Author Topic: "NUMBER 99" (Read 22557 times)

ZenMan · « **on:** March 28, 2007, 07:36:33 PM »

Finally got it home! It was a little wet out, so she's got her first coat of road grime.

This is the 99th '07 B1250 to roll off the production line... VIN#xxxxxxxxxxxx00099!

Took it easy on the way home. Found the handling to be very neutral, literally steering itself through the curves. Rock steady with no tendency to dip towards the inside line. Straightline stability is excellent.

The bike fits me like a glove (6'2", 30" inseam) and I won't need to change the handlebars. The rider's footpegs seem an inch or two too far back, as I like to ride on the balls of my feet but resting on my arches was more comfortable. I'll get used to it. The seat seemed comfortable enough, but I'll need longer rides to really judge. No buffeting whatsoever, my helmet is immersed entirely in the slipstream above the windscreen, smooth and comfy.

It's too quiet! All I could hear was the wind past my helmet, except below 40mph I could hear the gears whine on acceleration. Like riding a jet. At idle you can just barely hear the valves ticking.

In 6th gear at 72 mph she holds at 3700 rpm. Twist the throttle and the bike leaps forward like an electric motor. I didn't find any flat spots, stumbles, or misses in the EFI, very smooth and powerful throughout the gears, with instant throttle response. No buzzing or vibration that I could feel through the bars at any rpm.

Brakes were smooth and predictable, though I haven't gotten on them very hard yet. Road was pretty wet most of the way home. No grabbing or over-sensitivity.

All in all I'm really happy with it so far. This bike suits me very well, it's everything I expected it to be and more. The power is impressive, all that torque is obvious every time you turn up the wick.

I hope to put some more miles on it in the next week, surgery is on 4/10 and I'm gonna try to do the 600 mile oil change before then. I'll keep ya'll posted!

stormi · « **Reply #1 on:** March 28, 2007, 08:20:14 PM »

Zen!

I gotta ask though,... do you guys not have roads down there? Mostly, here we try to ride on pavement, better traction...

ZenMan · « **Reply #2 on:** March 28, 2007, 08:44:53 PM »

Quote from: "stormi"

Zen!

I gotta ask though,... do you guys not have roads down there? Mostly, here we try to ride on pavement, better traction...

Thanks, Stormi!

Hey, what can I say? We live on a farm.... dirt driveway, and 1/4 mile of gravel to the pavement.

But what pavement! Lots of twisties around here... you'll have to come down and checkit out someday!

H2RICK · « **Reply #3 on:** March 28, 2007, 09:14:05 PM »

OK....way to go, Zenman. You made it home with no one trying to wreck your new bike. You're definitely ahead of the curve, so far.

Hope your surgery and healing goes great....and by the time you're all healed up the roads will be nice and dry. Enjoy.

PS: and #99 too. What's not to like about that ??!! I wonder what adventures she'll see in her lifetime....and will she live to a ripe old age, being cared for by loving owners ?? Hopefully so.....

JamieK · « **Reply #4 on:** March 28, 2007, 09:30:22 PM »

Glad you finally got it...that was waaay to long to have to wait for a bike

txbanditrydr · « **Reply #5 on:** March 28, 2007, 09:38:50 PM »

on the new ride.... glad it's safely in the stable and looking forward to reading more of your impressions.

ZenMan · « **Reply #6 on:** March 28, 2007, 09:42:00 PM »

Thanks so much, guys... it is a huge relief to finally have her home where she belongs.

CWO4GUNNER · « **Reply #7 on:** March 28, 2007, 10:31:34 PM »

You defiantly picked the best color. Be careful post-Op riding until that new shoulder is working pain free. At least with the FI you wont even have to think about breathing mods or adjustments until you want to, just twist and go.

06 Greyhound · « **Reply #8 on:** March 28, 2007, 10:40:07 PM »

Nice looking ride, and pleased that you enjoyed the ride home. I could only wish my frist ride had been as good.
I'm guessing that you will also find the ABS system neutral and smooth.

gyrogearcrunch · « **Reply #9 on:** March 28, 2007, 10:41:09 PM »

Quote from: "stormi"

Zen!

I gotta ask though,... do you guys not have roads down there? Mostly, here we try to ride on pavement, better traction...

Hey, Stormi!

What you see in the pics is prolly ZenMan's driveway, not the highway past his house

.

Us older folks tend to have a few acres that we call home, although King George II and his evil henchmen are desperately trying to change that.

Imagine their nerve, repealing the rights we and our forebears came to America for, died for, and continue to love in spite of his depredations.

