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I probably have more reasons than most to hate the 1100S. I've owned it for 14 months and for 8 of those it was languishing outside outside of my frontdoor with a hole in the right piston. It's let me down thirce with an electrical problem and a disconnecting fuel hose inside the tank, plus the holed piston. I've taken it on trackdays and sadly my times around Brands and Snetterton were both slower than my previous outings on a 100K mile 600 Bandit that I bought for £600.
It makes my wrists ache and after a 12 hour day I can hardly move. It drinks petrol in town like my old KH250 2-Stroke, spends half the day at the petrolpump and the mighty pots are just the right height for Ken Livingstones new penchant for extra high traffic islands.
But am I frowning?, .... crap no. Totally loving every morning when I get up before the sun and wake the neighbours with the massive 'burble' of NFRU cans. (Not really,.. find 'Nowhere' on your map, and I reside in the centre of it) If McDonalds made R1100S's, .... I'd be 'Lovin It'.

Blue88

Interesting post that shows that logic isn't the biggest factor in loving our bikes. I don't do a fraction of your mileage Bandit - most of mine is the daily commute into London but I usually arrive with a grin on my face unlike my co-workers who have come in by car train or train. I must say that I don't find it the best bike for getting through traffic due to the width of the cylinders and I wonder how you get on dispatching on it?

I feel sure that the character of the engine is the thing that keeps riders in tune with the R1100S (and BMW twins generally). I used to run a Fireblade, which was great, but you never felt as if you were enjoying yourself unless you were riding flat out at some crazy speed. At times it was almost like a chore to ride the Blade.

However with the R1100S, if I feel chilled and in no particular hurry, I can just stick it in top, trundle along at 3 - 4000 rpm with that big twin ticking over and still feel as if I'm having fun, as well as maintaining some fairly respectable speeds.

(By the way Bandit I used to live at Gt Notley - fantastic biking roads in N.Essex - lot of homicidal car drivers about though! )

BockingBandit wrote:I probably have more reasons than most to hate the 1100S. I've owned it for 14 months and for 8 of those it was languishing outside outside of my frontdoor with a hole in the right piston. It's let me down thirce with an electrical problem and a disconnecting fuel hose inside the tank, plus the holed piston. I've taken it on trackdays and sadly my times around Brands and Snetterton were both slower than my previous outings on a 100K mile 600 Bandit that I bought for £600.
It makes my wrists ache and after a 12 hour day I can hardly move. It drinks petrol in town like my old KH250 2-Stroke, spends half the day at the petrolpump and the mighty pots are just the right height for Ken Livingstones new penchant for extra high traffic islands.

Blue88

Bloody hell - That doesn't sound like yer average R1100s

I'd be getting rid of mine if it behaved like that.

Al

Blackal wrote:

BockingBandit wrote:I probably have more reasons than most to hate the 1100S. I've owned it for 14 months and for 8 of those it was languishing outside outside of my frontdoor with a hole in the right piston. It's let me down thirce with an electrical problem and a disconnecting fuel hose inside the tank, plus the holed piston. I've taken it on trackdays and sadly my times around Brands and Snetterton were both slower than my previous outings on a 100K mile 600 Bandit that I bought for £600.
It makes my wrists ache and after a 12 hour day I can hardly move. It drinks petrol in town like my old KH250 2-Stroke, spends half the day at the petrolpump and the mighty pots are just the right height for Ken Livingstones new penchant for extra high traffic islands.

Blue88

Bloody hell - That doesn't sound like yer average R1100s

I'd be getting rid of mine if it behaved like that.

Al

Trust me.....if you rode your S for 12 hours everyday
you'd know exactly what Geoff means. I felt the same way about despatching on mine. It wasn't the best tool for the job ( a very expensive tool and not the easiest of bikes to man handle around) but it was a rare breed of machine that could do everything you asked of it. It sometimes amazed me just how much you could throw it round. As a competent road bike, the S p*sses over something like a Blade beacuse the chassis is just so much more pliant.
I'd have another tomorrow, but my wallet says not, espcially when there are NTVs that are priced so cheaply!
Bailey.

