First ride; My thoughts

[af1-windy]

Picked up the bike yesterday and rode the 4 miles back to the office on a straight road full of traffic.. not much fun. 

However, for a first ride, I did find the bike well mannered in traffic... that's it, first ride report over 

later... I rode home from work, dark and mostly motorway and rush hour traffic, 15 miles. First impression, smooth, fast, comfy, oh, and a massive grin factor.. 

Things to get used to; quick shifter, I think I prefer not to have one but never used one so I guess it'll take a bit of getting used to..

Edges of the seat dig in to my inner thighs, well "dig in" is probably a bit harsh, maybe press is a better discerption anyway, I'll either get used to it or have to do something because I guess over a long day you'd feel bruised. I know from years of riding that little things that niggle turn in to a right pain over a 400 mile day.

Any thoughts on the seat peeps.. 

Other than this I'll have to wait until I get out for a proper ride. I'm in Wales this weekend for my birthday, in the car with her indoors.. 

Oh, I have the dreaded yellow triangle but no message, guess it just needs a re-set, I'll do a bit more reading up on this. 

Got a Brucey bonus as well.. turns out there was a box with bag and back rest with the bike, guy in the shop had forgot it was in the back.. I have a load of givi stuff going on so I'll likely sell it..

See photo..

  windy

[esso_sa]

Originally Posted by af1-windy

Edges of the seat dig in to my inner thighs, well "dig in" is probably a bit harsh, maybe press is a better discerption anyway, I'll either get used to it or have to do something because I guess over a long day you'd feel bruised. I know from years of riding that little things that niggle turn in to a right pain over a 400 mile day.

Any thoughts on the seat peeps.. 

Other than this I'll have to wait until I get out for a proper ride. I'm in Wales this weekend for my birthday, in the car with her indoors.. 

Oh, I have the dreaded yellow triangle but no message, guess it just needs a re-set, I'll do a bit more reading up on this. 

  windy

Congrats on your new bike !

Many and exactly the same experiences with those seat edges digging into inner thighs… me included
It is a very poor design by BMW, unfortunately.

These are the photos of the OEM foam in my seat. (My bike is Gen 2 which comes with even worse seat than Gen1) You can clearly see those edges and even where they started wearing a bit due to pressure on my thighs….




I went for the Sargent seat. Much better, although a bit firm. Some guys here went for OEM comfort seat and find it better. There is a nice option from Wunderlich too.

[Quent]

Hi Windy,

It looks like a lowered bike from the pic, so the seat also looks to be the low version with less padding, that's assuming its factory lowered. So standard or comfort seat will be a big improvement, ebay is your friend here.

[af1-windy]

Originally Posted by Quent

Hi Windy,

It looks like a lowered bike from the pic, so the seat also looks to be the low version with less padding, that's assuming its factory lowered. So standard or comfort seat will be a big improvement, ebay is your friend here.

Thanks for the replies chaps.. 

I'm not aware if it is lowered, no mention of it from the shop, not a BMW dealer. Is there a way of telling?  windy

[Mareng1]

The HP seat is more comfortable than either stock/normal or stock/low.     The stock seats are comfortable if they just ‘happen’ to suit your bum - otherwise, not so much.

Quick shifter is great, especially in down direction, where shifts can be performed smoothly in quick succession at around 1 per second.   Quite amazing to be able to perform 3 fast downshifts without even thinking about clutch & throttle.   A real boon when approaching a hairpin.     I hardly use it on upshifts, however.

You’ll also get to like cruise-control for the autoroutes etc.     It works very well, and over a long day - helps with fuel consumption.

Enjoy the bike!

[af1-windy]

Originally Posted by Mareng1

The HP seat is more comfortable than either stock/normal or stock/low.     The stock seats are comfortable if they just %u2018happen%u2019 to suit your bum - otherwise, not so much.

Quick shifter is great, especially in down direction, where shifts can be performed smoothly in quick succession at around 1 per second.   Quite amazing to be able to perform 3 fast downshifts without even thinking about clutch & throttle.   A real boon when approaching a hairpin.     I hardly use it on upshifts, however.

You%u2019ll also get to like cruise-control for the autoroutes etc.     It works very well, and over a long day - helps with fuel consumption.

Enjoy the bike!

Thank you..

What's HP seat 

  windy

[feeb]

I have the lowered bike with a standard HP seat and it's fine.
You should be able to pick up a used HP seat for about £250

[af1-windy]

Originally Posted by feeb

I have the lowered bike with a standard HP seat and it's fine.
You should be able to pick up a used HP seat for about £250

Thank you.. I'll take a look. 

[Antares]

Originally Posted by af1-windy

Thanks for the replies chaps.. 

I'm not aware if it is lowered, no mention of it from the shop, not a BMW dealer. Is there a way of telling?  windy

The exposed silver on the forks is the giveaway, the standard heights have a fair bit more. With regards to the seat and the warning triangle, I have a Standard height with standard seat, if you want, considering you're fairly local to me, I could have a look at the warning light for you with motoscan and also compare notes on the seat if you're interested 

[Winger]

Always fun reading first impressions...to this day mine was ‘Best starting point I’ve ever had with a bike’...

Never had the stock seat even though mine was new didn’t want it, started with the ‘High’ HP seat and about 3 seats later found the right one.

My first thought on the OP 😀 ‘What a crap time of year to buy a bike’ 😩