justinguitar
Registered user
Well my 2009 GS SE finally showed up today!! 
What an absolute joy to ride! Smile on my face the whole time.
Feet reach the ground fine, position of everything is comfortable - except for the indicator kill switch, seems to be located in a place that's hard to get to for me, making my throttle control a bit rough, why it's not on the other side like on jap bikes... but I'm sure I'll get used to it...
Spent a while driving slow around Richmond Park just getting used to the grab point and getting comfortable with the feel of the machine, then a short blast down the A3 (when I say blast, I actually mean a quite timid ride but up to speed limit) and back up to Chiswick and home to Kew. Not keen on Hogarth roundabout... cars changing lanes all over the place... f-ing crazy...
It's a lot lighter than I expected and a lot easier to maneuver. Got freaked out by a "Brake Failure" light on console, so didn't take it for a spin until I rang a local dealer who said it was just an ABS test. Phew...
The front brake seems a bit grabby, bit off and on... is there a way to make it softer or more responsive, an adjustment?
The rear brake head seems small and I suspect the lever was bent in cos it hard to get to... so I bent that out a little and will buy an extension. I'm guessing it's small for off road guys that are standing on the pegs a lot?
When at the lights and bike is slightly leaning to one side, revving the engine seems to lift the bike back to vertical... is that the stability control or some kinda centrifugal force from the engine?
Delivery guys forgot the panniers and the bike not in quite as good condition as I'd been told by dealer... but gives me something to do I guess... it's ok, just not like those i saw at the beemer showrooms which are polished to the 9's.
Yesterday I did I refresher course on Suzuki 650 and a Yamaha Frazer... SO glad I did it, the instructor was very helpful, I learned a lot, and possibly most importantly, learned a I got a bloody lot to learn!!
I'm such a TWAT (Terminate Winky After Turn) at leaving my f-ing indicators on.
But this won't be a problem for long.
So much of what I read in the AIM book made sense on the road and very glad I read it, but I think I'm going to get some more instruction once I have a better feel for the machine... Will do BikeSafe in a couple of weeks and than start the AIM course proper.
Can't wait for the weekend and taking it back out again...
What an absolute joy to ride! Smile on my face the whole time.
Feet reach the ground fine, position of everything is comfortable - except for the indicator kill switch, seems to be located in a place that's hard to get to for me, making my throttle control a bit rough, why it's not on the other side like on jap bikes... but I'm sure I'll get used to it...
Spent a while driving slow around Richmond Park just getting used to the grab point and getting comfortable with the feel of the machine, then a short blast down the A3 (when I say blast, I actually mean a quite timid ride but up to speed limit) and back up to Chiswick and home to Kew. Not keen on Hogarth roundabout... cars changing lanes all over the place... f-ing crazy...
It's a lot lighter than I expected and a lot easier to maneuver. Got freaked out by a "Brake Failure" light on console, so didn't take it for a spin until I rang a local dealer who said it was just an ABS test. Phew...
The front brake seems a bit grabby, bit off and on... is there a way to make it softer or more responsive, an adjustment?
The rear brake head seems small and I suspect the lever was bent in cos it hard to get to... so I bent that out a little and will buy an extension. I'm guessing it's small for off road guys that are standing on the pegs a lot?
When at the lights and bike is slightly leaning to one side, revving the engine seems to lift the bike back to vertical... is that the stability control or some kinda centrifugal force from the engine?
Delivery guys forgot the panniers and the bike not in quite as good condition as I'd been told by dealer... but gives me something to do I guess... it's ok, just not like those i saw at the beemer showrooms which are polished to the 9's.
Yesterday I did I refresher course on Suzuki 650 and a Yamaha Frazer... SO glad I did it, the instructor was very helpful, I learned a lot, and possibly most importantly, learned a I got a bloody lot to learn!!
I'm such a TWAT (Terminate Winky After Turn) at leaving my f-ing indicators on.
But this won't be a problem for long.So much of what I read in the AIM book made sense on the road and very glad I read it, but I think I'm going to get some more instruction once I have a better feel for the machine... Will do BikeSafe in a couple of weeks and than start the AIM course proper.
Can't wait for the weekend and taking it back out again...
