- Joined
- Apr 29, 2017
- Messages
- 1,272
- Reaction score
- 17
I'm sitting here with a cold beer in hand after another long hot day in the saddle on my lovely (new to me) Gen 4 M Sport, so I thought I'd put pen to paper so to speak.
I thought I'd never sell my Gen 3 as I've spent many years getting it perfect but after finally sorting a very unexpected divorce (4 years to sort) and a mate of mine dying of a heart attack the other week at 48 (and he was an exercise nut), I thought sod it, life's too short.
The stars aligned and I happened to read Wilko's sales ad for his Gen 4 the other week, I bought it. Thanks again for Ian selling it to me.
So having ridden since March on my Gen 3 and swapping straight to the Gen 4, here's a few observations. Some riding, some technical, some infuriating....
1. Clutch: It's impossible getting the bike into neutral....
I cannot grasp how BMW cannot solve this on all the bikes straight away as it's so easy to sort. I get the impression they only sort it if the customer complains. If you've ever owned a dry clutch Ducati and are slightly technically minded, the solution comes to mind the first time you put the bike in gear. It doesn't matter how far out you have the clutch lever from the bar and it doesn't matter how far you pull the lever in i.e it's hard against the grip. When you put it in 1st.... CLUNK! and the bike jolts forward slightly because the clutch isn't fully releasing i.e it's dragging. The stack height of the friction and steel plates is too big by 1-1.5mm. Ducati do steel plates in 3, 2, 1.5 and 1mm thicknesses, so you put in a thinner steel. If the clutch is slipping you put in a bigger steel. It's as simple as that.
2. DDC: Variations in Suspension feeling on identical bikes...
Being new to the Gen 4 I started reading loads of threads over the past few days and there was an interesting one on the DDC. Some people finding RACE setting lovely and supple, others finding RAIN too hard. I'll add another thing to think about.
Now riding hard locally i.e Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire....Race, Dynamic or Race Pro with 7 across the board..... all lovely and supple, billiard table smooth. Gorgeous till today...... I crossed State lines into Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex ie Dukes of Hazzard counties. Oh my God my eye balls were rattling in their sockets and I lost half my fillings on the RAIN setting. So were you live i.e the state of the roads makes more of a difference than all the different settings or adjustments. Personally I'm going to do exactly what I've done on all my sports bikes for the past 20 years. Fit a gel insert to the seat, sorts out a lot of the suspension issues and easies the end of day pain in the posterior. Order a Seat Cover if you fancy a change and Gel pad online and a couple of hours with a blade, marker pen, Hair Dryer and an electric staple gun.... Bob's your Firkin!
3: What is it about BMW and holes in mudguards. They seem to forget what the true purpose the mudguard was designed for.....
The Gen 3 had an unnecessary hole in the rear mudguard supposedly for the ABS box but I bought a Carbon with no hole and never got it to touch. Now the Gen 4 has holes in the front mudguard. Perfectly positioned for stones to chip your stanchions. Grrrr.... really? I'll be fitting some mesh behind those.
4. Carbon Wheels:
I swore I'd never ride on Carbon Wheels as I've seen to many destroyed bikes on trackdays and every time i hit a big hole today I was praying. A couple of times I actually stopped and checked both wheels thoroughly. Hopefully the paranoia will wear off. Not really and issue on my normal rides locally as the roads are smooth.
5. Screen
Why do manufacturers put such low screens on. Honda's the worst. I love my Skidmarx TT screen on my Gen 3, so immediately fitted the Gen 4 equivalent from PowerBronze. Just bliss. So much less tiring at speed.
6. Electronics:
Amazing! Full Stop. Even the menu's are laid out well. Easy to navigate.
I'm glad they've stopped the rider being able to adjust complex stuff as he's riding. I found it easy to adjust the suspension settings on the Gen 3 whilst I'm riding but I think that's due to 30 years of being a video editor where you're a blur of shortcuts every minute without thinking but it is safer. I just wish they'd ban that in cars! Turning every rider aid off or to minimum is mind bending on the road. Best left to the track and to be honest at my age, a BSB level rider.
7. Tank range:
Even with a full system, ECU flash and race filter is better by 14 miles on mine and I gather you can get 20 miles when it says you have 0 miles left.
8. BMW Fasteners:
The worst fasteners in the industry Full Stop! BMW must have bought an East Germany pig iron factory when the Berlin wall fell and they're still using them! why? They're cheap and nasty. BMW please look at the other manufacturers like Triumph and see it's a stupid decision.
9. Vinyl graphics with no clear coat. As above, stupid. Makes the bike look cheap. Thankfully Wilko had pain protection professionally fitted. Just that gloss finish makes the bike look 10 times better.
10. SatNav
It bit like heated grips and cruise control, who knew it could be so useful on a Superbike. Not perfect by along way with directions disappearing making you think the apps crashed but it hasn't but still useful none the less. My bike hasn't had any updates since it's build date in 2019 so hopefully that's one thing they might have improved.
11. Riding position:
Std riding position a lot more comfortable than Gen 3. I put higher bars on but don't don'e think I need to on Gen 4. Interestingly the fork centres are closer together on the Gen 4 than on the Gen 3 but the bars feel wider.
