Uncle Punk's new bike guessing game

[Uncle Punk]

I'm just more efficient than the Germans. No need for the spaces, we aren't programing here.

[Tpoppa]

sexy, too many cylinders though.

Edited April 25 by Tpoppa

[Uncle Punk]

3 minutes ago, Tpoppa said:

sexy, too many cylinders though.

Can't get to 14,600 RPM with a thumper

[Tpoppa]

2 minutes ago, Uncle Punk said:

Can't get to 14,600 RPM with a thumper

With 92 ft/lbs down low, I ride my BMW tractor closer to 4,600 RPM through the corners.

[Uncle Punk]

Just now, Tpoppa said:

With 92 ft/lbs down low, I ride my BMW tractor closer to 4,600 RPM through the corners.

It's almost impossible to get over 84 ft/lbs with a naturally aspirated I4, that why they need to be revvy because they can't compete with torque numbers.

I really don't know how this 201 HP bike is going to go through corners yet. The first 200 miles had to be ridden under 7,000 RPM then the next 400 miles had to be ridden under 9,000 RPM. They just told me today that I need to stay under 11,000 RPMs until the bike reaches 1,000 miles, after that I can use it at will all the way to 14,600 RPM. The amount of self control this takes is unbearable. 

[Tpoppa]

Just now, Uncle Punk said:

I really don't know how this 201 HP bike is going to go through corners yet. 

My guess is crazy fast.

We've had the same twin/I4 conversation since I was on a Buell and you were on a ZX6RR (IIRC) 🤣

For my money BMW makes the best motorcycles on the planet.  Their tech packages are seamless, the handling/road manners are top notch, their designs are versatile with many convivences are built in that you need to own for awhile to appreciate.  The only thing they seem to lack is character...unless you consider that precision is essentially the German version of character👍    

[Uncle Punk]

When I got my '16 BMW SXR all I wanted was the quick shifter/auto blipper because of my hand injury. The bike had cruise control and heated grips which I really didn't want or need at the time. Now I need them on every bike and a heated seat is on my list of next wants.

I don't care if a bike has character or is too refined. I want it to be competent, I'll provide the character.

[Uncle Punk]

@Tpoppa I was just telling some people yesterday that I rode past the Big Muskie Bucket for ten years before I knew it was there. The curves in front of it demanded concentration so I didn't have time for sight seeing. We were on a ride one time and you were having some hand issues that wouldn't let you ride for as long as we usually did so we stopped there. Now it's always the first solo ride of every season for me to shake the cobwebs out. I'm thankful for that experience.

[Tpoppa]

4 minutes ago, Uncle Punk said:

The curves in front of it demanded concentration so I didn't have time for sight seeing. 

According to my one-track lizard brain the curves are the only sights worth seeing 😀 

[Bubba]

13 hours ago, Uncle Punk said:

 

 

Wow!  Just WOW!!!  I'm really glad I'm old enough to know that I don't need anything like this beast in my garage...or in my life...which would be very short from time of acquisition to ugly, terrifying death.

[Uncle Punk]

It has enough electronic controls to rock you in the cradle of nanny safety.

I over paid for this bike just to have a bike right now to the extent that I wouldn't have bought the Competition version without these unique circumstances.

I wasn't completely satisfied with my '16 SXR because of the over intrusive electronics so as soon as they announced this MXR I got on the list because it has two generations of updated electronics which shouldn't neuter the bike in specific scenarios. A few weeks after that I cleaned my bike up ready to sell and put it up for consignment at the dealership which was in July. I didn't ride last summer at all past mid July.

There is a white MXR with the same motor, same electronics and forged wheels without all the carbon fiber, which would have been perfect but no one knows when they will be available. That bike would have saved $5,500 in M.S.R.P. over the one I bought just because I wanted a bike now to overcompensate for the lack of riding last year.  

I'm coming up on a return to work date in June from a five month leave of absence so I'm trying to get as much riding in as I can by then.

[snot]

Congratulations, she is pretty.

