12-09-2016, 01:02 AM
These manufacturers are finding so many new ways to use computers to monitor and control the way their vehicles are used.
I am not complaining about the F800GS, though; it is a marvelous motorcycle, it really makes a great urban machine. Not the best off-road bike I ever owned, and certainly nowhere near as good offroad for real exploring as my 1989 R100GS. But it is fast and handles exceptionally well, pretty light, and comes with heated grips which I used yesterday.
In a way things haven't changed much; in the past we'd tear apart our engines and bike to see what made them tick. My first "motorbike" was a little minibike with a friction clutch and pull-start. I thought it was great, I tore into the thing and messed with it, welded stuff to the frame, stuck a big chrome pipe on it.
These days I plug in the GS-911 and a laptop to my bike and it tells me what's up. It was $300 which is really a pittance compared to what the bike cost, and I have a couple of bikes that can use it.
But it's right about the CB1100, it's really pretty simple overall. It functions extremely well as a basic motorcycle and I think, after reading what many have done with the bike over the last three years or so, it just doesn't like to be shoehorned into some specialized role. It's stubborn but honest.
Then there's that Wolf Classic I can't shut up about. There are no computers on that bike, it's as simple as they come. It does have transistorized ignition and solid-state electrics, but it's got a carburetor and no data port.
Wow, a built-in cash grab. Oh yeah. Services cost a fortune for the BMW's and it's remarkable how many people just don't take any time at all to try to do any of the work themselves. It's like with taxes, it can be confounding. Just pay someone else.
I got a story, I met a couple guys the other day and one was on a KTM ADV, the biggest one. He said he had to pay $1400 to have the valves adjusted, because they'd become so tight the bike would not even start. I believe he said the bike had less than 20K miles on it.
I have been riding the heck out of my CB1100, 10,500 miles so far, the valves were perfect at the 8K mile check, and it has never missed a beat. Lots of guys are saying the valves practically never need adjusting.
Big engine, very understressed. It's like an airplane engine, very simple and rugged and reliable.
I am not complaining about the F800GS, though; it is a marvelous motorcycle, it really makes a great urban machine. Not the best off-road bike I ever owned, and certainly nowhere near as good offroad for real exploring as my 1989 R100GS. But it is fast and handles exceptionally well, pretty light, and comes with heated grips which I used yesterday.
In a way things haven't changed much; in the past we'd tear apart our engines and bike to see what made them tick. My first "motorbike" was a little minibike with a friction clutch and pull-start. I thought it was great, I tore into the thing and messed with it, welded stuff to the frame, stuck a big chrome pipe on it.
These days I plug in the GS-911 and a laptop to my bike and it tells me what's up. It was $300 which is really a pittance compared to what the bike cost, and I have a couple of bikes that can use it.
But it's right about the CB1100, it's really pretty simple overall. It functions extremely well as a basic motorcycle and I think, after reading what many have done with the bike over the last three years or so, it just doesn't like to be shoehorned into some specialized role. It's stubborn but honest.
Then there's that Wolf Classic I can't shut up about. There are no computers on that bike, it's as simple as they come. It does have transistorized ignition and solid-state electrics, but it's got a carburetor and no data port.
(12-08-2016, 09:53 PM)Rocky_imp Wrote:(12-08-2016, 09:24 PM)The ferret_imp Wrote: My brothers new Bonnie has a little service light that came on at 600 miles. You have to take it to a dealer to get the light turned off, there is no jump thru hoops procedure to follow to get it out. Dealer has to do it. If not you get to ride around with a little light on the dash. Beats losing 10% of your power though. If you don't want them to do the service, it costs $50 to have light turned off.
Wow, a built-in cash grab.
Wow, a built-in cash grab. Oh yeah. Services cost a fortune for the BMW's and it's remarkable how many people just don't take any time at all to try to do any of the work themselves. It's like with taxes, it can be confounding. Just pay someone else.
I got a story, I met a couple guys the other day and one was on a KTM ADV, the biggest one. He said he had to pay $1400 to have the valves adjusted, because they'd become so tight the bike would not even start. I believe he said the bike had less than 20K miles on it.
I have been riding the heck out of my CB1100, 10,500 miles so far, the valves were perfect at the 8K mile check, and it has never missed a beat. Lots of guys are saying the valves practically never need adjusting.
Big engine, very understressed. It's like an airplane engine, very simple and rugged and reliable.