My mate came with me to collect the ex-Luke Scott K1 from Exmouth today (where it had been delivered a couple of weeks ago).
This bike had been bought sight unseen by another mate who live and works in The Hague at the moment. He has realised that he doesn't have anywhere sensible to keep it and so he offered it to me for what he paid for it (plus the shipping costs).
Twenty years ago I had one in the same colour scheme. The mate who came with me today had ridden that one but couldn't get on with it owing to an iffy hip. Now, twenty years on and a new hip, he rode it back for me and was beaming from ear-to-ear by the time we were a few miles down the road.
Once I'd dropped him home, I went straight to Ocean for an MoT and to place my first order for parts. I think that Ocean are starting to believe that K1s are like buses, you never see one and then two come along at once.
It passed with an advisory: One fork seal is just beginning to mist a little.
Then home and a first quick scrub:
The seat needs some adjustment:
The nearside mirror has to go, the head has lost tensions and flops about at anything like higher speeds (new one on the way). Both switch gear/lever assemblies are in need of attention:
The offside mirror is marked but that can be sorted, the master cylinder cap is flaking (easily remedied) and the usual problem with the mirror fixing bolt.
Generally the bike is decent condition and the expensive parts are especially good. There's one small panel that needs to be re-sprayed. The paint has crazed and split for some reason:
There are some inevitable nicks in the yellow powder-coat:
I have an idea how these can be sorted without resorting to a complete re-coating.
I can't quite fathom why a strip of insulating tape was stuck over the ABS logo.
The main stand displays the usual lack of attention:
And the pillion seat cover (hump) pad seems to be drooping for some as yet unknown reason:
I'm not going to strip the bike down just yet because DVLA may want to see it before they re-register it.
There are a number of outstanding recalls. Ocean are going to see if BMW(GB) will honour them.
Not everyone's cup of tea I know. The reactions at Ocean were mixed but generally favourable. Those who hate them are quite welcome to say so, just don't expect me to change my opinion.
One day these will start to appreciate in value. Their comparative rarity will see to that, total production in all colour schemes was less than 7,000 units. Perhaps, like Greg (who rode it down here for me in howling wind and rain), those who are ambivalent at best, if they rode one would react like he did and admit that part of the way home, he "got it" at last.
Who knows, in twenty years from now, if I sort it out, this will pay for this little fellows education or maybe a deposit on his first house:
This bike had been bought sight unseen by another mate who live and works in The Hague at the moment. He has realised that he doesn't have anywhere sensible to keep it and so he offered it to me for what he paid for it (plus the shipping costs).
Twenty years ago I had one in the same colour scheme. The mate who came with me today had ridden that one but couldn't get on with it owing to an iffy hip. Now, twenty years on and a new hip, he rode it back for me and was beaming from ear-to-ear by the time we were a few miles down the road.
Once I'd dropped him home, I went straight to Ocean for an MoT and to place my first order for parts. I think that Ocean are starting to believe that K1s are like buses, you never see one and then two come along at once.
It passed with an advisory: One fork seal is just beginning to mist a little.
Then home and a first quick scrub:
The seat needs some adjustment:
The nearside mirror has to go, the head has lost tensions and flops about at anything like higher speeds (new one on the way). Both switch gear/lever assemblies are in need of attention:
The offside mirror is marked but that can be sorted, the master cylinder cap is flaking (easily remedied) and the usual problem with the mirror fixing bolt.
Generally the bike is decent condition and the expensive parts are especially good. There's one small panel that needs to be re-sprayed. The paint has crazed and split for some reason:
There are some inevitable nicks in the yellow powder-coat:
I have an idea how these can be sorted without resorting to a complete re-coating.
I can't quite fathom why a strip of insulating tape was stuck over the ABS logo.
The main stand displays the usual lack of attention:
And the pillion seat cover (hump) pad seems to be drooping for some as yet unknown reason:
I'm not going to strip the bike down just yet because DVLA may want to see it before they re-register it.
There are a number of outstanding recalls. Ocean are going to see if BMW(GB) will honour them.
Not everyone's cup of tea I know. The reactions at Ocean were mixed but generally favourable. Those who hate them are quite welcome to say so, just don't expect me to change my opinion.
One day these will start to appreciate in value. Their comparative rarity will see to that, total production in all colour schemes was less than 7,000 units. Perhaps, like Greg (who rode it down here for me in howling wind and rain), those who are ambivalent at best, if they rode one would react like he did and admit that part of the way home, he "got it" at last.
Who knows, in twenty years from now, if I sort it out, this will pay for this little fellows education or maybe a deposit on his first house: