[graeme4130]

Hi All
Picked mine up this morning, and seeing as it's 50mph winds and driving sleet out there right now, rather than getting the day's riding in I'd hoped for, I though I'd get some pics up here instead

In the dealer ;

Back on my drive, and the sleet is getting heavier - Can you tell I like Red

Dwarfs my Ducati in the Garage

I've only covered 30miles so far, but the Oxford Heated grips are nice and toasty

Official line for running in was to take it steady for the first 300 miles and then start to open her up ready for the first service at 600
It's looking dry tomorrow, so I'll get a good chunk of the first 300 done before the weekend hopefully

 

[Rory]

Very cool , red fetish ? hehe

 

[True Ad Venture]

Congrats, I'm not a big fan of red bikes normally, but those two look great. Would you mind posting up a pick of where you mounted the Oxford controller?

I'm getting mine tomorrow. Plan to do the break-in the way I always do, using the whole rev range but not staying at any one engine speed for long, and lots of engine braking.

 

[graeme4130]

Congrats, I'm not a big fan of red bikes normally, but those two look great. Would you mind posting up a pick of where you mounted the Oxford controller?

I'm getting mine tomorrow. Plan to do the break-in the way I always do, using the whole rev range but not staying at any one engine speed for long, and lots of engine braking.

It's certainly not as tidy as the OEM button, but it's not too bad, and it certainly works

 

[anderkmaf]

These posts have me seeing red Congratulations. We in the US can only live vicariously through our European and Australian/NZ counterparts.

 

[graeme4130]

The weather picked up this afternoon, and although it's bloody windy, it's at least stopped snowing
Anyway, up to 110 miles now, so only another 190 to do on the run in
Bike feels really good, and much more nimble than I remember the demo bike being

The stand seems quite flimsy though, and there's quite a bit of flex in it which isn't overly confidence inspiring
Luckily, I have the centre stand on back order, so that should sort that problem out
I should get up to nearer the 300 mark tomorrow if my plans work out

 

[graeme4130]

afternoon pic

 

[Tina Marko J]

afternoon pic

so nice! GOOOD 0

 

[graeme4130]

It was a much nicer day today, and temps reached an almost spring like 13deg
Got another 150 miles on my bike today, to bring it closer to the magic 300 where I can start to open it up a bit before it goes in for its first service next Tuesday.
I'm loving the bike so far, the only real concern I have is the flexi nature of the stand, but as I have a centre stand coming hopefully in time for the service next week, so I'm not over fully fussed as it's not fallen over yet
The bike handles and corners on the tarmac miles better then my old Triumph Tiger did, and feels a lot more nimble than the 1200GS I demo'd recently too. The compliancy of the suspension means the wheels track poor surfaces on the tarmac really well, and you can chuck it about far better then any bike of this type I've ridden before
The motorway leg did highlight that I need to get either a screen extender or order the taller screen as at 5.11, I was getting quite a lot of wind noise, which when the bike has a natural cruising speed of around 85mph, could get quite annoying on longer tours

Today, I did a nice little tour of the Cotswolds, then over to the forest of dean for lunch, and then back through wales and along the M4
I even bumped into another red AT in the Severn bridge services, and then saw another back in Swindon - Common as muck these things
The bike seems to attract a lot of attention, and every time I stopped somewhere, someone came over to ask what I thought of the bike.

Birdlip hill - Lovely by day, but a dogging spot at night

Pump Hill in the Forest of dean

Clearwell is a lovely place, and where I got married a couple of years back

Lunch at Clearwell caves

Common as muck

 

[smudger]

Yeah I saw your comment s on face book

 

[Lowcruzr]

Nice work racking up the miles. How's the initial build quality? Low speed throttle have and jerkiness to it?

 

[graeme4130]

Nice work racking up the miles. How's the initial build quality? Low speed throttle have and jerkiness to it?

Other than the flex in the side stand, the build quality is typical Honda good, so no worries there
Low speed is good for a twin and it pulls pretty well from low revs. It's no GS1200, but it's perfectly OK

 

[Harvey Mushman]

Here is what I don't get: Now I know the Euro market is bigger, but it has sunny and warm all winter long here in San Diego, yet Honda delivers bikes in the snow in England. Why not deliver the bikes by climate, so they can be used even in winter time? Send bikes to sunny warm places first. We can't even get demos here.

I grew impatient and bought another bike. Totally jealous, great looking bike.

 

[graeme4130]

Here is what I don't get: Now I know the Euro market is bigger, but it has sunny and warm all winter long here in San Diego, yet Honda delivers bikes in the snow in England. Why not deliver the bikes by climate, so they can be used even in winter time? Send bikes to sunny warm places first. We can't even get demos here.

I grew impatient and bought another bike. Totally jealous, great looking bike.

It's probably as the American market gets the bike much cheaper (circa $12,500), whereas we have to pay £10,500, which is nearer $16,000
I guess they're just supplying the market with the biggest profit margins first, maybe ?
North America is a massive market for Honda as a company, so i can't see any other reason for them to be lower in the pecking order
In fact, I used to work for Honda Motor on the cars side, and Honda sells more cars in North America than it does in the rest of the world combined, so you Americans are a big deal for the big H

 

[graeme4130]

Day 3, and up to just over 400 miles now
Run-in instruction was to go steady for the first 300miles and not use full throttle or all the revs, but after that, crank it open.
It was certainly nice to use the power today, and the bike is surprisingly quick. In fact, as the engine beds in, the power is feeling better, and the bike is keener to rev - There was a noticeable difference in power between it at 300 miles and again at 400, so let's hope it keeps improving
The bike attracts loads of attention though, which is cool. It seems every time you stop for petrol or for food, someone wants to come over and ask questions about it. I've spoken to way more GS riders in the last couple of days than I did in all my time with my Triumph and Ducati
I did a bit of gentle off roading today too, which was fun
Its first 600 mile service is booked for Tuesday, so I know need to find time over the next 3 days to try and get somewhere near 200miles in. Not sure how though, as kids have football etc over the weekend, and the wife will have me on Husband duties too. Looks like it might have to be a long day in the saddle Monday

 

[graeme4130]

Anyone else tried top speed yet ?

 

[Davy F]

What people have to remember about America is that it is dominated by Harley and the cruiser section. The US have historically rejected bikes that are different, like Yamahas TDM850 for instance plus many other bikes that were not part of the American riders psyche. The adventure market is only now catching on to a wider audience where it's been a major part of European culture for decades and hence Europe and Australia etc are actually the bigger markets for adventure bikes.

In a nutshell, you Yanks have only yourselves to blame. >