My New V11 Greenie!

[docc]

On 10/7/2019 at 6:12 PM, Kane said:

You mean like this?:

 

I love the textures, and shadows, and reflections, and colors in this image!

How the arc of the raw, Sport clock-mount breaks the line of the brick . . . the glow of the hydraulic fluid in the California sun. Next to that incomparable Legnano Green . . . 

Brembo in the shadows . . . 

[luhbo]

8 hours ago, Mikko said:

.... That being said, These Avon's are not too shabby for the more then reasonable price i paid for a set.

That's correct, of course. You probably won't find any shabby tyres nowadays. So, saying Avons weren't tyres was a bit overboard, sure. But even when bad tyres now are history it's still amazing how much different products can affect one's riding experience.

I know a guy who changes his' every 3000km. It's hard to talk with him about good or bad ones. His' are always new and perfectly round etc.
3000 km for him means two seasons, I make min. 9000 in one. Obviously priorities may differ.

[luhbo]

8 hours ago, footgoose said:

...

I'm with you on the front springs, mine (red frame) work well for my needs.  Does raising the rear with a longer shock create the same instability conditions as lowering the tubes in the clamps, or is that different geometry altogether? I raised the rear on my R1100s to accommodate a 180, and did see an improvement. Thanks

and thanks to Kane

It's all the same, yes. Rake and trail get changed.

But there's no easy good or bad here, it depends on what you do with your bike. Some say the KR tends to wave at around 150km/h, that's 90 miles/h. This might not be that big problem in the States, if you live here and take the highways/Autobahn this might be something different and you might think about raising the front.
If you live in the mountains and know highways only from other people's stories you may want your bike to steer even quicker as it already does and rising the back in this case would be a good idea. Still lighter wheels would rather be what you want, but that's a bit expensive.

Long story short: in my opinion the V11 "factory version" is a very good overall compromise which only needs tuning to bring it to factory specs. Adjust everything so that it meets the values given in the manual and you wouldn't want very much more. Otherwise you have the wrong bike anyway (power, speed, weight, electronics, media-related presence and won comparisons, silly titles etc. etc. ...) 

Should you still be unhappy with the V11 - try to get a ride on one of the 'legendary' Tontis. You will see what 'goes like on rails' really meant. You had to take this literally. Really, jumping from the V11 to my LM3 is dangerous. The first bend always is a really big surprise!

[JBBenson]

I used to think the factory forks and rear shock were fine too, until I got a new suspension.

The stock Sachs tends to crack at the eyelet, which, if it cracks and breaks at speed, would be a very bad day. Aside from that, it's still a shitty shock.

The fork springs are, unless you weight 120 pounds, way too soft and tend to dive and bottom out. They are terrible.

 

[Kane]

I finally know what the the tree-way toggle switch is for! Heated grips. Those are something that I would not even think about, and it’s so friggin’ hot here (the state is a big bon fire right now) I never noticed. I guess that’s a cool thing. If it’s freezing out the palms of my hands will be comfy while the rest of my hand freezes.

[swooshdave]

18 hours ago, Kane said:

I finally know what the the tree-way toggle switch is for! Heated grips. Those are something that I would not even think about, and it’s so friggin’ hot here (the state is a big bon fire right now) I never noticed. I guess that’s a cool thing. If it’s freezing out the palms of my hands will be comfy while the rest of my hand freezes.

You'd be surprised at how well they can work unless you don't wear gloves.

While you may never need them in most places in SoCA you might find yourself in the mountains on a long ride and will find them useful.

[Chuck]

I thought heated grips were kind of foo foo.. until I had them. sort of like heated seats on a car.