R100RS Strip Down

I am sure there are people who rave about the R100Rs, sadly I am not one of them! Don't get me wrong, love the engine and chassis but I just can't stand the narrow handlebar's or that barn door fairing. "So why buy one you might ask?" Well air cooled BMW's are not as ten a penny as they used to be, don't get me wrong there not in short supply yet but the day will come. I wasn't looking for another bike but when this one was offered to me I couldn't say no, it was complete although hadn't run for approx three years and it wasn't in that good a condition as to become all prissy about modifying it to suit my tastes, i.e get rid of stupid handlebars and that god awful fairing!!!

First thing's first, better make sure its a runner and low and behold a new battery, couple of plugs and she's firing on all cylinders, albeit a bit lumpy but i think a carb clean is in order and that will smooth things out a bit. Now after giving the bike a once over the only major flaw preventing me riding it was a shot rear master cylinder so that was hastily rebuilt and bled and we was ready for a road test. This just confirmed my suspicion that the r/h carb needs a clean, the brakes are friggin dire on old bikes and those bloody handlebars are as awful as I remember from the last time I rode an RS!

So let the transformation begin with a bit of a strip down and I will keep you updated on progress as an when.

 

MT-10

Have been fortunate enough to have been running around on an MT-10 and i have to say that the performance is pretty phenomenal!! seriously it is a complete package of handling, power and comfort, I have heard others complain about the brakes but not for me, they are up to the job in hand. The thing I liked the most though other than the stunning acceleration, wheelies galore, and comfort was the way the front end felt so planted, the bike feels like you could ride it around a wall, the front Tyre just sticks where you put it and the back tracks around it perfectly.
My only real dislike was B mode, I can't see a situation where i would want the throttle to behave like an on off switch? A mode perfect, standard mode great both are really usable but B is a turn off.

The looks may divide opinion but when you are hooning along you can forgive it for looking like Wall-E's sister. The only other thing that might be an issue is the bike has a healthy appetite for unleaded if you ride it in a spirited fashion but you can almost for give it for that due to the huge beaming grin that you sport on reaching your chosen destination.
I would love to have been able to have heard it with a link pipe and a can on to liberate the full effect of the noise that the cross plane crank R1 derived engine makes. Talking of the engine it is basically the one that is fitted to the R1s that they get in the states, the titanium is removed in a bid to lower production costs but it still pumps out 160bhp so she is no slouch.
To conclude a lot of bike for the money, £10136 on the road which has got to seem a bit of a bargain when compared with some of the competition but it doesn't feel like a bike built to a budget, it's a well thought out and put together bike that delivers a fantastic riding experience.

The Bucket List Tour Of Europe Final Part.....

So for the final few images from my Ten day and nine country tour of Europe, what a blast, over 3500 miles on what must be some of the best roads you could wish to ride with a great bunch of people who helped make the trip what it was. Finally I have to say a big thank you to Chris Smith who organised the trip and invited me along, his planning and pre- booking of hotels made sure it ran like clockwork...

 Another Stunning Vista

 Nuremberg Ring

 Fabulous Am Tunnel, food is amazing

 Belgium (nobody smiles in Belgium, miserable

bastards)

 This is right in the middle of a park!!

 

The Bucket List Tour of Europe Part 3

Stelvio was a real highlight for me, we ascended early in the morning which is the beast time to avoid the cyclists who huff an puff there way to the top, fair play to them I say its some feckin climb!

 This is the garage roof, I'm stood on my steed

 Not even half way up!

 Reached the summit

 So after Stelvio we headed off to do the Grosglockner in Austria, now for some reason i didn't take hardly any pics! we got a fair shift on on the descent suffice to say my rear brake faded away, what an epic road!

 Grossglockner toll plaza

 The Glacier

 Toll on the other side

The Bucket List Tour of Europe Part 2

Switzerland was an eye opener! it's like the pictures you see on a jigsaw box but only ten times better! The only downside to switzerland is it's expensive and they don't take your change, so every time you go to pay for something in Euro's you have to use a note! and you end up with half a ton of change, so thats two down sides! other than that the food, scenery and roads where impresive to say the least. Here we was to ride the famous eight passes but we only managed, Furka, Grimsel and Sangottardo. The weather was awful on the day we set out, heavy rain and fog so thick you was riding following the map on the sat nav as you couldt see the road! we made a group vote that it was a risk we didn't need so early in the trip so headed back to the hotel to dry out and beer.

 

The Bucket list Tour Of Europe Part 1

Well I have been looking forward to this for almost a year, ten days riding through nine countries in Europe riding the best Alpine passes as well as some of the other best biking roads in the world with nine other riders who before the trip I knew one off (although by the end I would have to say I couldn't have found a better bunch of people if I had tried).

I am going to let the pictures do the talking as my words will never be able to do the trip justice having created some fantastic memories riding up Stelvio, the Grossglockner, Furka and the Grimsel passes to name but a few, visiting the Ace Café in Luzern was a massive highlight, I haven't been to the original yet!!! trying and failing to get a pizza in Italy (honest) standing looking out over lake Geneva to sinking beers in the evening, I would have to write a novel to get it all in not to mention the laughs we had as a group!!!

The weapon of choice was a 2015 BMW GSA just purchased from Douglas Park Motorrad, what a fantastic bike, I was worried that I would miss the standard GS air cooled that I loved so much, but know this bike filled her shoes and behaved impeccably for the whole trip.

Leaving Home

On The Euro Tunnel

Random French Services Taking on Water

Self service in the middle of nowhere

2Nd Nights digs

Swiss Border

Lake Geneva