Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Right- now that I've finished touching myself inappropriately.....
.....what's the wisdom on securing some luggage on these things? I have to get to north wales for a climbing trip next weekend. I need to get 2 days walking gear and a sleeping bag on it somehow (and would prefer not to wear a rucksack or I'll arrive crippled)?!?!
What's recommended?
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Fazer thou?Originally Posted by str0nach
Cunny funt
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Or a Mongdeo
It's so full of amazing electrical goods there'd be no room for my gearOr a Mongdeo
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) pm smallred she got a fair bit on her RR using a luggage system (i think it sounded like richa or something like that)
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) A pair of oxford throwovers are your easiest option without fitting additional racks and frames etc .
unless you fancy the pillion seat top box mounts a few on here have used which makes high speed touring a breeze
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Will they work ok with the underseat exhaust? If so, aces cause that is indeed the easiest option.
Might get a pair of these rok straps too for fixing the sleeping bag to the pillion seat.
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Be careful on yours with positioning and securing them as I see you have no pillion pegs which hold the panniers away from the rear wheel with ease. You might need to have a bit of a practise run seeing where they position but should be fine with the exhaust as it would have a person sat in that area normally and they don't like burned arse or legs
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Cheers dude- the pillion pegs were supplied with the bike so I could put them back on if necessary. I have no plans to take a pillion so hadn't bothered yet and looks wise I think it looks fine with or without- I certainly wouldn't have bothered taking them off in the first place.Be careful on yours with positioning and securing them as I see you have no pillion pegs which hold the panniers away from the rear wheel with ease. You might need to have a bit of a practise run seeing where they position but should be fine with the exhaust as it would have a person sat in that area normally and they don't like burned arse or legs
With the heat I was thinking more about bungees running under the seat- as you say: I'll have a practice run and see what I can cobble together as a system.
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Never mind the bloody luggage, ride report man, ride report!!
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Never mind the bloody luggage, ride report man, ride report!!
Well..... picked it up on Monday night and rode it home in the dark. Rode it yesterday and today in the pissing rain.....so not perfect conditions to make a best assessment but so far....
Feels absolutely fantastic. Location of everything is just right and although, as a riding position, it's a million miles away from what I'm used to it feels "right", if that makes sense. Like I should have gone sports ages ago. Not sure how comfy it's going to be over long distances but I'll find out soon enough. Digital fuel gauge and clock are nice touches I wasn't expiating on a sports bike. All bikes should have clocks- if you're heading across town for a meeting it's a royal PITA having to pull your jacket out of your glove at every set of lights just to check how much time you've got.
Stationary it is unbelievable light: feels like I could pick it up. I'm used to manhandling the Fazer about the place which takes some proper effort. This feels like a bicycle in comparison
Engine is a peach- responsive and so eager to rev and gearbox is positive and solid feeling- I'd read about people catching neutral going between 1st and 2nd but I've not experienced that at all? I must have heavy feet. Idles kinda high at about 1400rpm but still needs a bit of revs to get going. Managed to stall it and look a right cuddly wuddly beary beary boo at the traffic lights yesterday.
On the move it's just lush. It feels so well screwed together and tight as tight thing that's been tightened a bit. There's more dive in the forks than I was expecting but the rebound is silky smooth. I have no idea what all the settings are at yet.
A little weight on the bar and it just turns effortlessly. Haven't really had a chance to throw it hard at a corner yet but it just wants to turn. Despite the weather I've been deliberately taking the long route to and from work because its twistier.
I never thought I'd say this, having ridden a 1000 for ages, but the 600 engine is just fantastic. It's like 2 bikes in 1: at low revs it just goes, no fuss but no real drama either- perfect for gliding smoothly through the traffic; wind it up and the throttle becomes directly linked to the size of my grin. Screaming up through the gears comes with a bloody lovely soundtrack; and back down them with a little blip is even better. It feels more useable that the R1 did: don't get me wrong- the R1 just about made me shoot my load and I wanted it so much- but it's pretty hard to cane it without the speeds getting really daft- red line in 3rd was 126mph and it got there ridiculously quickly. The CBR feels like you can give it a bit more abuse before it gets too silly. For me this is good: I'm not actually racing anyone so the more excitement I can get before entering massively licence losing territory the better. Electronic steering damper seems to work a treat- in that I haven't noticed it at all- feels rock solid at high speed and steering is feather light at low speed.
This will be of no interest to non-commuters but at very low speed the engine is brilliant- at walking speeds where I'd need to slip the clutch on the fazer to stop a judder coming on the cbr just rolls as smooth as you like without touching the clutch- I'm having to un-learn slipping it because it's just not necessary. (I must have watched too much kickstart as a kid but when the traffic is really tight I always try to get through without putting a foot down. So it's a doddle and a giggle in equal measure.)
Brakes are fantastic- good and strong- there seems to be quite a lot of travel in the lever?: under hard braking its getting pretty near the bar. Not sure if they need bled a bit, if the pads are a bit old or if it's just the design of the stubby lever- it's already at max reach tho? Will take a better look at the weekend.
Negatives: pretty crap steering lock. That's about it.
Happy camper.
Last edited by str0nach; 19-04-12 at 05:50.
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Good work dude, glad you chose that over the ER6.
Nice write up too, and I'm completely with you on the 600 Vs. 1000 fun; s'why I've had the Six for 9 years.
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) nice write up-I want yours now! Precise & sweet quality thing isn't it? Not exactly threatening but easy enough to glance down on a A road & see 120 without trying.
I think there's a couple of fiddles you can do on them re the bars & the rearsets. I've linked to a couple of CBR6 forums in the 'other forums' sticky elsewhere. I found mine to be a bit of a bugger over a whole day at 1st & yours is rather more 'sports.'
That said the best piece of advice I've read so far about the riding position on sports bike is to try & keep your hands as light as possible on the bars by kind of gripping the tank with your knees a bit & developing your lower back muscles. I've found the easiest way to achieve this is simply lifting your hands off the bars every so often.It doesn' take long to get 'sportsbike fit'. You can feel the difference after even a week & your wrists will thank you very much! I've not even bothered to investigate the rear set bodge I alluded to earlier.
Try a couple of tanks of Shell V Power or BP Ultimate in it when the weather eventually turns!
Re: Woohoo: new bike time :) Should've saved up for a litre bike instead of the 600 gurl option.
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