So I arranged the test ride for 10AM but the salesman said arrive early because then we could get the paperwork all sorted which is reasonable so I did!
I left early...2 hours early to be precise! To say I was nervous, intimidated but rolled up with excitement is an understatement. In my head the S1KRR is the daddy of modern sportbikes, it may be the youngster amongst the sportbikes scene but Beemer have gone all out
Anyway I got to the dealership after taking a short detour to Loomies for a wee and to suss out what the roads were like before the inevitable test ride, no camera vans, dry roads yet cold definitely feeling the autumn is here and light traffic, was the order for the day....SCORE!!
So I rolled up to the dealership and got chatting to a salesman and said I was here for a test ride at 10AM, straight away he knew who I was, out of all the guys that were working I managed to talk to the guy who booked me in for the rides!! SCORE again!!
There had to be a catch though, nice dry day, no old bill, straight to the main man who was in the process of getting the bikes sorted.....yep there was, I was suppose to take the R out as well but it had a puncture and the sales guy apologised and said he will ask for it to get done whilst I was out. I'll be honest it was 0930 and was already busy full of the middle-aged men with their GS's, with a garage full for services as well. It didn't get done, but that's fine, for what I had experienced (for around an hour!!) Was by far the best feeling I've had on a bike since the first time jumping from a 125 to a 400cc CBR twisting on the throttle hitting into the power band and what felt like having my arms detached from my body
So I've set the scene, you could imagine the day
Fast forward a little and he's out there warming the bike calling me over and going through the settings, auto blipper, QS, heated grips, Self Cancelling Indicators - which was a good send, all bikes should have this!!) and cruise control.
'There's 3 settings' he said
'I like Sport mode personally, so I've started you in that' he mentioned
'You also have Rain Mode, which you won't need' *looking up into the sky* 'but also the important Race mode which feel free to 'play' around with' *with a smile on his face and a little laugh*
'I won't go into Race mode I'm happy with Sport mode in all honesty mate, that's plenty' I replied!!
'*laughs* enjoy, see you later' and he walks off letting me 'enjoy'
So I took a quick pic of the bike whack in my ear plugs, slide on my lid, pull on my gloves, roll my leg over and take my seat, turn it over and pop on the heated grips!
First impressions
Wow, comfy, I didn't ask but I wonder if they do a comfort seat because it felt as comfy as my part of the sofa that has my arse mark in the cushion. Seat position, felt roomy yet racey yet snug, kinda homely, I could imagine riding up north all motorways crossing the boarder riding the Scottish loop and coming back down all inside a weekend with minimal aches.
So I head off. For those of you who don't know, Barnstormer in Alton is set in a little village in a 30MPH zone so you turn right out of the dealers straight into a 30, then 40 then National. I pulled out with the roads clear and was greeted with a lovely 1st gear climbing to 30 inside a heart beat.
Fast forward
Still in first I went from the 40 to the 6o (ish!!), the engine sounded beautiful, felt like sheer bliss.
It didn't take long before I built up the confidence to 'play' and then I realised that the engine could sound like a modern F1 car and in lisence fearing speeds catching up with traffic that I didn't realise was even in front of me!
So where to begin, what is it that everyone would want to know about the Beemer or is it what makes the Beemer different to other manufacturers?
Obviously I'm not a racer, I'm not a person with 20 + years riding experience under my belt, I'm not a person who is able to get the finest of the fine in my garage....in fact I dont even own a garage!! But does that matter, not for what I experienced. This bike has been built so you can 'enjoy' at any speeds, in my opinion, 30 felt smooth, 70 felt smooth anything else felt mind blowing but you don't have to ride at higher speeds.
Traffic
I was stuck behind a load of traffic because of a tractor carrying their grass cutting equipment, I tend to hate being stuck behind traffic ESPECIALLY when in a f&&king 60 zone, but the Beemer wasn't egging me on, wasn't needing to get pinged off the limiter, it felt happy, it was saying 'chill no need to take a visky overtake, ve'll get 'zem soon vhen ve have zee space' and I listened.
I saw a biker coming roaring up behind me making overtakes and 1 or 2 on solid white lines so I let him past. He went roaring off into the distance, 'no problem' I thought
So I kept following at around 45-55MPH, and I saw an opportunity for a nice overtake in 2nd gear. Beemer roared into action sung like the modern F1 car and I overtook a whole bunch of traffic slipping in just behind the lead car and the tractor! Saw another opportunity and done 'em. Felt effortless but with a mature feeling
Loomies
Ok so I haven't really given much info about the bike. I honestly don't know how to word it all. What can I say about a bike that has been set up so well
I pulled up into Loomies and took some time to gather my thoughts and also took some pics. I felt and took a look at the tyres, 'Bridgestone Hypersport S20', they felt tacky and warm, no wonders they gave impressive amount of grip! Unsure how they would fare in the rain
Dash is too busy, the important things are clear (speed, gear, rev limiter and mode are all marked) but there's some other bits there which went over my head and to be frank I couldn't be bothered to find out what it all was...i was having too much fun!!
Anyway...
What's the feeling here - it's a mature feeling. It's not the young man go to Thiland with the boy's, find a prossie, taking her to bed, pull down her undies and being greeted with a bigger than yours c()ck, showing off to the boys later that you got laid but failing to mention it was a born again new woman Gixxer and it's certainly not the lay down play dead Blade. It's like Beemer have done years of studying, asking ex racers and the odd hooligan and also the 'I go to the Alps on my bike every year' rider, what they want from a bike, then springing it on them that it's all going to be on a sportsbike. 3 modes, heated grips, electronic suspension - which by the way I couldn't fault I even tried to make it mess up and give me a bad ride by aiming for the little divets in the road yet the Beemer just laughed and whispered to me 'try harder arsehole, try harder!!'
Brakes are fabulous, again probably same Brembos as Gixxers and Blades brakes but stronger feel. Didn't need to actually use them really so I just waited for a clear bit of road while being able to see way down into the distance and perfectly behind me and slammed them on...okay my bullocks weren't big enough to slam them on and hold it to a stop because they were extremely strong and didn't want to flip over with a £1000 excess!! But they slowed me down quickly and efficiently while my bumhole was tighter than that experience with that 'experimental GF' I'm sure we've all had at some point!!
On the way out of Loomies I placed it into Rain Mode (didn't really feel that much difference, maybe smoother plus slightly less aggressive?! Needless to say I didnt stay there for long
Way back to dealers
I pulled over and then slipped it into 'Race' mode for a play. It felt smooth, which made the power more linear and more responsive. Personally I'd stick with sport mode, that's plenty of the road in my opinion.
Downsides
Ugly, ugly exhaust! Not just one ugly but double ugly! Not my cup of tea and prob better to get the £900 slip on Akra accessory in my opinion if only for the looks.
Rear brake pedal. The rear works well no denying that but it's at a slightly strange angle, more racer but that didn't take long to adjust too in all honesty
So to sum up
I want!! Madly want!! I'll be hanging around the street corners every night until I have enough in my piggy bank to pay for the insurance for it. Took a look and it costs the same amount to insure me as it would do a used S1000RR!
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).
jeeze that thing is loud then!! Suppose he has to be careful which tracks he goes to and on which days Too!!
His trackbike is a 2006 ZX10. Brilliant trackday tool too, and he is a very talented rider too IMHO (I actually have a go-pro video of him chasing down, and eventually passing, the NoLimits instructor at Donnington when were were there once).
