I've owned my 1150GS for almost 10 years and over 90,000 miles, it's a trusted comfortable old friend, cheap as chips to run as well. But I have a hankering for something different. I've ridden all of the 12GS models up to the twin cam and a brief run on a 12WC. I wasn't impressed with the feel of the early 12's, much preferred the 1150 and the clutch/gearchange/neutral on the WC was horrible, streets worse than the 1150 and just not acceptable. I've also monitored the various reliability issues of the 12's and don't feel that it is likely that the WC will be a big leap back to the days of quality construction.
I want shaft drive which kind of limits my options and I want longish travel suspension around 7", and some dirt road ability. Oooh, look, the S10 seems to tick most of the boxes, the big downside seems to be the weight.
So today I prepare to go for a test ride, the Yammie shop says "just go ride for two to three hours", a bit like a BMW test ride then. I can do that. But first I won't buy a bike that I can't pick up so please mister dealer can you lay it on its side so that I can try and lift it? No problem sir, more people should consider that. Turns out it's no harder to lift than the 1150 so that's OK.
It's full of fuel so off I go. Feels very easy to balance and very agile at low speed weaving through the Glasgow traffic. The fueling is very on/off compared with my bike but that may just be because there is 25bhp more on tap than a mint 1150. Out into the country, through Torrance, over the Campsie hills on the B822, a rotten boring road, you don't ever want to ride it, no sir, never, no way. Across to the A81, down to Strathblane, west and up the A809 to Drymen and then north on bumpy single track road to Aberfoyle. Another dreary bit of road called the Dukes Pass and then the main road west to Stirling and back down the M9 to Glasgow.
An annoying yellow tell-tale on the dash turns out to be the traction control repeatedly kicking in over little jumps and gravelly patches on the single track
The engine pulls nicely and will trickle along at tickover with the clutch fully home in traffic. Seems to pull smoothly from around 2,000 rpm in any gear. The T (softer) mode makes hairpin bends on and off the power easier to deal with but apart from that and city traffic "S" is the mode. The bike had only done 130 miles when I collected it and I doubled that. Out of respect for a new and tight motor I kept below 5,000 revs except for brief spurts overtaking. This bike has Martini power, any time, any place, any revs.
The gearbox is superb, neutral is a first time every time event in stark contrast to the latest effort from BuMW. The only thing to make me cringe is the clunk into first from neutral, again not as bad as the Bogger. First is lower than the 1150, 6th is about the same as the overdrive on my 1150 but the torque of the Yammie means it's not just an overdrive on the S10, about 20mph per 1,000 revs. Good for big trips.
Suspension felt firm and a bit knobbly, however I'm used to custom spec'ed Wilburs. I don't know how it was set but as I've shrivelled down to a mere 89Kgs it may have been a tad too hard for my sylph-like form. Much less dive from the tele forks than expected. Very little shaft jacking on power as well so do we all need the complexity of paralever back ends?
Out on the motorway the bike gets to 70 + very easily, effortlessly. The screen is very good, I dont think that I'd need to make any mods to it at all, streets better than the 1150 even with Tobinators. This is a much faster bike than the 1150 and the 100mph I managed on a private estate was tourer smooth, comfortable and free of buffeting. Obviously it was only a very short spell but I think that it would cruise at a 100mph with ease. The 1150 certainly doesn't.
Back at the dealership it turns out that the laying down of bike onto a pad of cardboard bent the wee tang for the side stand and that meant that my foot was resting on it all the time. A non-standard aggravation
. It's not needed anyway as the side stand foot is easy to access. The tyres still had chicken strips but not much, very nearly to the side wall on the rear EXP, nothing touched the ground apart from the tyres
.
This is certainly no sports bike, this is good as I don't want one of those. It tracks brilliantly around corners and deliberate changes of line mid corner were completely drama free. It felt as though it needed a fair bit of effort to push it fast into corners, more than my own bike.
