If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

- George Washington

Sunday 13 January 2013

Full Circle



I tried, I really tried.

I had the BMW for six months.  I wanted to like it.  It had everything going for it - a full set of luggage, an economical and reliable engine, lots of expensive accessories, and it looked pretty good too.  But last week I sold it.  And yesterday I rode home on a new bike - the rather pretty Yamaha pictured above.

What was wrong with the Beemer?  In a word, it was dull.  In another word, it was the wrong shape. And in a third word, it was built so far down to a price that it reached Australia.

Dull, first.  Whatever a bike does, whatever you use it for, however much it cost you, it must be fun.  It must light a fire somewhere in your soul.  If I want utility, I will use my car.  The engine was reasonably powerful (50 bhp) and yet managed to make that power in such a somnolent way that it seemed like half that.  The exhaust note was (and I mean this literally) less engaging than my lawnmower.  There was a mild duff-duff from the back end, and an annoying pockety-pock from the induction, and that was it.  It gave no sense of excitement whatsoever.  At least the mower sounds businesslike.  Yes, this could have been cured with an aftermarket system, but only at a cost of several hundred pounds - and I didn't love it enough to sink that kind of cash into it.

It was the wrong shape for me.  Even with a higher seat (at a cost of £160) it was too low.  I felt like I was riding a cruiser, all feet forward and arms in the air.  I exaggerate, but that's how it felt.  And it wobbled round slow corners.  Great for a shorty, but for this almost-six-footer (5' 11⅞" to be precise) it was like riding a roller-skate.

And the build quality was depressing.  Perhaps I had high expectations of a Bavarian product, but it was disappointingly poorly-made.  The fork lowers were starting to pit, the engine had lost most of its paint, and the quality of the fasteners holding it all together was dire.  Many chassis bolts were simply rusty (and looked awful), and several times I had to resort to cobalt-tipped drills and witchcraft to get seized bolts out.  Electrolytic corrosion between dissimilar metals and a complete lack of anti-seize compounds during manufacture made it a DIY nightmare.  It had a full BMW main dealer service history, and from the amount of paperwork that came with it the previous owners must have been anally retentive to the point of solidity, so I don't think any of it was owner neglect.  Nope, BMW build these as entry-level bikes to the BMW 'family', and my guess is they are not built to last more than a few years, just long enough for the first owner to trade up to a £12k monster.  I know I bang on ad nauseam about how good the XT600 is, but seriously - a 19-year-old Yamaha with eleventy-six owners, evidence of neglect and abuse throughout its life, and which lives out in all weathers and is rarely cleaned, has less rust and is easier to take apart than an 8-year-old 'premium product' from one of the world's most famous bike makers.

When I got back into riding in 2007 after a break of nearly ten years, I bought a Yamaha XT660R - partly because it was the right price, I liked the look of it, and I had owned two smaller XTs in a former life.  I sold it on after a year (for reasons which were entirely incorrect, I now learn) and subsequently had everything from 800 to 1300 cc, straight fours, parallel and V-twins, a V-four and even a triple.  But all that time, guess what?  My hyper-secure password that I use for all critical internet logins is a cleverly-scrambled mix of characters based on that Yamaha.  It was in 2007 and it is today.  And my desktop backgound?  Yes, that's right. Still.  It's a bit like that number that you never quite manage to delete from your phone, the photo you can't bear to throw away.

I rode it home from 'up the line' yesterday and had a total blast.  It's got 2 bhp less than  the GS, and with the lack of wind protection it's probably as comfy at 70 as the GS was at 80.  But it jumps off the line like a terrier, grunts and snarls on the throttle, and has a tall and commanding riding position that puts you where you want to be - in charge.  In other words, it's just like the older XT, but better.  And coming from me, that is high recommendation.

Needless to say, I am in lurve all over again.

16 comments:

  1. If BMW was the best solution for all riders that's what we'd all be riding. Glad you found something that stirs your soul.

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    1. Thanks - and I agree that it would be a pity if we all rode the same bikes. Not quite sure what the problem is, to which the GS is the solution, though.

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  2. Yay! For motorcycles that move our souls!! It's how I feel about my VStrom. Have fun!