[Tpoppa]

@Uncle Punk did you buy from Joe?

He used to live across the street from me when he was a young rider on a Ninja 250.

I talked riding with him a few times, let him borrow stands, etc.  Then ran into him many years later at Sills.  

[Uncle Punk]

Kinda bought it from Joe. It was Pam's deal but Joe did the paperwork and went over the delivery process. He seems like a good guy that has really learned a lot about the dealership since he has been working there. He is a pleasure to talk to when I'm there and I always learn something from him when I'm there.

Apparently he can ride wheelies which is something I wish I could do. If I could you would never see me with two wheels on the ground. He also races or has done track days can't remember. He and I had a conversation about track stuff when he first started in '18 or '19? I think he has forgotten about it or doesn't recognize me because I have a full beard and long hair currently. He has recently given me some riding advice and acted skeptical when I mentioned some street riding techniques I tell new group riders. I get the opinion that he thinks I'm just some old guy that can't ride well because I didn't want to turn off all the safety devices on my bikes like he does. Fucking smug young kids!

[Uncle Punk]

Not my video but it is my bike.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6MLYxvL6ET/?hl=en

[Uncle Punk]

Wow! I wanted a rowdy bike because I felt the '16 was too restrictive and for now I have gotten more than I bargained for. I rode yesterday for around 325 miles, the last 175 miles of which had no restrictions so I was able to use the entire 14,600 RPM range. The bike seems so fast that I am actually using the built in electronic restrictions that are allowing me to comprehend the speed which things are happening. The last 2,500 to 3,000 RPMs in the rev range are indescribably more powerful than any bike I've ever ridden and I've had a ZX12R, Hayabusa, CBR1000RR plus spent a lot of time riding a ZX14R. 

 

I usually ride a pace that doesn't require a lot of braking into corners but this bike builds speed so easily that I found myself using the brakes entering corners way more often than anticipated. The extra bodywork with the downforce wings have a negative side effect of giving the bike a bigger side profile that allow the bike to be blown around an uncomfortable amount at high speeds on narrow county roads. I am going to have to find out better setting for the suspension because it's currently too jarring at high speeds on bumpy roads.

 

This is going to sound dumb after I said all that but I definitely need to have this bike tuned. Not to get any extra power but to remove the HUGE power loss in 2nd gear. This is where most of the passing occurs on back county two lanes and it feels unsafe to pull out to pass in 2nd gear to be met with no power until you are halfway past the vehicle you are passing. It's unnerving when there is traffic approaching from the other direction.

 

 

Also this is going to be expensive to maintain. 1,183 total miles and it has maybe 250 to 300 miles left on the rear. It's a 200/55ZR-17 tire at round $300. I was getting anywhere between 1,800 miles to 2,200 miles on a set of tires with the CBR1000RR. When I got the S1000XR I started getting 3,000 to 3,500 miles on sport touring tires. This is going to be worse than the CBR for replacing tires plus the stupid wheels are carbon fiber so I'm going to be paying for tire changes instead of doing them myself and taking the chance of messing them up.

[Bubba]

23 minutes ago, Uncle Punk said:

passing occurs on back county two lanes and it feels unsafe to pull out to pass in 2nd gear to be met with no power until you are halfway past the vehicle you are passing.

Well, you could always drop to first.  Bike prolly pulls well past 70 MPH before it hits redline. 😱 ☠️

That dyno comparison does say it all though.  Really surprised Ducati didn't do a better job of smoothing the throttle response.

With a tune, you'll definitely have a more user friendly experience.

[Tonik]

Goldwing

[Bubba]

12 minutes ago, Tonik said:

Goldwing

That R1200RS @Pauly is selling is a great backroads brawler....and about 300# lighter than the Wing.

[Uncle Punk]

1 hour ago, Bubba said:

Well, you could always drop to first.  Bike prolly pulls well past 70 MPH before it hits redline. 😱 ☠️

That dyno comparison does say it all though.  Really surprised Ducati didn't do a better job of smoothing the throttle response.

With a tune, you'll definitely have a more user friendly experience.

