THE BEST AND THE WORST

2009

Well, here we go again with my brief summary of the “best and worst” – the bikes that impressed me most and least during this past year. Of course when I make these picks, they’re based on bikes I’ve ridden, not on what is generally available in the market-place. If you want to know what other “contenders” there were, just go to the list on the “Bikes” page and check the ones ridden this year. Although they’re only the new ones, I also consider older bikes I’ve ridden too.

Okay, let the choosing begin!

THE MOST IMPRESSIVE BIKE.

This was a tough decision! And the bike I chose is probably not the one that impressed me the most when I rode it. But it’s the one that I think is “most impressive” as an over-all product. Before we get to that one, though, I should mention a couple that only just missed out.

Firstly, an older (as in not new) bike; the Yamaha FJR1300 (2001 model). I only had a very short ride on this, but it’s a superb motorcycle! Very comfortable (the ergonomics are pretty much perfect), it also rides very well. It’s a fair lump of bike, but feels lighter than it is, and is remarkably easy to ride, even around town turning into side-streets etc. It actually feels quite nimble.

I’ve ridden the new model (which is significantly heavier), and I reckon I’d rather have this one. (Maybe it’s just as well I didn’t have a longer ride – I may have ended up wanting one!).

The Triumph Tiger impressed me a lot. I remember riding it along a tree-lined back-road, the big screen doing a good job of keeping the wind off, feeling comfortable, and thinking it would be a great bike to ride a long way on. “This is now my favourite Triumph!” I declared to myself. So why didn’t I chose it? Well, there were a couple of issues. The tall stance results in a high centre-of-gravity, which accentuates the weight. It’s not a heavy bike, but it feels heavier than it is; particularly at standstill, but also on the road. The positioning of the gear-lever and rear brake-lever caused me some concern too. Okay, you’d probably get used to the top-heavy feel if you owned it, and the levers could be fixed I suppose, but these things were enough to stop me giving it the top-spot.

When it comes to bikes that impressed, the Harley XR1200 was a real standout! Here was a Harley that was fun to ride and actually liked corners! Yes, I know the whole Harley thing is more of a lifestyle thing; so it’s probably not fair to compare them to other bikes, or expect the same level of handling and performance etc. That’s not what they’re about. But this one actually was about that; and I enjoyed it! But when looked at more objectively, and especially when compared to other bikes, the shine begins to fade and you see it more for what it really is.

Speaking of that comparison, the bike that won it was the Suzuki GSX1400. A superbly comfortable bike that, despite it’s considerable bulk, was surprisingly easy to ride. And that big old-style donk is a beauty! It gives you heaps of power right from idle, and if you get half serious it goes like a rocket! Yes, I had some issues with the gearing, and some slight reservations about ride and handling in certain situations, but this is a bike I could happily own. So why didn’t it get the nod? Well, I suppose I’m trying to be more objective; and as an over-all product, there was another bike that was, ultimately, more impressive.

Don’t get me wrong, these old-style big-bore nakeds are superbly practical, and a much better choice, especially for those of us of more mature years, than many other “more modern” bikes. I own a bike like this myself. But, while there is certainly a market for this style of bike, it seems to be a declining market. (Modern-style nakeds are going gang-busters, but not so much these refugee-from-the-70s style ones). The bike I’ve chosen below didn’t impress me quite as much on the ride as the big Suzi, but I was impressed with the concept of the bike; and also, of course, with the bike itself. So let the drums roll, and let’s get to my “Most Impressive” bike!

The BMW F800R gets my nod for being the most impressive bike I rode. If I was going to buy one of these, I’d buy the ST version (which I’d reckon would impress me even more!), but the naked R model is still a great all-round bike.

I liked the bike to ride, but more than that, I liked the concept of the bike. Here we have a bike weighing under 200kg, with a comfortable riding-position and an 800cc engine pumping out 64kW. Add the fairing of the ST model and you’ve got good protection from the elements as well.

