Tuesday, December 30, 2008

2 month SV650S review

So I've had my little baby girl for about 2 months now and although she still remains nameless, I love her to bits.

She has enough power to see me amused on city streets and quick on highway runs. She's light and her centre of gravity is low enough to stop me freaking out on hills or angles. I've become used to the need to accelerate all the way around the corner to stop the front wheel from feeling too light and her initially pinchy front brake has worn in (or out, may need replacing) so I don't suddenly find myself with my nose out over the front light.

She has some not so cool points. At slow speeds that involve a lot of clutch work, you find yourself resting on the handle bars. This causes cramp and sore hands. Eventually, it cuts the circulation off to the tips of a couple of my fingers and leads me to start slipping it into neutral in stopped traffic just to get a rest.

For some reason, the peg seems to be directly behind my leg when I put my foot down. This means when I pull away, even if I'm quick to lift my leg up, the peg still catches my leg. The peg just folds back but it could be dangerous and is annoying. I've tried putting my leg out sideways further but it doesn't work as my legs aren't quite long enough.

There is no engine temperature gauge. This freaks me out a little in 30+Celcius weather when I'm sitting in stationary traffic.

My seating position means that when I got over a bump or hit a pothole, I'm jettisoned into the tank. I don't know how the boys survive, as I'm a girl and I still nearly cried after hitting a couple of aggressive holes.

Overall, the bike is balanced and easy to manoeuvre. The power comes on quickly but controlled and a quick twist of the wrist tends to get me out of trouble and not into a whole lot more.

Her brakes are good and stopping suddenly mid-blind-corner for a road-worker casually spinning his stop/slow sign didn't cause too much drama, other than scaring the crap out of all involved and almost tempting me to give him a mouthful of abuse for his carelessness.

She purrs like a kitten and her custom pipe means that I'm usually heard before I'm seen.

All in all, I'm in love with her. Although not completely disillusioned by her not so cool points.

Monday, December 15, 2008

BMW 650 CS

Licencing woes saw me back at Bike School. The day was uninteresting except for getting to ride a random bike of a mid-range nature and seeing what a good pick my SV650S was. I won't say I knew it all and I won't say that the practice wasn't good for me. I will say that the instructor said I was the most skilled girl of my level he'd seen and that during my road ride he only had one comment to make - which was that I put my foot out too soon when I was pulling up and that I should only put it down at the last minute. Fair call, I'd say and I've been practicing not doing that.


It was interesting to note the different setup on the BMW650CS though. The bike was built low and the front forks were out like a trailie. The gears were weird and the only time I saw any semblance of its engine size was when I thrashed the daylights out of it in 3rd gear and got from 50kph to 80kph in a few seconds. Otherwise, she felt gutless and clunky. Especially weird was how the gear pedal would keep going down even when you were in 1st gear. My ZZR and SV always stop when you get to 1st gear and I guess I thought that's how all bikes behaved. Imagine my surprise when I tried to get back to 1st suddenly, only to be unable to find the bottom of the gearbox. The centre of gravity was low and the steering light so figure 8's were a breeze (despite being made to go first with everyone watching - apparently, this 'lady friend' can still turn it on a dime.)

I can understand why they were picked for the riding school because they were forgiving and built low. There is power there but it's hard to find and certainly doesn't surprise you when it arrives. Their brakes are good and I scared myself a couple of times with careless front brake grabs but the bike forgave me more than it should have. The back brake held the bike back well while slow cornering in non-chugging revs and 2nd gear.

Their balance was good and I managed to complete the 12second minimum slow ride (have no idea how far the distance was - 10 metres?) the first time round without horrendous wobbles. Again, the steering was light and the bike easy to push around so when it came time for the 30kph emergency counter-steer my only problem was getting back onto the course after an overly vigorous manoeuvre.

My particular bike had certainly seen its share of learners though with clunky 1st and 2nd gears, a very easy to find false-neutral and a few scratches. I though it was going to rattle itself to bits on the road ride though.

I wouldn't buy one personally. I found them all a bit meh but I could see how they make a good learner bike. Their upright seat keeps you from leaning on the handlebars and their low centre of gravity means less freak-outs if the bike leans one way or the other when stationary.

All in all a fun day and a semi-decent bike. Although, a waste of $400 as the licencing woes continue.