The problem with that is it lightens up the front too much to make the quick left/right when you are bouncing out from behind the car in front of you. Plus it has a similar power dip although most likely won't be affected by it because 1st gear will put you fairly high up in the RPM range.

22 minutes ago, Tonik said:

Goldwing

^One day this will be the answer.^

I have a GS or RT in front of it though. Hopefully by the time I'm done with this current bike BMW will have backlit controls, Apple carplay or android auto plus horsepower to at least equal the HD Pan America. Once that experience is completed I should be a very old man and ready to slow things down with a Goldwing.😉

I kept my last two bike eight years each so that Goldwing purchase might be an 80th birthday present to myself.

[Pauly]

11 hours ago, Bubba said:

That R1200RS @Pauly is selling is a great backroads brawler....and about 300# lighter than the Wing.

Amanda is leaning toward letting the Wing go in favor of the RT. She likes it a lot and thinks I should keep the RS as a spare BMW. Everyone needs a spare BMW, right? 

[Tpoppa]

13 hours ago, Tonik said:

Goldwing

I have limited seat time on the new GW, but when I rode Paul's I spooked myself with the lack of ground clearance.  In the first corner my foot scraped the pavement pretty hard...I wasn't expecting it & didn't feel like I was going all that fast.  There are def some things I liked about it, but not sure I could live with one.

[Tpoppa]

1 hour ago, Pauly said:

Amanda is leaning toward letting the Wing go in favor of the RT. 

I've said it before...I think the RT is the best 1-up tourer on the planet & quite sporty in the corners.

I would own one if Kelsey liked the passenger accommodations (she's only ever sat on a 2012).

[Bubba]

On 5/15/2024 at 8:57 AM, Pauly said:

Amanda is leaning toward letting the Wing go in favor of the RT. She likes it a lot and thinks I should keep the RS as a spare BMW. Everyone needs a spare BMW, right? 

Sure.  No problem if you have that spare pot o' gold sitting at the end of the rainbow.  As for ever aspiring to own a mile-muncher like the Wing or the RT, I'm at the point where the weight will become an issue, not to mention that type of riding holds absolutely zero appeal for me.  Even just rolling the damn things around on a flat garage floor is gonna get sketchy as I age.  Pretty sure the RS is gonna be my "retirement" 2-wheeler.  When riding a 500# bike becomes a chore--or worse, dangerous for me--I'll turn my gaze to something with 4 wheels and lots of HP!  Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

[Uncle Punk]

54 minutes ago, Bubba said:

Sure.  No problem if you have that spare pot o' gold sitting at the end of the rainbow.  As for ever aspiring to own a mile-muncher like the Wing or the RT, I'm at the point where the weight will become an issue, not to mention that type of riding holds absolutely zero appeal for me.  Even just rolling the damn things around on a flat garage floor is gonna get sketchy as I age.  Pretty sure the RS is gonna be my "retirement" 2-wheeler.  When riding a 500# bike becomes a chore--or worse, dangerous for me--I'll turn my gaze to something with 4 wheels and lots of HP!  Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

Having a HD Roadking Classic for a few years even though it was twenty years ago taught me that weight wasn't something I liked. Which is why I haven't really wanted a Goldwing or K1600. The RT is 200 pounds lighter than the Goldwing which at this time 600 pounds seems manageable. That might be too much to handle when I'm 70 but that will be something time will tell. I do know that the weight difference between the '16 SXR and the '24 MXR is noticeable.

I've already been looking to add a sporty car to the mix but don't have the room to keep a couple extra cars. I'm currently having a 1969 Chevelle SS restored that has been in the family since 1984. My brother bought it when he was in San Antonio for officers school, he sold it to my dad because he need money for college. My father passed in 1993 so my brother bought it back from the estate. My brother passed in 2020 and I inherited it in pieces because my brother had started restoring it. It's going to be a nice old car but won't scratch the itch of a fun back roads car. I won't be able to get rid of the car to make room for a fun car until my brother's daughter gets settled down and has a place to keep it.