When I rode it I kept thinking that this is the type of bike a lot of us should be riding. It’s practical, has as much performance as you really need, and it’s light and easy to ride. Throw in good handling, a comfortable ride, and a price that makes it a real bargain (especially for a BMW!), and the whole package starts to look very appealing. Then there are features like the comprehensive instrument display, with everything from fuel-consumption to ambient temperature. And then little things like the tyre valves that point outwards for easy use of air-hoses. It was significant that on the same day that I rode this, I also rode the BMW R1200R; the same (naked) type of bike, but with a bigger engine and a price-tag that adds on almost $9,000. And I enjoyed my ride on this much better than I did on the big bike.

Yes, I had some issues with the styling (I don’t like the squinty-eyed headlights, or the odd-shaped little bug-screen); and even the ST I don’t find particularly attractive. And I didn’t like the exhaust, that made the thing sound like a 250. I also have some concerns on ultimate quality and reliability that would make me hesitate at buying one. But the concept of the F800 and the way it was to ride puts it at the top of the list as the most impressive bike I rode this year.

THE LEAST IMPRESSIVE BIKE

This was an even tougher one! Because there were no real baddies this year. No Harley Nightster; no KTM640; (to name a couple of stand-outs from previous years!). There were bikes that I was kind of glad to get off when the ride was over (mostly due to a harsh ride or uncomfortable seat), but even those were still impressive in their own way, and provided an enjoyable experience riding them. So to pick one here I had to adopt the same approach I did in 2007, and look at bikes that didn’t impress me as much as I thought they would. And that brought me down to one bike; the BMW R1200R.

Let me say right now that the R1200R really doesn’t deserve this! Because it’s a good bike, with a lot of good things going for it. But, looking back over the bikes I rode, and applying that criteria I just mentioned, the big Beemer is actually the bike that impressed me the least.

I said above that I rode this on the same day that I rode the F800; and I liked the F800 a lot more. That was, I suppose, partly due to my lack of familiarity with the big longitudinally mounted boxer donk; in particular the rocking-motion it creates; not just at standstill, but in corners too. But it wasn’t just that. BMW have, in my opinion, got it wrong with this.

The engine isn’t very happy at low revs. You need to get it over 4,000rpm before it starts to feel comfortable; at 5,000rpm it’s settled in and going nicely. 

The trouble is, in top gear that’s 120kph before it starts to feel okay, and 150kph by the time it’s really purring. As I said in the test, for a naked that’s just silly!

Maybe in Germany when you’re blasting around the autobahns or something it would be good – although a naked is a naked, and wind is wind, no matter where you are. Nakeds are just not supposed to spend their time galloping around at high speed. And even when you knock it back a couple of gears and point it along a twisty mountain road – as I got to do on the test – it still felt wrong. And it’s not like BMW don’t know what to do. The changes they made to the F800ST to turn it into the naked R model shows that they understand perfectly what a naked is all about. 

Then there’s the comfort. BMW do great seats, right? Well, usually, but in this case they’ve produced an ill-shaped pain in the …. well, in a few places actually! The ergonomics are good otherwise, but that seat is just so out-of-character for a Beemer. And the mirrors are horrible.

Then there’s the price – at over $22,000 it’s a lot of money for something that’s uncomfortable to sit on and has an engine / gearing combination that feels wrong.

But, as I said, apart from these complaints it has a lot going for it. It looks good, (I reckon it looks a treat in the photo of it I took at the dealers there!), it goes well when you do get it revving, and the brakes are brilliant. Then there’s all the electronic wizardry; from the info-laden display-panel to suspension adjustment and tyre-pressure monitors. So it still is a good bike. It’s just that it didn’t impress me anywhere near as much as I thought it would.

THE MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT

Well, I suppose the most embarrassing moment this year has to be when I dropped my bike. Although no-one saw me do it, and at the time I was feeling more concern over what damage might have been done to the bike (and also to me) than I was actual embarrassment. Once the bike was upright though (thanks to the help of a guy who had been working in his front yard), the embarrassment set in, and I didn’t hang around too long before riding off to a spot around the corner and up the road a bit to have a closer inspection and let the nerves settle a bit. And it was a bit embarrassing too, telling friends and family what I’d done.