He wants us all to live in tightly-packed slums, while he and the 6% of the population that sends big checks to his campaigns continue to live off the sweat of our brows and the strength of our backs (ref.: Troops in Iraq, at the moment

:.

As they say in Brooklyn: FUGGEDDABOUDIT!

So, even tho you can hear the bad guys ripping up the very floorboards as they're stripping the USA for everything they can, true patriots continue to remember who their real friends are. Canadians are definitely among them! Thanks!

(Sorry - the Ozzie flag is closest - we love 'em too.)

Herb, 509th BW, 8th AF

gyrogearcrunch · « **Reply #10 on:** March 28, 2007, 10:43:59 PM »

Quote from: "ZenMan"

Finally got it home! It was a little wet out, so she's got her first coat of road grime.

This is the 99th '07 B1250 to roll off the production line... VIN#xxxxxxxxxxxx00099!

Took it easy on the way home. Found the handling to be very neutral, literally steering itself through the curves. Rock steady with no tendency to dip towards the inside line. Straightline stability is excellent.

The bike fits me like a glove (6'2", 30" inseam) and I won't need to change the handlebars. The rider's footpegs seem an inch or two too far back, as I like to ride on the balls of my feet but resting on my arches was more comfortable. I'll get used to it. The seat seemed comfortable enough, but I'll need longer rides to really judge. No buffeting whatsoever, my helmet was in the slipstream off the top of the windscreen, smooth and comfy.

It's too quiet! All I could hear was the wind past my helmet, except below 40mph I could hear the gears whine on acceleration. Like riding a jet. At idle you can just barely hear the valves ticking.

In 6th gear at 72 mph she holds at 3700 rpm. Twist the throttle and the bike leaps forward like an electric motor. I didn't find any flat spots, stumbles, or misses in the EFI, very smooth and powerful throughout the gears, with instant throttle response. No buzzing or vibration that I could feel through the bars at any rpm.

Brakes were smooth and predictable, though I haven't gotten on them very hard yet. Road was pretty wet most of the way home. No grabbing or over-sensitivity.

All in all I'm really happy with it so far. This bike suits me very well, it's everything I expected it to be and more. The power is impressive, all that torque is obvious every time you turn up the wick.

I hope to put some more miles on it in the next week, surgery is on 4/10 and I'm gonna try to do the 600 mile oil change before then. I'll keep ya'll posted!

I LIKE it! Just be careful with that rotator cuff, bro!

Herb

ZenMan · « **Reply #11 on:** March 28, 2007, 11:49:28 PM »

All you guys, I appreciate your congrats and well wishes.

CWO, you have the right idea... I'll probably leave it pretty much stock for awhile until I get more intimately familiar with the care and feeding of the beast, and explore my options... it's got plenty of grunt to keep me happy at least till I'm healed up enough to ride her like she was meant to be ridden.

Greyhound, this is a standard model... no ABS. I don't think they'll be in country for awhile yet. I would have went for one but the wait was long enough for this baby!

Gyro, nothing like a few acres to call your own... but it's gonna be hard to keep 'ol Number 99 clean around here.

ZenMan · « **Reply #12 on:** March 29, 2007, 01:36:04 AM »

One thing I noticed when I fired it up to park it under the deck tonight... The tranny is a bit noisy when cold. When the clutch is pulled in, all you hear is a slight valve ticking, like a swiss watch. But when you let out the clutch in neutral, you can definitely hear some spinning/whirring in there.

This is probably partly due to the thin break-in oil, but I bet it's inherent of the new "stacked" transmission. I haven't seen any exploded views yet, but I think in order to make the engine more compact, the gear shafts are arranged vertically. It would explain what I'm hearing... definitely something I will keep an "ear" on, and do some research on too.

Shifting was crisp and positive going down the road... but the engine is so quiet I found myself looking at the tach a lot to estimate what gear I was in. Mostly I just left it in 6th, there's so much torque you hardly need to downshift even when passing cars.

smooth operator · « **Reply #13 on:** March 29, 2007, 06:37:22 AM »

I like the sharp lines,looks great. Sounds like a worthy and comfortable stead indeed.Awsome!
Its going to seem like a long recovery when you have a new motorcycle waiting to go for a ride. It will give you plenty of time to clean all the road grime off that you put on befor hand.

chupacabra · « **Reply #14 on:** March 29, 2007, 07:13:51 AM »

WOW . . . very nice. I really like the black forks and swingarm, if the pegs and lump were matching I think it would be perfect. Man I'd be tempted to paint a few things. You can paint with one arm can't you?

Not saying it needs any changes.