than I did on the Virago 1100 and pulling off from a standstill is now a lot smoother. It seems to perform best at higher revs in most gears than the Yamaha. I never missed a shift from first to second today (as I did twice on the first day, once yesterday). I’m back in the habit of preloading every upward change and it works better for me.

Still not smooth at low speeds in second gear. In a roundabout at around 30 or 40 kph, when I need a little more power, I start feathering the throttle to get it and nothing happens. Keep feathering, then a bit more, and suddenly it pulls away a little too hard. It’s jerky. Maybe I should be down in first for those corners. Or I just need more practice. Lots of roundabouts here so I will get it.

Can’t ride much for the next week because I have 920 km on the clock and I couldn’t get an earlier booking than next Wednesday for the first service. It will be over the 1000 km mark for sure! But not by too much, I have to restrain myself.

Day Four

Took Annie for a short trip to lunch and then downtown today. She still thinks my gear changes could be a lot smoother, so any further tips would be appreciated, especially on upshifting. I preload each change (apply upward pressure on the gear shift lever before pulling the clutch handle in, so that it moves quickly into the next gear during disengagement) and try to get the throttle off and back on as quickly and smoothly as possible. After the ride I wondered, should I slow down? Maybe I engage too quickly in higher gears, but the manual does say don’t ride it. It seems to like a very easy (slow) engagement of the clutch in first and second gear, so maybe I should be easing out more in other gears too. Getting a smooth power uptake in first and second seems to be a matter of practice. I can engage more smoothly on the downshift, which seems easier to make than the upshift. Read the sections on gear changing here and will do two things tomorrow. First, ride behind Johnny on the Classic to Ballina to pick up his Harley, and see how a more experienced rider changes. Second, on the way back, apply whatever I learned and try the blip technique, giving the throttle a twist while the clutch is disengaged, and then engaging quickly.

The suspension is perfect to me, reminds me of BMW cars, and was good for me as a pillion, but Annie still thinks it’s a bit firm. It goes in for its first service in six days, so I will ask them whether lightening/softening the suspension would be a good idea, and whether this would help me by lowering the seat a fraction. It’s still a bit of a beast to walk when parking, but backing out of the shed will be easier since Johnny took a section out of the shed’s metal seam to make a smooth path for me.

I’m having to restrain myself from riding the bike, since I now have 950 km up, just 30 miles away from first service. I told them it would be over the 600 miles (1000 km) and they said don’t make it any more than 900 (1500 km). Maybe I’ll just nudge around town for the next week. It’s 40 km (25 miles) to the dealer’s.

Day Five

Johnny’s Harley wasn’t ready so we didn’t ride to pick it up as planned. We’ll ride down tomorrow two up, maybe with Paul on the Virago.

Just had a short ride today to get more practice shifting. Upshift is getting smoother and the “blip” method of downshifting, revving briefly (not too much) while the clutch is disengaged and then easing the clutch in, works well. Needs practice but very smooth when you get it. I still miss the shift from first to second occasionally, because I still forget to preload every change.

The brakes are dropping black dust on my wheels. But the bike is performing wonderfully well, although with shorter trips the low fuel light came on at 203 km (220 for the first tank). Hard to tell whether I got any different mileage out of the 98 octane fuel (95 in first tank). Filled up at 206 km with 11.76 litres for a fuel consumption rate of 5.71 litres per 100 km or 41.2 mpg.

Rode past a police radar site today at an indicated 120 kph, so I must have been doing at least 108 kph in a 100 kph zone. Cop didn’t blink. No worries!

Day Six

I rode down to Ballina as a pillion, with Johnny riding the R1200C and Annie riding pillion on the Virago with Paul. A great ride, but I didn’t learn much as the BMW gearbox is new to Johnny and he didn’t get the hang of it until we were nearly there. For most of the way he didn’t change any smoother than me, but of course he’s been riding nothing but the Harley since he got it two years ago. We picked it up at Ballina and I got back in the saddle with Annie behind me, Johnny on the dark green Night Train and Paul on the brown and gold Virago 1100. Lunch at a seaside restaurant, with lots of bike talk, Annie admitting that the BMW seat was more comfortable then those on either of the other bikes, although she likes the solid feel of the Harley under her (she rode behind Johnny for a short stretch too). But the comparison worked very much in the BM’s favour, and I think Annie might be growing to appreciate it. She likes being up high and being able to look over my shoulder easily. It’s a lot of fun riding pillion through corners and being able to see almost as well as the rider.

After lunch we took a trip for about an hour back home through about some of the most beautiful country in Australia. Rolling pastoral land and lush cane fields, back winding country roads (sealed, no gravel roads for me) with almost no traffic, and the three bikes all lapped it up. More practice with shift changes and Annie noticed an improvement. Still sometimes jerky in the upshift to second and third, so I need to keep practising a smooth uptake with that keen fuel injected power. Loving the ride.

Back home Paul checked the suspension and said it was on the softest setting, and maybe it should stay there if I want to keep the seat height low. I suspect it would be better for riding two up if we went a notch firmer. We each weigh about 60 kg (130 lb.) Paul, who has ridden BMWs, took the tool kit out to see what it had, and was impressed with the puncture repair kit in particular. He also suggested the handlebars could be turned down a little so that I don’t have to stretch so far to reach them. Another item for the first-service check list.

Johnny invited me to take the Harley for a spin, and I rode it about a mile up the road and a mile back. It weighs 300 kg, and although I can sit on it and pull it up easily, it’s a monster at low speeds. Handles very differently from the BMW, especially with the short bars Johnny has on it. It seemed hard to lean it, I really had to shift some weight. Up at speed it’s got a lot of grunt, and handles a lot easier, and the feet-forward position seems comfortable, although you wouldn’t know from a short ride. The big thing that differentiates the BMW is that it has finesse. Balance, grace and ease. The HD has a nice low seat and is very willing, but I had to actually look down, away from the road, to see the speedo. I didn’t like that, I want it up ahead, please. Lovely bike, the Harley, but no way I’d swap.

Day Seven

On a light, bright autumn mid-morning we rode about 15 km, Annie and me, down to Bangalow (accent on first syllable, g like the g in finger. It’s like bungalow with a bang). Here the moving market lands on the fourth Sunday of the month, a cornucopia of local crafts, food, books, clothing and music, all to be soaked up in the warmth of a sub tropical sun, where autumn is like summer in other places but for the length of the days.

The bike just gets better and better. Great in corners. A previous rider scraped both rider footpegs on corners, but I haven’t gone over that far yet. It seems I have a different sidestand from some other owners, as it’s pretty clear the left peg will hit the ground before the stand.

We rode back up over the ridge by the back road, staying off the highway, and had a lot of fun on the twisty bits. Taking it easy with Annie on the back, but still just about the most fun you can have on any sunny Sunday afternoon.

Week Two

Home | Day One | Week One | Week Two