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    1. Funnily enough, the V-Strom was close to the top of my shortlist. I'm glad you feel the same way about yours. Good, isn't it?

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  3. Agree with the dull part. That's one reason I sold my F650GS two years back. Good you find something more fitting.

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    1. I had forgotten you had one too. I just couldn't get over the 'made for new riders' feel. Everything was just so unthreatening and bland. Not that threatening is good, but even the smallest edge of excitement was missing. Bike magazine (UK) noted something like 'a great bike for going round the world, but we can't see why you would want to'. I should have read that twice!

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  4. A motorcycle has to speak to you and give you the desire to rife it and not to park it. I have looked at newer expensive bikes and 'big name' and I stick with my lovely Honda. Moshe has a throaty growl and it doesn't say chick bike. I am not sure I could be happy on something that doesn't have any personality and I would probably give it up and walk to work instead. Glad you found something that makes your heart sing.

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    1. Moshe ought to be a Citroen :) (that joke might work better in Europe ...) Thanks Dar - personality is important, with bikes as with people. Those with none are not worth spending time on.

      Love the socks ...

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  5. Congratulations Richard!

    I was sorely tempted by the XT for my bike in Wiesbaden but the BMW was selected as being a machine that both Mrs N and I could ride by simply swopping over seats from low to Himalya high!
    The flaking paint is no surprise for modern BMWs but the quality and fit of the plastics around the instrumemts is poor. The economy is exceptionally good for a mobile cement mixer. The handling needs sorting with new front springs (progressives) and the front tyre inflation pressure appears to be quite critical.

    See you soon, N

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    1. I doubt if the XT would suit Mrs N - I can just about get the balls of my feet down on both sides, but it is skyscraper-tall compared to the GS. Funnily enough, I had the instrument panel off many times and it always went back OK. The tank panels, however ...

      I played with tyre pressures to no avail. It felt like loose head bearings, but they were in spec. I think it was just the general layout of the thing - forks kicked out further than I am used to (or it felt that way) and a low CoG.

      Aye, soon.

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  6. Make sure you keep them segregated, Richard. Otherwise they might breed.

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    1. Now that I LIKE! (I seriously think the 600 might be getting too old for that kind of thing. His bearings are a bit slack and he seems to prefer resting gently under a tarpaulin to getting 'dirty'.) But I want one of them there minibikes.

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  7. Poor quality is nothing new for BMW. You might remember that my father had a 1978 R100S, and I subsequently bought a R65 the following year. From this I quickly discovered some of the cost cutting measures employed on the "smaller" bike.

    1) Single rate fork springs vs progressive rate (as Nikos has mentioned above)
    2) Handlebar switchgear - horrible Japanese items which weren't a patch on their own equipment (obviously NOT made by Yamaha...)
    3) "Flat Top" Bing CV carbs, rather than the better ones used on the older machines. These employed a decent guide tube and housing (like SU's), rather than just relying on the slide, which I found prone to sticking.

    However the paint and general finish still seemed good back then. It couldn't be worse than the Morini! And they still charged 3x the price for a set of points, compared to Bosch who made the bloody things...

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    1. As I recall, the R100S was the flagship bike of the range, whereas the R65 was the everyman version. As such, I am not surprised that the 65 had a lower spec. But I know for a fact that 1980s BMWs of all kinds are still being campaigned, dismantled, rebuilt and so on, which suggests a certain baseline of build quality. The toffee-headed Torx bolts on the 650 were mostly seized and each one was a nightmare to take out. I snapped a clutch cover bolt and had to leave it in place, and I completely failed to get two bolts out of the swingarm when I replaced the chain. (The buyer was informed of all this, of course.) It was not a DIY bike.

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  8. It is good to hear that if you wren't happy with the BMW you sold it. I had that issue with the Bonneville when I bought it last May. I wanted to love it, I really did. I'd wanted one for so long, but it just wasn't right.

    I am glad you have an XT again. You need to feel the love with your ride.

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  9. Yes, the Bonneville didn't last long with me either. I have only had the XTR for 5 days and about 100 miles, but I love it already. Again.

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