Hang on............

"electrical problem and a disconnecting fuel hose inside the tank, plus the holed piston. I've taken it on trackdays and sadly my times around Brands and Snetterton were both slower than my previous outings on a 100K mile 600 Bandit that I bought for £600. It drinks petrol in town like my old KH250 2-Stroke"


None of the above criticisms (and the 8 months off the road) are exclusive to despatching, or sound typical of 1100s ownership - hence my statement that I would have got rid of mine if it behaved in the same way in 12 months.

Al

Well....yeah...holed piston ain't an everyday occurance and he's a lazy bugger leaving it broke for 8 months but apart from that sounds pretty much like S ownership!
Bailey.

Aye - it's a bloody remarkable bike. I am still not quite used to mine, but I do enjoy the 3rd gear roll-on race out of the Limehouse Link speed camera rulers. I'm sure I heard a Blade rider down-shift to keep up the other night. Only thing I don't enjoy is the slight smugness I get from having nice warm hands in the puring drizzle, at 11pm on a freezing A3, when I'm doing 100mph+

Maybe it wouldn't use so much fuel if you fixed the hole in the piston.

woofboxer wrote: I must say that I don't find it the best bike for getting through traffic due to the width of the cylinders and I wonder how you get on dispatching on it?

You may want to rethink your filtering techniques - i can fit my Rockster (with Stanton head guards) through gaps some scooterists won't try for.

the bikes are a lot narrower than you think. (And I've got wide bars too!)

Thanks RiceBurner, .. i think my filtering is ok, .. even for an old courier . The width of the engine isn't ever a problem,.. but my 'Guards' have been scuffed to death on Ken Livingstones extra high traffic islands. A good tip for London Trixter's though, .. is to ditch the fairing mirrors for a pair of bar mounts, ... a la BCR. Lets you flip the bars between traffic mirrors easier than you can with the originals. Also,.. the mirors stand about 1cm below a Black Cab's mirrors,. amazingly handy. Don't go and buy the 'official carbon-look fairing blanks' though, ... £80, .. gulp.

RiceBurner wrote:

woofboxer wrote: I must say that I don't find it the best bike for getting through traffic due to the width of the cylinders and I wonder how you get on dispatching on it?

You may want to rethink your filtering techniques - i can fit my Rockster (with Stanton head guards) through gaps some scooterists won't try for.

the bikes are a lot narrower than you think. (And I've got wide bars too!)

Depends of course what sort of scooters you're talking about as they vary considerably from the 50cc midgets up to the Burgmann type things that are as big as touring bikes.

I find with the 'S' that if the mirrors will go through a gap then so will the cylinders. It's not a problem to me twice a day, it just occurred to me that if you are out in the traffic all day there are lots of thinner bikes than a BMW twin; ergo the dispatchers favourite - the Honda NTV. I wish hadn't sold mine! Andy

Geoff. If I didn't know better I'd say you had a soul ...

You been reading Pirsig again?

woofboxer wrote:

RiceBurner wrote:

woofboxer wrote: I must say that I don't find it the best bike for getting through traffic due to the width of the cylinders and I wonder how you get on dispatching on it?

You may want to rethink your filtering techniques - i can fit my Rockster (with Stanton head guards) through gaps some scooterists won't try for.

the bikes are a lot narrower than you think. (And I've got wide bars too!)

Depends of course what sort of scooters you're talking about as they vary considerably from the 50cc midgets up to the Burgmann type things that are as big as touring bikes.

I find with the 'S' that if the mirrors will go through a gap then so will the cylinders. It's not a problem to me twice a day, it just occurred to me that if you are out in the traffic all day there are lots of thinner bikes than a BMW twin; ergo the dispatchers favourite - the H*nda NTV. I wish hadn't sold mine! Andy

you're not wrong, but it's amazing what the BM cylinders will fit through.



btw - I don't suppose anyone knows if the rider of P # GAV is on this forum???

No way Lee, ... Zen & The Art had way too few pictures for me mate. As for finding a soul,.. it must be an age thing,.. I'll grow out of it once this period of global warming subsides.