Joining the RR club for the first time

[toonshorty]

Hi all,

After riding a 2014 Kawasaki Z1000SX for the past 3.5 years, I've been considering the change to something a little more... engaging. I took the SX around Cadwell Park the other week and as good as it is on the road, it feels like a heavy bike to haul around a track. I'll often do a trip to Spain every year around the Picos/Pyrenees which features some sublime roads for sportsbikes. Unfortunately, that trip often involves riding the bikes down to the ferry (Portsmouth) from Newcastle, so ideally I needed something that you could survive a few hours of motorway on.

I took a new S1000RR M Sport out for a test ride yesterday and it really felt like a bike that would tick all the boxes. From a comfort perspective, I found the bike fit me almost perfectly and my legs would naturally tuck around the tank, while I really had to force that same position on the SX. Sadly I never got a chance to really give the bike a proper run out on country roads as the test ride involved getting stuck in a road closure after about 45 seconds of leaving the dealership. That did however give me a chance to try the bike out in heavy/slow traffic, and aside from the clutch which feels like it's going to take a while to get used to, the bike handled everything really well. The brakes and quick-shifter both feel sublime.

Coming back up the A1(M) and A194(M), the bike felt perfectly comfortable on the motorway and being able to stick the cruise control on and give my wrist a rest will make all the difference on longer stints. Heated grips are also excellent for those cold motorway blasts back up north too! Naturally on the sweeping Iberian roads and on the track, the bike is going to be spot on as well.

So back to the dealership then, I figured I'd get some numbers. There was a red RR Sport (MY2020) in the showroom, still unregistered, which was listed at ?16,700. Fortunately for me, we have a good realationship with the dealer thanks to my Dad buying about 163 GSs over the years, and so they agreed to do it for ?15,495. With ?500 contribution from BMW and my SX as part-exchange, the finance ended up at ?100/m over 3 years! ?100 a month for a class-leading superbike?!

Before I sign the finance paperwork I just had a couple of questions that I wanted to ask:

Would I be right in thinking the only difference between the 2020 and 2021 model year is just paint and the tracker as standard?

What extras should I be thinking about adding the bike? I've heard the paint can scratch quite easily so a tank pad will need to go on. GB Racing engine cover seems to be a popular choice as well. Are there any other must-haves?

Luggage wise, is it worth picking up the official BMW luggage or are there some better aftermarket options? I can't seem to find any pictures of the official luggage actually on the bike. Is it possible to run the BMW saddlebags and tailpack together if you really need the storage? I already have a GIVI ST602B tank bag from my current bike, although I can't seem to find a fitting kit for the new RR; GIVI's site only shows the RR 2012-2018, so not sure if the tanklock kit would be different for the gen 4.

 

[Oli]

Great post, am really glad to hear you enjoyed the test ride and will be joining the Bavarian team [emoji41]

Re crash protection. Yes GB Racing covers and tank pad are a great idea, I would also add the BMW radiator guards and spindle sliders. You may also want to consider some carbon frame covers, as the frame paint can wear over time. To that end, Alpha Racing or Ilmberger are good options.

Re luggage, I think the official luggage is excellent on the Gen 4 RR. I would go for the small tank bag, as this doesn?t interfere with body positioning when on road and can carry essential regular access items. I would go for the small 10 L tail bag and then combine it with the saddlebags if you need circa 50 L capacity as it?ll carry the weight lower.
Oh and yes you can combine the tail bag and saddlebags

 

[stuartb]

Great intro post as Oli says, welcome toon, take it your a Geordie ?

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

 

[spoonbill10]

I would definitely get paint protection such as ventureshield, I didn't and my red sport at 3500 miles is getting well peppered on the front with light stone chips and one particularly bad one which needs touching up and 80% of the time I ride on my own.
I bought BMW radiator and oil cooler guards from my dealer, they're not expensive and they fitted them and also an evotech tail tidy for free for me before I picked the bike up.

 

[Oli]

+1 on EvoTech, they?re a great company that make quality products.
Their tail tidy is both legal and ?very? well made

 

[Marc A]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for taking the time to write a comprehensive intro.

i would echo what people have said before. But def worth considering a bigger screen if u are looking at touring. I?ve got the oe tinted high screen and it?s invaluable at deflecting the wind.

Also paddock stands if your rest up the rear. Get some pics up when u can and if u have a look at forum membership we do have a couple of dealers on board for forum premier members discount.

welcome and enjoy!

