Picked up the R1 today: THANK YOU NESR and Doug at BMS :D
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Here comes a novel, you've been warned.
First and foremost, thank you to everyone who tossed me advice in my trade-up thread. Every one of you was pretty much spot on, and I owe a round of beers to everyone that posted in that thread. (Posts after this one don't count, you fuckers).
Secondly, Doug at Billerica Motosports is the man. I found the R1 leftover on their site the day before I was set to head out to California on business, and basically did the entire deal over the phone from a crappy artillery range in the middle of nowhere using the PM system here and the occasional crackly phone call.Got a very fair price for my R6, got a fantastic price on the R1 and everything couldn't have been smoother. Doug and BMS are absolutely top-notch. So top notch in fact, that after picking up my R1 I went home, collected my brother and immediately drove right back...
So The Brothers Quig both got new bikes today! He picked up a Roadliner 1900 that he's picking up tomorrow.
I spent pretty much the entire afternoon on the bike, so here are some pooped initial thoughts in no particular order.
- Holy crap, this thing is fast. I've no idea how people spool this thing up to 10k, because all day long I never felt the need to go past 6. I slabbed about 10 miles of the ride home and was at about 5500 going 70, then I realized that I was in 4th friggin' gear.
- First gear feels incredibly tall. I spend most of my time on backroads in 30/40mph zones, and at 30, I barely need to get it into second. Once I'm there, I'm pretty much all set unless I'm bored enough to toss it into third. You guys were right about not having to row through the gears like the R6 - the power is just there, all the time.
- Wow, the exhaust gets hot. Where are those baffles again?
- Definitely more comfy overall than my R6. Needs a set of risers to be perfect, along with a seat which I'll get into..
- Brakes are awesome. Lever is a little soft, but tomorrow I'll do some adjusting. But wow can this thing stop.
- Center of gravity definitely feels higher than the R6, but it only took me about 30 miles to get comfortable on it. New tires + break-in + I ride like your grandmother on 'ludes anyway means I didn't get a chance to really wring it out, but I was very comfortable in the twisties with it. Everything about it is just really, really smooth.
- OH MY FUCKING GOODNESS THE SEAT SUCKS. I had the same exact feelings about the stock seat on my R6, and as soon as I blather this all out I'm going to order a Corbin immediately. Mark, you have to have titanium ass cheeks if you plan on keeping yours because the thing feels like a piece of plywood wrapped in vinyl. The position is fine, but after 125 miles my poor ass is killing me.
Anyway.. I am no expert, I only know what I like, what feels comfortable to me and my riding style and this thing fits me perfectly. When I eventually decide to sell it, someone's going to get a hell of a deal because I really don't see myself ever being suicidal enough to wrap the throttle on it. It's probably going to spend it's entire life under 6000 RPM.
So that's it! Thank you again Doug, I absolutely love the bike and my brother is really looking forward to picking up the Roadliner tomorrow. He'll probably have some libations for you as well. Bad pics because I rode until my ass went numb:
Cheers!
- Chris (clearly overcompensating for something)
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Seriously though, glad you're happy with your purchase, that Doug & BMS took care of you, etc. I rode an 05 R1 in 04 and it was insanely fast, I can only assume they got faster. Getting the thing up in the revs lofted the front even with me as far forward as I couldd possibly get. If you ever do end up spooling yours up I want to hear/read about it. Congrats on the new bike.
Originally Posted by Frankenstein
