General questions on S1000rr

[pmr01]

Hi all, I bought a five month old s1000rr second hand in a private sale. I must admit it was a little bit rash and I wasn't too attentive to some of the details but sometimes that works out ok for you. I have never driven another s1000rr and there are a couple of things I would appreciate advice on. For context I have had bikes for a long number of years and the last two have been zx10rs that I bought from new (2005 / 2009 models). the things I notice quite odd are as follows a) the gearbox is incredibly difficult to find neutral when at a stop b) the gearbox is really quite clunky while going up and down the box c) the clutch occasionally has a very distinctive 'tight spot' just when first pulling in and can be quite jerky (sorry that's the best way I can describe it) d) the brakes efficiency seems to vary greatly - sometimes great, sometimes iffy in their power. any thoughts on any of these points from someone with a lot of ownership experience of these bikes would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bananaman]

Hi, gearbox IS agricultural compared with the japs but, does wear in a little. Just have to change firmly instead of 'snicking' as we are used to. Not found a prob with other points personally.

 

[UrbanRacer]

Hi all, I bought a five month old s1000rr second hand in a private sale. I must admit it was a little bit rash and I wasn't too attentive to some of the details but sometimes that works out ok for you. I have never driven another s1000rr and there are a couple of things I would appreciate advice on. For context I have had bikes for a long number of years and the last two have been zx10rs that I bought from new (2005 / 2009 models). the things I notice quite odd are as follows a) the gearbox is incredibly difficult to find neutral when at a stop b) the gearbox is really quite clunky while going up and down the box c) the clutch occasionally has a very distinctive 'tight spot' just when first pulling in and can be quite jerky (sorry that's the best way I can describe it) d) the brakes efficiency seems to vary greatly - sometimes great, sometimes iffy in their power. any thoughts on any of these points from someone with a lot of ownership experience of these bikes would be greatly appreciated.

Finding neutral involves black magic, takes a bit of time to get used and even then you'll find yourself up and down the gearbox at traffic lights sometimes.
As for the clunky shifts, it depends on the previous owners usage of the quickshifter. Its been well documented on here that the standard quickshifter is a bag of shit and it damages the gearbox, seems to wear the input shaft at an alarming rate.
Never noticed the clutch lever being stiff, maybe get a bit of grease into the cable points on the lever and at the clutch cover.
The brakes i always found to be pretty shit hot, do you know if it still has the stock pads or aftermarket ones? I found the stock Brembo pads to be excellent, EBC HH pads are not as good.

 

[UrbanRacer]

I would edit my typos but the admin wont let me edit my posts ***slow clap***

 

[pmr01]

Thanks for the responses...to be honest, I am more concerned about the particular bike rather than the model itself so the responses actually cheer me up a bit. I was wondering about the greasing of the cable so will give that a shot tomorrow. thanks for your help.

 

[unionjack]

Check the clutch play at the lever and the chain slack if both are spot on it will improve gear changes. Bleed the front brakes air gets trapped deep in the system. Easy way is to crack open the bleed nipple on the master cylinder and slowly pump the lever.

 

[dave80h]

Never noticed the clutch thing. However the neutral issue is a common one, I've had my bike for 2 years and I still sometimes find it difficult. It gets much easier once the bike is warm I find. I found my brakes to be poor also but it went in for its first annual service where they changed the brake fluid and what a difference, brakes were spot on.

 

[rusty]

Just second nature now........3,2,1,2 neutral :joyous:
Brakes work very well, never faded yet.

 

[RossHarper]

I don't bother with neutral anymore, pull up holding clutch and flick stand down, cuts engine and i leave it in first. I'm heavy footed and although i can find it going down from second, whats the point.

 

[soofsayer]

I don't bother with neutral anymore, pull up holding clutch and flick stand down, cuts engine and i leave it in first. I'm heavy footed and although i can find it going down from second, whats the point.

+1.

the only time I select neutral is when I am doing maintenance on the stands or perhaps if I have a long wait at traffic lights. Finding it from 1st seems less successful than dropping into it from 2nd.

 

[Godzilla]

I often click mine into neutral from second as Im still moving, that seems the easiest way for me. Def 2nd to neutral is easier than 1st to neutral.

 

[pmr01]

I am impressed that some people work round the neutral thing....not something I am used to doing. I had the bike out down the borders on Saturday and I seem to have sussed out the gearbox a lot better now. All good. need to do a little bit of maintenance on the clutch cable as suggested higher up. thanks for your responses all.

 

[Fenick]

My clutch does the same, a little stiff 'click' from somewhere near the clutch leaver pivot. Just the once and then its ok till the next time I use it.

 

[bagwafu]

My clutch does the same, a little stiff 'click' from somewhere near the clutch leaver pivot. Just the once and then its ok till the next time I use it.

Surely thats the quickshifter microswitch disengaging ?? And therefore normal?

 

[Niven770]

Brake pads will vary braking performance greatly. I likewise found the standard pads to work very well, when they were done I replaced them with cheap ones from ebay to see what they were like. Immediately removed and returned for refund as they were bloody dangerous. Replaced them with Carbon Lorrains and they were fantastic. Now that they are done it's on to SBS Dual Carbon as I have been told they work well.

If you have race pads in your bike they will not work as well on the road as their cold performance is not so good. Road pads are designed to work cold and hot where as race pads work better hot.......This may account for your varying brake performance.

Neutral thing.....1st to 2nd then neutral but does get better. I agree that the gearbox also becomes slicker with time.

Regards
Davy

Regards
Davy

 

[pmr01]

Surely thats the quickshifter microswitch disengaging ?? And therefore normal?

Sorry guys, I haven't been on for a while that sounds interesting AND potentially the thing I am talking about

 

[BUZZ]

Change detent spring it does help gear changes and finding neutral brakes on both my s1kr I've owned has been great,as for clutch tight ?? Try slacken off the play when it's warmed up

 

[Lumpy]

Hi all, I bought a five month old s1000rr second hand in a private sale. I must admit it was a little bit rash and I wasn't too attentive to some of the details but sometimes that works out ok for you. I have never driven another s1000rr and there are a couple of things I would appreciate advice on. For context I have had bikes for a long number of years and the last two have been zx10rs that I bought from new (2005 / 2009 models). the things I notice quite odd are as follows a) the gearbox is incredibly difficult to find neutral when at a stop b) the gearbox is really quite clunky while going up and down the box c) the clutch occasionally has a very distinctive 'tight spot' just when first pulling in and can be quite jerky (sorry that's the best way I can describe it) d) the brakes efficiency seems to vary greatly - sometimes great, sometimes iffy in their power. any thoughts on any of these points from someone with a lot of ownership experience of these bikes would be greatly appreciated.

As with every new bike, we have to get used to a few things and inevitably adjust a few things. Truth be told i hated the original bike, changed the levers first, so i could adjust them the stock brake lever is just shite (for me). had a few issues with missing gears with the dodgy ankle, so HP rear sets adjusted for me and rarely miss now. With the stock pads the brakes are not that great when cold but when warmed up they are champion. As for neutral haha you have to have the touch

I think when you get used to it, you are going to have copious amounts of fun

 

[jovie]

I've had my bike for four years and never experienced problems with neutral, but I agree that the shift has to be more positive.
My brakes got a bit soft when i changed pads but it turns out they weren't bled properly.
If it has a quickshifter remember that it is to be used only on the up-shift and what you will find is that the clutch has got a 'notch' in the action which you will feel if you are using the clutch on the up-shift.