 

[P0u1]

How much deposit are you putting down, I was looking at a m sport so 20k with 4k deposit and was told 240 quid a month for 3 years with a Bloon payment of 10k at the end.

 

[oldwobbler]

I use my gen 4 M for everything, touring, odd track day social rides out. It does it all. I've only made a few changes to make it comfortably over distance - tall screen and swapped the M seat for a standard one. It works well on motorways and is brilliant when you reach your destination. The heated grips and cruise control also help with distance. Luggage wise I've used Ventura on my last 3 RRs. It works very well. Plus the 1.5 ltr tank bag. I also have the BMW rad guards for protection and venture shield on the front bits.

 

[toonshorty]

Thank you all for the kind welcome!

Great post, am really glad to hear you enjoyed the test ride and will be joining the Bavarian team [emoji41]

Re crash protection. Yes GB Racing covers and tank pad are a great idea, I would also add the BMW radiator guards and spindle sliders. You may also want to consider some carbon frame covers, as the frame paint can wear over time. To that end, Alpha Racing or Ilmberger are good options.

Re luggage, I think the official luggage is excellent on the Gen 4 RR. I would go for the small tank bag, as this doesn?t interfere with body positioning when on road and can carry essential regular access items. I would go for the small 10 L tail bag and then combine it with the saddlebags if you need circa 50 L capacity as it?ll carry the weight lower.
Oh and yes you can combine the tail bag and saddlebags

That's good to know, thanks! I'll see if the dealership have any luggage in stock that I can see/try first hand as well.

Great intro post as Oli says, welcome toon, take it your a Geordie ?

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

I am indeed!

I would definitely get paint protection such as ventureshield, I didn't and my red sport at 3500 miles is getting well peppered on the front with light stone chips and one particularly bad one which needs touching up and 80% of the time I ride on my own.
I bought BMW radiator and oil cooler guards from my dealer, they're not expensive and they fitted them and also an evotech tail tidy for free for me before I picked the bike up.

Paint protection is certainly something I will look at then. I never bothered doing it on my valencia orange M135i and I regret it a lot as that is now battered with stone chips. Given Northumberland County Council's love for resurfacing roads by dumping gravel on it and setting an advisory 20mph limit, I think paint protection will be a good idea.

+1 on EvoTech, they?re a great company that make quality products.
Their tail tidy is both legal and ?very? well made

I've actually got a few evotech parts on the SX, including a tail tidy. I would certainly go down that route again as their stuff did seem very well made and sensibly priced too.

Welcome to the forum and thanks for taking the time to write a comprehensive intro.

i would echo what people have said before. But def worth considering a bigger screen if u are looking at touring. I?ve got the oe tinted high screen and it?s invaluable at deflecting the wind.

Also paddock stands if your rest up the rear. Get some pics up when u can and if u have a look at forum membership we do have a couple of dealers on board for forum premier members discount.

welcome and enjoy!

I'm certainly looking at a bigger screen.

How much did you pay for the OE tinted high screen if you don't mind me asking?

MRA seem to do a higher smoked screen for around ?80, but not sure how that compares to the BMW one?

 

[toonshorty]

How much deposit are you putting down, I was looking at a m sport so 20k with 4k deposit and was told 240 quid a month for 3 years with a Bloon payment of 10k at the end.

No additional money from myself, but they are giving me ?4000 for the SX and there is a ?500 contribution from BMW as well.

The balloon for the Sport is ?9,400 so the extra money for the M Sport doesn't really materialise to much in the way of GFV, which will explain why the PCP monthlies are that much higher.

I use my gen 4 M for everything, touring, odd track day social rides out. It does it all. I've only made a few changes to make it comfortably over distance - tall screen and swapped the M seat for a standard one. It works well on motorways and is brilliant when you reach your destination. The heated grips and cruise control also help with distance. Luggage wise I've used Ventura on my last 3 RRs. It works very well. Plus the 1.5 ltr tank bag. I also have the BMW rad guards for protection and venture shield on the front bits.

Sounds like I've bought the right bike then!

I'll have a look at the Ventura kit as well then and see how that looks.

 

[P0u1]

Who's your dealer and sales man, sounds like I need to give him a call, you can pm me if you prefer.

100 quid is alot cheaper than 240!