This may well be my next, possibly my last, big dual sportish bike. £800 off list and three years interst free credit means that I can buy the bike and still try and find a useful investment for the cash I don't need to spend. Well, it would be churlish not to accept such a kind offer
Of course there are adverts on the 'net for new bikes under £11,000. Maybe it's on run-out, a bit like the 1150 was when I bought that. Do I see a trend here?
I want shaft drive which kind of limits my options and I want longish travel suspension around 7", and some dirt road ability. Oooh, look, the S10 seems to tick most of the boxes, the big downside seems to be the weight.
So today I prepare to go for a test ride, the Yammie shop says "just go ride for two to three hours", a bit like a BMW test ride then. I can do that. But first I won't buy a bike that I can't pick up so please mister dealer can you lay it on its side so that I can try and lift it? No problem sir, more people should consider that. Turns out it's no harder to lift than the 1150 so that's OK.
It's full of fuel so off I go. Feels very easy to balance and very agile at low speed weaving through the Glasgow traffic. The fueling is very on/off compared with my bike but that may just be because there is 25bhp more on tap than a mint 1150. Out into the country, through Torrance, over the Campsie hills on the B822, a rotten boring road, you don't ever want to ride it, no sir, never, no way. Across to the A81, down to Strathblane, west and up the A809 to Drymen and then north on bumpy single track road to Aberfoyle. Another dreary bit of road called the Dukes Pass and then the main road west to Stirling and back down the M9 to Glasgow.
An annoying yellow tell-tale on the dash turns out to be the traction control repeatedly kicking in over little jumps and gravelly patches on the single track
The engine pulls nicely and will trickle along at tickover with the clutch fully home in traffic. Seems to pull smoothly from around 2,000 rpm in any gear. The T (softer) mode makes hairpin bends on and off the power easier to deal with but apart from that and city traffic "S" is the mode. The bike had only done 130 miles when I collected it and I doubled that. Out of respect for a new and tight motor I kept below 5,000 revs except for brief spurts overtaking. This bike has Martini power, any time, any place, any revs.
The gearbox is superb, neutral is a first time every time event in stark contrast to the latest effort from BuMW. The only thing to make me cringe is the clunk into first from neutral, again not as bad as the Bogger. First is lower than the 1150, 6th is about the same as the overdrive on my 1150 but the torque of the Yammie means it's not just an overdrive on the S10, about 20mph per 1,000 revs. Good for big trips.
Suspension felt firm and a bit knobbly, however I'm used to custom spec'ed Wilburs. I don't know how it was set but as I've shrivelled down to a mere 89Kgs it may have been a tad too hard for my sylph-like form. Much less dive from the tele forks than expected. Very little shaft jacking on power as well so do we all need the complexity of paralever back ends?
Out on the motorway the bike gets to 70 + very easily, effortlessly. The screen is very good, I dont think that I'd need to make any mods to it at all, streets better than the 1150 even with Tobinators. This is a much faster bike than the 1150 and the 100mph I managed on a private estate was tourer smooth, comfortable and free of buffeting. Obviously it was only a very short spell but I think that it would cruise at a 100mph with ease. The 1150 certainly doesn't.
Back at the dealership it turns out that the laying down of bike onto a pad of cardboard bent the wee tang for the side stand and that meant that my foot was resting on it all the time. A non-standard aggravation
. It's not needed anyway as the side stand foot is easy to access. The tyres still had chicken strips but not much, very nearly to the side wall on the rear EXP, nothing touched the ground apart from the tyres.This is certainly no sports bike, this is good as I don't want one of those. It tracks brilliantly around corners and deliberate changes of line mid corner were completely drama free. It felt as though it needed a fair bit of effort to push it fast into corners, more than my own bike.
This may well be my next, possibly my last, big dual sportish bike. £800 off list and three years interst free credit means that I can buy the bike and still try and find a useful investment for the cash I don't need to spend. Well, it would be churlish not to accept such a kind offer
Of course there are adverts on the 'net for new bikes under £11,000. Maybe it's on run-out, a bit like the 1150 was when I bought that. Do I see a trend here?
