Hi there,
Pretty much cut & pasted from another forum I joined recently to save me typing it out in full again! I'm not lazy just don't like to make work for myself...well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Long time dry weather motorcyclist (apart from the first couple of years when I braved all weathers as I had to get to work before I passed my car test) here in the UK;
1976 Yamaha FS1-E DX
1977 Yamaha RD250C
1978 Suzuki GS550
1980 Suzuki GS1000S
1985 Kawasaki GPZ900R
1993 Yamaha FJ1200 ABS
2001 Yamaha YZF1000R Thunderace
There was also a Yamaha XJ650 in there somewhere that I forgot to include...
These last few years it was my thumbs and then my wrists that started to ache initially especially at low speed/around town when my weight was on them and it seemed like every year the discomfort got higher; elbows, shoulders etc. and once it hit my back I knew my days were numbered.
Sadly had to sell the 'Ace during COVID lockdown to pay Gas & Electricity bills(!) as I wasn't working but to be honest once I hit 60 years old it was getting uncomfortable what with the racing crouch and my having to tilt my head back just to see where I was pointed giving me a stiff neck after only a few miles.
But here's the thing...once a biker always a biker and even during my last couple of years on the 'Ace I was considering the K1300GT as another powerful bike but with a more upright riding position for this old man and more comfort for those times I might carry a pillion of similar vintage whose knees can no longer be pinned behind her ears as would be the case with a perch for a seat and uncomfortably high foot pegs. Yeah...I know what you're thinking...younger model.
So...here I am a couple of years after I sold the 'Ace and my thoughts have turned back to the K1300GT as it seems to tick all the boxes for me and being someone who loves as many bells & whistles as possible I stumbled across a nice K1300GT Exclusive Edition in Granite Grey Metallic not 50 shades of grey away from the Monsoon Grey Pearl that adorns my car.
Bike is pretty much standard but obviously fully loaded and has Touratech heated seats which were on there when the last owner purchased it in 2014 and he did not have the original seats which was a shame as I like to keep all the standard parts if at all possible.
He also ran it on 95 octane so my first job was to run it down to 0 miles and fill it up with £38 worth of Shell V-Power 98 octane as I do with all my vehicles.
I am nothing if not a hypocrite as even though I run my car/bike/van on the finest petrol/diesel the most important vehicle of them all (ie the person typing this) runs on junk fuel! :
It has a full BMW service history with receipts from the same dealer it had been purchased from brand new in 2011 and had its last service two weeks before I purchased it in February showing 21,636 miles where the usual oil, filter, shaft oil & seals and brake fluid were done.
It had a new pair of Michelin Road 5 GT's @1500 miles ago and a new battery fitted during its last service.
All in all a tidy machine.
I've already started to fit some goodies to it such as ezCAN, Denali Soundbomb, LED sidelights etc. and will be fitting some Philips GT200 H7 bulbs/Philips Ultinon Pro6000 LED stop/taillights/rear indicators and illuminated emblem/roundels a step at a time in case it upsets the CAN Bus.
I've ridden @1500 dry miles on it so far and enjoyed every minute. Can honestly say its the best bike I've ever owned/ridden but then again it is the newest, most modern bike I've owned and even has that new-fangled fuel injection fitted!
Looking forward to many more trouble-free miles even after reading all about the issues that seemed to plague the K-series...
Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-
Pretty much cut & pasted from another forum I joined recently to save me typing it out in full again! I'm not lazy just don't like to make work for myself...well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Long time dry weather motorcyclist (apart from the first couple of years when I braved all weathers as I had to get to work before I passed my car test) here in the UK;
1976 Yamaha FS1-E DX
1977 Yamaha RD250C
1978 Suzuki GS550
1980 Suzuki GS1000S
1985 Kawasaki GPZ900R
1993 Yamaha FJ1200 ABS
2001 Yamaha YZF1000R Thunderace
There was also a Yamaha XJ650 in there somewhere that I forgot to include...
These last few years it was my thumbs and then my wrists that started to ache initially especially at low speed/around town when my weight was on them and it seemed like every year the discomfort got higher; elbows, shoulders etc. and once it hit my back I knew my days were numbered.
Sadly had to sell the 'Ace during COVID lockdown to pay Gas & Electricity bills(!) as I wasn't working but to be honest once I hit 60 years old it was getting uncomfortable what with the racing crouch and my having to tilt my head back just to see where I was pointed giving me a stiff neck after only a few miles.
But here's the thing...once a biker always a biker and even during my last couple of years on the 'Ace I was considering the K1300GT as another powerful bike but with a more upright riding position for this old man and more comfort for those times I might carry a pillion of similar vintage whose knees can no longer be pinned behind her ears as would be the case with a perch for a seat and uncomfortably high foot pegs. Yeah...I know what you're thinking...younger model.
So...here I am a couple of years after I sold the 'Ace and my thoughts have turned back to the K1300GT as it seems to tick all the boxes for me and being someone who loves as many bells & whistles as possible I stumbled across a nice K1300GT Exclusive Edition in Granite Grey Metallic not 50 shades of grey away from the Monsoon Grey Pearl that adorns my car.
Bike is pretty much standard but obviously fully loaded and has Touratech heated seats which were on there when the last owner purchased it in 2014 and he did not have the original seats which was a shame as I like to keep all the standard parts if at all possible.
He also ran it on 95 octane so my first job was to run it down to 0 miles and fill it up with £38 worth of Shell V-Power 98 octane as I do with all my vehicles.
I am nothing if not a hypocrite as even though I run my car/bike/van on the finest petrol/diesel the most important vehicle of them all (ie the person typing this) runs on junk fuel! :
It has a full BMW service history with receipts from the same dealer it had been purchased from brand new in 2011 and had its last service two weeks before I purchased it in February showing 21,636 miles where the usual oil, filter, shaft oil & seals and brake fluid were done.
It had a new pair of Michelin Road 5 GT's @1500 miles ago and a new battery fitted during its last service.
All in all a tidy machine.
I've already started to fit some goodies to it such as ezCAN, Denali Soundbomb, LED sidelights etc. and will be fitting some Philips GT200 H7 bulbs/Philips Ultinon Pro6000 LED stop/taillights/rear indicators and illuminated emblem/roundels a step at a time in case it upsets the CAN Bus.
I've ridden @1500 dry miles on it so far and enjoyed every minute. Can honestly say its the best bike I've ever owned/ridden but then again it is the newest, most modern bike I've owned and even has that new-fangled fuel injection fitted!
Looking forward to many more trouble-free miles even after reading all about the issues that seemed to plague the K-series...
Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-
My uncle trained to fly in Canada during WWII, but then the Germans capitulated! Lucky for him...
. Greatly enjoyed the Danube River tour in May of ’23.