 

[oldwobbler]

For me the benefit of the Ventura luggage is you can move it from bike to bike - you only need to change the "L" brackets and you'll be able to sell on the "L" brackets you no longer need. There is a thread on here somewhere where people list the different luggage types they use and the benefits of it.

 

[Westy]

Before I sign the finance paperwork I just had a couple of questions that Iwanted to ask:
Would I be right in thinking the only difference between the 2020 and 2021model year is just paint and the tracker as standard?

Luggage wise, is it worth picking up the official BMW luggage or are there somebetter aftermarket options? I can't seem to find any pictures of the officialluggage actually on the bike.

2021 is Euro 5 -more weight, ECU restrictions to come for all bikes sold next year. Grab theEuro 4 whilst you can.



Luggagewise I think the BMW isn't great value but it is convenient - yet to pick upthe Gen 4 but I do have the 20 litre tail bag and its very flashy and wellmade.

 

[toonshorty]

Thanks for all the comments gents.

Just been to the dealers this afternoon to sign the finance, all going well I should be able to pick it up on Saturday!

 

[Ste M]

Congratulations, I got the sport and i also got the tall tinted screen, think I paid 240 for it, its perfect though.

 

[Marc A]

Thank you all for the kind welcome!



That's good to know, thanks! I'll see if the dealership have any luggage in stock that I can see/try first hand as well.



I am indeed!



Paint protection is certainly something I will look at then. I never bothered doing it on my valencia orange M135i and I regret it a lot as that is now battered with stone chips. Given Northumberland County Council's love for resurfacing roads by dumping gravel on it and setting an advisory 20mph limit, I think paint protection will be a good idea.



I've actually got a few evotech parts on the SX, including a tail tidy. I would certainly go down that route again as their stuff did seem very well made and sensibly priced too.



I'm certainly looking at a bigger screen.

How much did you pay for the OE tinted high screen if you don't mind me asking?

MRA seem to do a higher smoked screen for around ?80, but not sure how that compares to the BMW one?

had all my extras done free bar my alarm

 

[toonshorty]

Has anyone fitted the GB Racing frame sliders?

The page on their website mentions:

Please note: Fairing requires modification.

I don't want to make any modifications to the fairings so if that's a requirement then I'll probably look elsewhere, maybe Gilles.

 

[GavD101]

Has anyone fitted the GB Racing frame sliders?

The page on their website mentions:



I don't want to make any modifications to the fairings so if that's a requirement then I'll probably look elsewhere, maybe Gilles.

Congrats on the bike dude! I have GB racing sliders, they are from my old Gen 3 that i removed before i sold it. They fit straight onto the Gen 4. No mods to the fairings. I cannot remember where i saw it, but when i was looking for sliders and found a site listing GB racing sliders listed for the Gen 3 and 4 and shown on a Gen 4 bike. So I measured the bolt length to check they'd fit and they would. Bolted up with no problem.

https://s1000rrforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=5309&d=1592919010

 

[toonshorty]

Well, she's here!

Finally got a chance to ride one these machines out on some proper roads and blimey it's rather good. The front end just wants to dance through corners rather than my old bike which changed direction with about as much enthusiasm as a teenager being dragged out of bed.

I gave it a run for about 80 miles over 1hr 45 (I was with a friend who is on a 500 and is a fairly steady ridier). While it's not a long trip, I wasn't uncomfortable at any point on the ride. I'll know for certain once I get it on a proper tour around Spain next year (Covid permitting), but it certainly seems like it'll be absolutely fine as a supersport-tourer.

The only issue I've had is about 5 miles from the dealers where the bike decided to just kill the engine as I was changing to first entering a roundabout. I pulled the cluch and hit the starter but it wasn't having it, although I could hear the starter motor turning. Put the bike into neutral and tried again, but this time the TFT just went black when I pressed the starter and then flashed up with a brake light failure warning. I've seen other BMWs go similarly mental when the battery is a bit f'ed so figured it could be something battery/alternator related. Pulled over off the road and switched the bike off properly so I could phone the dealer. Before I called them I thought I'd just try and start it one more time and it started fine. I've not had any issues with it since so may have just been a funny electrical gremlin. I'll made the dealer aware though because if it does it again then they will need to look at it.

Overall though I'm really pleased with the bike and look forward to putting plenty of miles on next year!

The GB Racing engine cover set has turned up as well so will look at getting that fitted ASAP.