12: Ergonomics:
I found it very easy to get to grips with the jog wheel. A good design.
That's enough for now as I need another beer.... J
I thought I'd never sell my Gen 3 as I've spent many years getting it perfect but after finally sorting a very unexpected divorce (4 years to sort) and a mate of mine dying of a heart attack the other week at 48 (and he was an exercise nut), I thought sod it, life's too short.
The stars aligned and I happened to read Wilko's sales ad for his Gen 4 the other week, I bought it. Thanks again for Ian selling it to me.
So having ridden since March on my Gen 3 and swapping straight to the Gen 4, here's a few observations. Some riding, some technical, some infuriating....
1. Clutch: It's impossible getting the bike into neutral....
I cannot grasp how BMW cannot solve this on all the bikes straight away as it's so easy to sort. I get the impression they only sort it if the customer complains. If you've ever owned a dry clutch Ducati and are slightly technically minded, the solution comes to mind the first time you put the bike in gear. It doesn't matter how far out you have the clutch lever from the bar and it doesn't matter how far you pull the lever in i.e it's hard against the grip. When you put it in 1st.... CLUNK! and the bike jolts forward slightly because the clutch isn't fully releasing i.e it's dragging. The stack height of the friction and steel plates is too big by 1-1.5mm. Ducati do steel plates in 3, 2, 1.5 and 1mm thicknesses, so you put in a thinner steel. If the clutch is slipping you put in a bigger steel. It's as simple as that.
2. DDC: Variations in Suspension feeling on identical bikes...
Being new to the Gen 4 I started reading loads of threads over the past few days and there was an interesting one on the DDC. Some people finding RACE setting lovely and supple, others finding RAIN too hard. I'll add another thing to think about.
Now riding hard locally i.e Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire....Race, Dynamic or Race Pro with 7 across the board..... all lovely and supple, billiard table smooth. Gorgeous till today...... I crossed State lines into Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex ie Dukes of Hazzard counties. Oh my God my eye balls were rattling in their sockets and I lost half my fillings on the RAIN setting. So were you live i.e the state of the roads makes more of a difference than all the different settings or adjustments. Personally I'm going to do exactly what I've done on all my sports bikes for the past 20 years. Fit a gel insert to the seat, sorts out a lot of the suspension issues and easies the end of day pain in the posterior. Order a Seat Cover if you fancy a change and Gel pad online and a couple of hours with a blade, marker pen, Hair Dryer and an electric staple gun.... Bob's your Firkin!
3: What is it about BMW and holes in mudguards. They seem to forget what the true purpose the mudguard was designed for.....
The Gen 3 had an unnecessary hole in the rear mudguard supposedly for the ABS box but I bought a Carbon with no hole and never got it to touch. Now the Gen 4 has holes in the front mudguard. Perfectly positioned for stones to chip your stanchions. Grrrr.... really? I'll be fitting some mesh behind those.
4. Carbon Wheels:
I swore I'd never ride on Carbon Wheels as I've seen to many destroyed bikes on trackdays and every time i hit a big hole today I was praying. A couple of times I actually stopped and checked both wheels thoroughly. Hopefully the paranoia will wear off. Not really and issue on my normal rides locally as the roads are smooth.
5. Screen
Why do manufacturers put such low screens on. Honda's the worst. I love my Skidmarx TT screen on my Gen 3, so immediately fitted the Gen 4 equivalent from PowerBronze. Just bliss. So much less tiring at speed.
6. Electronics:
Amazing! Full Stop. Even the menu's are laid out well. Easy to navigate.
I'm glad they've stopped the rider being able to adjust complex stuff as he's riding. I found it easy to adjust the suspension settings on the Gen 3 whilst I'm riding but I think that's due to 30 years of being a video editor where you're a blur of shortcuts every minute without thinking but it is safer. I just wish they'd ban that in cars! Turning every rider aid off or to minimum is mind bending on the road. Best left to the track and to be honest at my age, a BSB level rider.
7. Tank range:
Even with a full system, ECU flash and race filter is better by 14 miles on mine and I gather you can get 20 miles when it says you have 0 miles left.
8. BMW Fasteners:
The worst fasteners in the industry Full Stop! BMW must have bought an East Germany pig iron factory when the Berlin wall fell and they're still using them! why? They're cheap and nasty. BMW please look at the other manufacturers like Triumph and see it's a stupid decision.
9. Vinyl graphics with no clear coat. As above, stupid. Makes the bike look cheap. Thankfully Wilko had pain protection professionally fitted. Just that gloss finish makes the bike look 10 times better.
10. SatNav
It bit like heated grips and cruise control, who knew it could be so useful on a Superbike. Not perfect by along way with directions disappearing making you think the apps crashed but it hasn't but still useful none the less. My bike hasn't had any updates since it's build date in 2019 so hopefully that's one thing they might have improved.
11. Riding position:
Std riding position a lot more comfortable than Gen 3. I put higher bars on but don't don'e think I need to on Gen 4. Interestingly the fork centres are closer together on the Gen 4 than on the Gen 3 but the bars feel wider.
12: Ergonomics:
I found it very easy to get to grips with the jog wheel. A good design.
That's enough for now as I need another beer.... J
