Re: Was R1100RS valve chunking, now R1150RS question?

[rob <obray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

All,

I took an R1150RS for a ride from my local dealership who are more than 
horny to sell
this bike, being a leftover'04 demo. The color does not work for me at 
all, but
I have a few observations and questions:

The first thing I noticed is at low speeds, it was noticeably LESS top 
heavy, than my R1100RS.
Especially  around town stop and go maneuvers. I've almost dropped my 
bike many times
and I'm 5'8" with a 30" inseam. Not too short, not too tall. I was able 
to almost to slow roll
the 11500 up to a stop in composure similar to my Airhead GS. Maybe the 
change from an 18"
rear to 17"? Seems doubtful. Anyone else notice this? Any geometry 
changes?

Also, the 1150 vibrated WAY more than my 1100. The vibration was felt 
mainly through the bodywork,
not the bars, nor the foot-pegs. I know the throttle bodies could be 
off, but with only 168 miles,
I would hope not that far off. The worst vibrations were around 
3500-RPM and up; Not knowing the
break-in limit, I kept it to around 4kRPM max.

The brakes were interesting; powerful for sure, but in a perhaps less 
linear fashion
than what I'm used to. I appreciated the initial pull, then a bit more 
, and then woh.
Very powerful. Wonder what power stops are like. I also had an 
interesting fault reading
from the brakes. I started the bike in the driveway, the brake failure 
lamp came flashing on,
and didn't go off. Turned the bike off, let it cycle through, no power- 
still flashing
it's warning. Did this three times and it finally went out. Is this 
usual?

Any other 1100 to 1150RS owners observations appreciated!


Rob

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