Free ride!

[Cooter]

Did you know that if your buddy buys a $20K BMW S1000R, the dealer is pretty easily convinced to let you borrow one??
And if that dealer is at the bottom of the epic Angeles Crest highway in Los Angeles, even better!
A 4 hour 'test ride'. [cool] Got back just as they were closing.
Amazing day on a truly amazing moto. Lean angle ABS and traction control, up-shift assist, stoppie and wheelie control (Now THAT'S a fun game!!) Even have a "VDS!" sensor. The dash says "VDS!" if you manage to somehow fall off it. Really. Dang 'Crauts are smart!
I think he cost me some money...

 

[arikam]

So how was the ride? Comfy? Butt or wrists aching?

 

[Restlessrustler]

i think anus aching from either the price or the power...haha!

 

[Cooter]

You can pick from 4 ride modes and 3 suspension settings….

I rode my buddies bike another hour home after 4 hours of canyon carving and I looked for some of the worst highways I could find (405 by the 10). It had some huge chunks of pavement missing, expansion joints, crappy patch jobs. I even set the suspension to 'hard' and turned off the heated grips!

The seating position was perfect for me (6'3") for both leaning and commuting. My taint felt like it was being massaged by Angel wings, softened with the tears of a Unicorn.

I can officially say that my modded CR definitely has more power and feels lighter, but I am 100% positive I can ride the Bimmer faster.
The list of awesome things is way too long, don't blow it off, it is truly lightyears ahead of anything I've ever ridden. So heres the gripes:

The handlebars are really wide, so not so great for splitting lanes, but great otherwise. Buzzy mirrors on his, but not on the loaner(?) even though my hands weren't numb on either. The ride-by-wire throttle spring is light, but I got used to it quickly during the 'wheelie control, assisted up-shift test[cool]'. Holy crap that's a fun game for a guy who doesn't wheelie everything in sight. The brakes are so awesome they are too touchy. A slight lever pull and you are stopping. NOW. Niggly stuff right?

The only big gripe is that surprisingly the clutch lever is mechanical (!?!), is ridiculously heavy and waaaay far from the grip, even for my Hulk hands. A set of levers fixed that on his bike, but sheesh! do Germans have super massive left hands??

For $1200 down and $199 a month this thing is worth every stinking penny. But the 1190SX at $9899 is KILLING me.

 

[rchuff]

BMW builds nice bikes but to rich for my blood.

 

[mrlogix]

nice. [up]

But the 1190SX at $9899 is KILLING me.

1 BMW or 2 SX...HMMMMMM.....