Oi, outtomunch, got yer 12 yet?

[Taipan]

Well, wassit like?

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Well, wassit like?

Well, yes, indeed, I have

Picked it up March 1st and was promptly ill for a week so have only just started using it (300 miles only so far )
This w/e is totally free however so hope to get it run in by Sunday.

What do I think of it so far?

Seems to be everything I had hoped for.
It's sooooo easy to ride, especially when filtering through traffic. It hides it's weight very well (I'll come back to that bit!).

So far the engine has been very smooth so can't wait to see what it will be like once it's got some miles on it.

Does not seem to notice passangers except for a small reduction in ground clearance which I'm impressed with.

Screen, turbulance - hey, I've spent the last 5 years ridding SMs so this is not something I notice (regardless of screen position), seems absolute luxury after the CCM!

Brakes (servo ABS) - Awsome from speed, very powerful and lots of feel. At lower speeds they seem a little lacking in feel but it's nothing I won't get used to.
I've invented a new game btw for those of you with ABS: next time you aproach a junction/roundabout fitted with those rumble strips make sure you are going as fast as you can and then try and brake as hard as you can. As close as you can get to being sea sick on two wheels


Handling - What can I say? Is it really a great big lardy 1200? well, yes and no. Basically I can't fault the handling. It goes where you tell it to, stays going where you want it to and does it all quickly, smoothly and safely - what more could I want.
BUT - and I must add the following is all my fault, NOT the bikes - I have to keep reminding myself it's not an SM. The problem is that it hides it's bulk so well that I frequently find myself riding it like the CCM. The vast majority of the time it allows me to get away with this sort of behaviour but it has bitten back a couple of times so I relly need to calm down a bit and give it the respect it deserves.
Case in point, arriving at a large roundabout at about 60/70 I continued straight into it's l/h lane briefly pulling alongside a car circulating on the inside lane. I cocked up my turn in a bit and found myself a bit too close to the car. It took all my strength to load the bars and push down hard enough to avoid hitting the car. If I'd done that on the CCM I could just 'throw' the bike down and correct any cock ups like that very easily - as I said, my fault not the bikes!

Fianlly, the tyres (Dunlops) - fantastic! One of the first things I was going to do was fit a set of 020's but I'm seriously wondering if I need to. Surely dual purpose tyres can't be this good? Loads of feed back and grip. When they do eventually let go they give plenty of warning and come back in to line very progresively.

Will be taking it to the CCM Lakes bash in May (Taipan, PM me if you fancy going) so that should be fun trying to keep up with a bunch off CCMs across those passes
And then the following w/e I'm riding down to Andorra for a days riding in the Pyrenees befor heading back home on the Monday

I think I'm gonna like this bike

Andres

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

So Taipan............. how's yours?

Andres

 

[Taipan]

So Taipan............. how's yours?

Andres

Hi Andres,

Glad to hear you've bonded so quickly with yours! Nice to hear you're still just pootling around on bikes then!

i didn't get on with mine too well to start with. Found it very heavy and I dont like heavy bikes much. But it has definetly grown on me. Still feels weird leaning over. The front end is so high up after a motard it feels like its falling?

I stuck a race can onit which seemed to liven it up a bit. But the can has a rattling baffle so its coming off to be repaired first. Plus I'm waiting for a new EPROM chip to match up the can. I'll get it dyno'ed and see whats what.

I'm still struggling to come to terms with the complexity of the thing after what I've been used to! So many variations on the models. I spent ages trying to find the LAMBDA sensor on my bike even though it doessn't have one! I got hold of a BMW manual and a Haines one and spent about 3 days reading most of the archives on here and feel almost au fait with my bike now!

I still find its weight a painin teh arse though. Pushing it around to park it is a nightmare. But I'm getting better at chucking it around corners. Still slower than most people though.

Cheers
Dave