Picked up the new 1100 S last night at Main Line BMW, west of Philadelphia. What a great shop. Amanda runs the front end and Joe runs the back end and during the whole process, from kicking tires a week ago to signing papers last night, I was treated royally.
I am not sorry to see the old Ducati (1982 Darmah) go. I was just too tired of all the mystique. That means having a Desmo motor that never really liked to idle and a transmission that never really wanted to give go into neutral - or if it did it would be a false neutral between second and third gear. In fact, the second thought I had as I rode away was, "Why didn't I do this earlier?".
What was my first thought? It happened as I pulled in the clutch lever for the first time and nudged the shifter down to first and let the clutch out and fed it some gas and all the old, great, experiences of riding BMWs came back to me. I put about 50,000 miles on a 1973 1/2 (long wheel base) 75/7 in the 70s and about 50,000 miles on a 1977 100/7 in the 80's (both were bought used). That feel, that torque, that chuff-chuff sound that apparently runs through the whole line all the way back to the first boxers in the 1920s was there and it was like coming back home.
I am amazed at the brakes on the bike, I love how it is flickable (the Ducati was NOT flickable, it was more agrarian in its feel) and there is something new to experience on the road: the sounds of the outside world. The Ducati had Contis and a large part of the joy of riding the bike was the sound that was made out of that motor on through those pipes. On a BMW the ride is not about the bike, it's about the ride. The Ducati was the thing, now on the BMW, the travel and the adventure is the thing.
My head is swimming with ideas about a rear Wunderlich fender and switching the turn signals into running lights (anyone use the Signal minder?) and maybe even a StainTune Exhaust System(Hey, I want a little noise, you know what I mean? The BMWs that I had were set up with a nice set of 2-into-1s). And do I get the cheaper valve head protectors from Wunderlich or the Carbon Fiber ones (or the whole CF valve cover kit from BMW @ $475 per?)?
What a great motorcycle. And it's great to be back in the BMW MOA. Just like come'n back home. I'll stay in touch.
I am not sorry to see the old Ducati (1982 Darmah) go. I was just too tired of all the mystique. That means having a Desmo motor that never really liked to idle and a transmission that never really wanted to give go into neutral - or if it did it would be a false neutral between second and third gear. In fact, the second thought I had as I rode away was, "Why didn't I do this earlier?".
What was my first thought? It happened as I pulled in the clutch lever for the first time and nudged the shifter down to first and let the clutch out and fed it some gas and all the old, great, experiences of riding BMWs came back to me. I put about 50,000 miles on a 1973 1/2 (long wheel base) 75/7 in the 70s and about 50,000 miles on a 1977 100/7 in the 80's (both were bought used). That feel, that torque, that chuff-chuff sound that apparently runs through the whole line all the way back to the first boxers in the 1920s was there and it was like coming back home.
I am amazed at the brakes on the bike, I love how it is flickable (the Ducati was NOT flickable, it was more agrarian in its feel) and there is something new to experience on the road: the sounds of the outside world. The Ducati had Contis and a large part of the joy of riding the bike was the sound that was made out of that motor on through those pipes. On a BMW the ride is not about the bike, it's about the ride. The Ducati was the thing, now on the BMW, the travel and the adventure is the thing.
My head is swimming with ideas about a rear Wunderlich fender and switching the turn signals into running lights (anyone use the Signal minder?) and maybe even a StainTune Exhaust System(Hey, I want a little noise, you know what I mean? The BMWs that I had were set up with a nice set of 2-into-1s). And do I get the cheaper valve head protectors from Wunderlich or the Carbon Fiber ones (or the whole CF valve cover kit from BMW @ $475 per?)?
What a great motorcycle. And it's great to be back in the BMW MOA. Just like come'n back home. I'll stay in touch.