When I took the BMW R1200R for a test-ride it was on a dealer-hosted ride-day, with a group of other bikes from the BMW test-fleet. On the tight, narrow, twisty mountain road I was approaching the corners fairly cautiously. I’m not a fast rider in these conditions anyway, but as the BM was still unfamiliar to me, (a situation made worse by its tendency to wobble from side-to side as the power was rolled off and re-applied), I was probably slower than usual; and the riders ahead kind of disappeared into the distance. Behind me, a tail-end staff rider was plodding along watching me wobble my way up the mountain. I felt a bit like, well, I dunno, an old grandfather or something. (Hmm, that’s right, I am an old grandfather!). 

THE MOST MEMORABLE RIDE

Well, I suppose the obvious one would be the one when I dropped the bike. In the article I did on it I said that in some ways it may have been a good thing; a timely reminder of how quickly and easily things can go wrong.

There’s another one though, that will linger on in the memory. And it’s a ride that I officially didn’t go on! The trouble is, I rode about 110km not going on it; and that ended up being horrible! What am I going on about? Well, back in January (see the story in my Blog) I pulled out of a planned overnight trip with some riding friends, because the areas we would be riding through were experiencing temperatures getting close to 40 degrees. Too hot, so I decided not to go.

But on the day I thought I’d ride to the appointed meeting place to see them off. And then, so I wouldn’t feel like a complete woose, I decided to ride a little way with them. And a little way ended up being a bit further and then suddenly I was about 50km from home and riding in extreme heat.

So I stopped, waved goodbye and turned back. (The photo is me at the turning-back point).

During the trip back home I rode through some of the hottest air I have ever experienced! At one point I seriously doubted that I could make it home! But, after a while the air cooled a bit and I did make it home; wishing I'd left the bike in the shed!

Yes, I will long remember that one!

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Okay, they were both "bad" ones. But perhaps the most memorable (apart from these), was the "Charity Ride" I organised. I've always liked the concept of combining my love of motorcycling with doing some good in our community. (Thus my support for things like the annual Toy Runs etc). So I decided to arrange a charity-ride, with donations going to assist victims of the Victorian bushfires and Queensland floods, both of which happened in the start of the year.

I put a bit of work into this; planning the route, arranging a couple of raffles, and getting businesses on board and so on. Others helped too though; and I'd like to thank the businesses who supported us, and also the people who helped to promote it. Thanks also to all those who took part - many of whom traveled a fair distance just to get to the start of the ride!

But it didn't go entirely smoothly. In fact it all went wrong right at the start! You can read the article on it (if you haven't done so already), but basically this is what happened.

The starting point was a local bike shop. (The photo shows some of the assembled bikes outside the shop). Some of the riders who'd already come a long way needed fuel. Our route was to take us to the right out of the shop, but the nearest servos were to the left. So I tried telling everyone to go left and we'd go the route of the servos. Everyone mounted up and some went left and some went right!

At first I went left, to guide the out-of-towners to the servos and back to our route. But already one of their group was lost (and we'd only gone about 100 metres!), so they suggested I catch up with the others. "We'll find our way." they said. So, somewhat foolishly, off I went after the main group. Unfortunately, the re-fuellers experienced a malfunctioning sense-of-direction and left the servo in the wrong direction. And we never saw them again!

But, proving that old adage that "any ride's a good ride", the lost-patrol ended up having an enjoyable ride anyway, while the rest of us eventually arrived at our destination and also had an enjoyable ride. And just to add to it all, the weather was perfect; and we raised over $500 for our nominated charities. So it was a good - and memorable - ride! I intend doing another one - and hopefully I'll keep everyone together next time!

Well that’s it for 2009! No doubt 2010 will bring some interesting bikes to ride and create a few memorable rides too. At least I hope it will! But I could do without the “bad” ones though. Just bring on the enjoyable ones!