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My other bike is Green.......

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 11:21 am
by Bikerhoss
Sorry, I have defected to the 'other' side :oops:

Having saved pennies and got rid of the old Freelander and dying campervan, my lovely wife organised this for me from the local Kwak dealer in Aberdeen. Cracking deal as it was the last green 2013 model they had in stock, Akrapovic pipes, tinted screen, heated grips, heel plates, tank/knee pads and extended warranty all included :lol:

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1400 miles in just back and forth to work and loving it 8) Has taken a little getting used to the higher revs of a four cyclinder again and do miss the ease of the shaft drive, but I'm finding it just as comfy as the R was, slightly better mirrors and just as planted handling, if a little flighty at the front if you give it a big handful, especially over 6ooorpm :P

Def a recommendation for those who still want a bit of poke, but ageing joints won't allow the latest litre class sports monster :twisted:

Takes the same tailpack and throwovers I used on the BM no problem too. Might ditch the grab handles as they look a bit superfluous and I'll stick on some Goodridge or Hel stainless race lines come the first time I need to replace pads etc. Not that the brakes are at all bad, i just don't like rubber hoses :wink:

I await the cries of 'Traitor'!! :oops:

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 11:28 am
by eyore
They seem to be the only option for a sports tourer these days given that the excellent Triumph ST 1050 is no longer made and the GT 1050 is just a lardy ST which has really been around since 2005.
I like them and your looks the biz. Congratulations on the new machine. :D

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 11:31 am
by Blackal
Nice one!

A modern-day VFR?

They get good write-ups for sport-touring.

Al :D

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 11:36 am
by Boxered
I have been a fan of these since they were 1st announced, looks to be a cracking bike. looking forward to the rumoured new BMW R1200ST too!

Steve

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 1:01 pm
by ianbcr
'Traitor...........only joking :lol: ,cracking looking bike, and like they say its your choice what you ride so enjoy. :wink:

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 1:05 pm
by Herb
Looks tidy. Probably one of the few bikes I would consider at the moment having pawed one at the NEC.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 2:18 pm
by cornishflat
Great looking bike, the riding position looks to have that sit in rather than on top of which I prefer. As you say if it had a shaft drive that would finish it off. In the right colour for a Kwak too.

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 8:23 pm
by nab 301
Lovely looking bike in a great colour. I'll have to do some tyre kicking shortly in the local dealers! How do the day to day running costs compare to the R1100S?

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 8:01 am
by Bikerhoss
Thanks for all the positive comments folks :lol:
Def like the proper K green over the black version, I test rode the black and it just looked dull, But I do prefer the black tank though, The 2014 has green 'all the way up' and it's too much for me.

nab 301 wrote:Lovely looking bike in a great colour. I'll have to do some tyre kicking shortly in the local dealers! How do the day to day running costs compare to the R1100S?


So far I'm getting the same mpg as I did on the R Nigel and the 1st service only cost £50, but I suspect that was 'mates rates'. Tyres will be roughly £20 more a pair due to the difference in size and there will be the extra £140ish for chain/sprockets every now and then too.
Other than buying the thing obviously, I've only spent £25 more on smoked indicator lenses and £3 on black screen screws (the silver looked silly on the dark screen).
I used to service the R myself, so the biggest difference in costs for me will be having to dealer service to keep up the warranty, but service items are pretty comparable with the R. You'd be crazy not to test ride it if you're looking for an R replacement :wink:

Does feel like a sit in, rather than sat on. The manually adjustable screen sits at its lowest position for me (6'1" tall) but does keep the rain off pretty well when you flip it up to max and duck a bit :lol:

As most have said, I couldn't see anything else on the market that fitted what I wanted AND was less than bloody £14000 :roll:

Kwak are running out of them due to demand apparently!! Can totally understand why 8)


Oh and PS - I signed up to a Z1000SX forum for hints/tips etc and it is NOWHERE near as good as Boxertrix, so I'll not be leaving here anytime soon :lol:

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 8:45 am
by Blackal
I think you've made a good choice of bike, there.............

Sporty, and for touring - without the bulk of the big Suzuki/Honda S/Ts.

As to forums - Most other "bike-specific" forums are full of people who can't see past their own make..............

You need to stay here....... :D

Al

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:47 am
by big rob
Lovely looking bike there Bikerhoss, I defected to the 'other side' about a year ago with its' cousin the Versys 1000 and have had no regrets (still got the 11S tucked-up in the garage though)
We shouldn't forget to mention your wife, what a lovely and special thing to do for ones partner.

Enjoy :D
Rob & Gail

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 12:23 pm
by Blackal
big rob wrote:Lovely looking bike there Bikerhoss, I defected to the 'other side' about a year ago with its' cousin the Versys 1000 and have had no regrets (still got the 11S tucked-up in the garage though)
We shouldn't forget to mention your wife, what a lovely and special thing to do for ones partner.
Enjoy :D
Rob & Gail


Subtle, Rob.............. :wink:

:D

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 10:16 pm
by Bikerhoss
big rob wrote:Lovely looking bike there Bikerhoss, I defected to the 'other side' about a year ago with its' cousin the Versys 1000 and have had no regrets (still got the 11S tucked-up in the garage though)
We shouldn't forget to mention your wife, what a lovely and special thing to do for ones partner.

Enjoy :D
Rob & Gail


Chuckle :lol: think she just got fed up of me moaning since I sold the R :lol:

Tried the Versys, the Tiger (800 & 1200), BMW 800s and even a MotoGuzzi! Sold on the Z within 15 mins 8)

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 2:37 am
by f90x
Yep. Nice choice. I was looking at one of these just last week. I can see one in my future. Just going to mess about on this Harley for a while first.