hey, i really appreciate the concern and recommendations, and don't plan to hog the thread with too much daily detail. in response to one of your main concerns - the lawyer i hired is already paid for - like a prepaid retainer for anything that may come up concerning me or my family. i see this as a consumer protection case - his specialty. i agree that many want to take on any case just to take care of themselves, and spoke with a handful of other lawyers before choosing this one. what kind of law did you study/practice? i never thought of you as being from the dark side! i've forwarded the docs to the esq. in SF a few days ago as i felt it was worth to not have worry about small claims court pitfalls. i may sell the bike for one like it (with a better front suspension and better range) if i could find one! i am really hoping to have the range resolved before i take my next big trip - not sure if i'd head to southern california mountains, the southwest, or the great pacific northwest. if the range is not resolved, i'll have to settle for the northern california roads (still have to do the whole highway 36 ...) hope your weather improves, or you get some snow spikes/suds for yours! ferenc ps you could always come down to CA, the land of the nuts, hacker billionaires, million dollar bungalows, and deficit spenders from sacramento! but, we do have lane sharing and even some scenic, twisty roads less traveled once you leave the city. ferenc
i'm a relatively new returnee to the chain gang, and just experienced some serious chain slap - it really startled me. i'll have to google the pre-stretched unit you refer to. great descriptoin on the bike - i have some pr2s on my old shaftie - not as sticky as some avons i had before, but am curious how the pr3s compare? my rear tyre is perhaps due for a replacement, given the two plugs in close proximity: http://s1078.photobucket.com/albums/w497/flkovacs/?action=view¤t=IMG_5409.jpg interestingly, the 'chicken strips' seem to be larger on the front - not sure why ... enjoy, ferenc
wow, why such a discrepancy? even here, the prices seem to be artificially set between usa regions - they basically charge what they can get away with , i suppose. 50mpg with 0-60 in 3.5 secs is a bargain, at any price - one way to look at it ... ferenc
hey, congratulations on your trophy! it's well deserved. you've done some wonderful things to the bike, including the choice of colors! i've been unable to keep up with you, even in just reading about it! a radiator and perhaps oil filter guard seems like a good thing - i cleaned my f800r thoroughly for the first time (at 2k miles) the other day, and it sure has a lot of nooks and crannies to collect road junk. on the risers, which i would also appreciate on longer (i wish!) trips - did they come with some caps to keep dirt out of the bolt holes? or, would that detract from the 'naked' look? i'm not sure i need the muck with the relatively high factory footpegs, but bought longer/better fitting overpants to keep them from riding up over the boot. i've been waiting for the f800 depot to come up with some options. how many more days before seeing the blacktop? ferenc
Taxes, on taxes, on taxes basically. The price of a barrel of oil on the free market doesn't vary much country to country, it's just the UK Government love their taxes.
As soon as mine comes back from the dealer I am going to throw on the engine guard and snap some pics. I am pretty sure I saw some footpeg options out there ferenc.
Yep, 42.7 to 63.5 MPG range, averaging between 47 to 55 MPG. And the L per 100 km system is weird; I think kilometres per litre makes more sense but the current way is the standard. My optimal speed is actually about 60 km/h (in 6th gear). I've recorded 2.5 L per 100 km (95 MPG) over very long stretches on some roads here (reasonably flat, of course). That would sure be a cheap (but slow) way to tour the world, haha. So the wind drag plus higher RPM would definitely contribute to higher fuel consumption as you've said. No windscreen other than the BMW "windscreen" on my bike. I'm quite happy about increased fuel prices: hopefully people start consuming less and driving less. I'd love less busy roads so that I could get out of the city quicker! (Easy for me to say living on the subway and not owning a car.)
Update on the vibration problems. I installed my heavy Throttlemeister ends and they have cut the vibes significantly. The bars still vibrate a bit but nowhere near as much as they did before; it's like night and day. I haven't done super-legal speed limit testing yet but I rode around the neighbourhood being sure to go past 5000 rpm and they are significantly smoother. The install took about 20 minutes and I paid $180 with shipping.
Took off a little early from work yesterday to start the break-in on the bike. A picture perfect day, so calm on the water you could see the reflection of the mountains. Of course, I forgot my camera. Got 90 miles on the odometer by the time I got home. I felt like the karate kid - throttle on, throttle off, throttle on, throttle off. The weather today, well not so much. A little blue sky early, but weather moving in. Changed the oil and decided to put some more miles on her. Take a little trip to the ocean... Maybe check out the mountains, too... But I didn't feel like skiing. I just want to ride. I wonder if I should run some TKC80's on her. No go on that mountain road, guess I'll ride along Turnagain Arm and see what's up in the pass. Socked in. Hitting a little rain, so I know it's freezing in the pass. Maybe head to Portage Glacier and see what's happening there. The mountains are socked in here, too, and it's sprinkling a little more. Glad to share the road but I haven't seen another bike for 40 miles. Time to head back to town, but first... ...I'll take a little break in a tunnel. No tourists yet, cool. It may be hard to tell from the pics, but I'm so glad winter is over!
Another update on the Throttlemeister. Although the vibes have been cut significantly (it's now comfortable to accelerate hard at way beyond legal speeds) the mirrors still vibrate and show a double image, making them a bit useless for anything not close. Still, I'm satisfied with my purchase. The reduction in vibes on my hands alone was worth it. It'd be nice not to have to buy it in the first place, haha.
I riveted the base to the plastic - strapless. The bag zips onto the base. Take a look at post #11. Scroll down the pics and you'll see how LostRider did it. I just happened to have a Marsee laying around so it looked like a good idea. I think my bag is a size larger than the one in his pics but it works great.
I screwed it down , with the 2 front screws on th center "tank" panel, yurned out pretty well, and real secure. Once I find some black washers it will look a bit cleaner.
:eek1 holy jumpin jehoshaphat What rpm are you turning at that speed? I can grudgingly get down to about 80 kph in 6th on my F800ST, but then it gets perilously close to the 3,000 rpm surge point that is unpleasant. If I can stick to sub 90 kph highway speeds, in 6th I tend to look at 3,500 rpm +/- being the "sweet spot" to aim for. I once got about 65 mpg (US gal) doing that, but if I go into the 4,000 + range in any gear ever, I tend to be in the low to mid 30's and have seen 32 mpg all too often. That really sucks. No offense, but FYYFF. ( can you say "no offense" and punch someone? ) Meh. I could rant for 100,000 more words easy and spaz right out, but it's too fricking depressing.
I keep it between 4000 and 5000 all the time and consistently see 50 MPG, my bike isnt even broken in yet.
I just returned from filling mine up - I hate having to get gas on the way to work at 6:30 in the morning. I'm just now getting comfy pulling the front wheel off the pavement. Still not as fun as giving air to the front tire on the 1200 GS but this little machine is starting to grow on me - I think I'll keep it. Now that my fuel delivery problem seems to be resolved, the only time the bike has let me down was the three times when I ran out of pavement. And - does anyone realize the F800R has a slightly longer wheelbase than the R1200GS? I thought that was interesting. Also, I really do enjoy mounting and dismounting the F800R compared to the tuna boat . . . er, I mean R1200GS - so much easier.
Optimal for fuel efficiency, yes. But I don't ride at that speed; there's barely any engine braking and it's jumpy if I accelerate hard. Besides, I get almost as good efficiency in 4th at that speed and it accelerates much smoother. I feel that 3500-4000 rpm is efficient and comfortable; the sweet spot.