Day One for Rainman

[Rainman]

Hi guys,
It was a VERY good day for me today. I picked up my bike, took it home, introduced her to the rest of the family, made more living space for all of us, then went on a nice late afternoon ride and put 70 relatively easy miles on her. Got her used to the wet and sometimes mucky roads here in the North West and then washed her down and put her to bed for the night.

Here is how it went.

I was late to my dealer this morning. I gave them an extra 15 minutes after opening before I walked in, trying to act casual and like it was a regular day. Inside my adrenalin was pumping so hard with anticipation that I could hardly sign all the paperwork. Here are a couple of pictures of her sitting in the spot of honor at the dealers.





It took a couple of hours to go over all the paperwork, the extended warranty, the insurance, the licensing, the lemon law rights, and the required check-off of the bike itself. There were numerous interruptions and I didn't care while other people came in, looked at the bike, and we talked about it while one staff member or another was busy getting their part ready.

I went and picked up my son so he could drive my SUV home while I rode the bike, it started to rain lightly, the dealer took a couple of pictures for BMW, and then I rode straight home without incident,... and the rain let up.

I don't have a beautiful garage like Nigel. It is/was messy, so my son and I moved a couple of work benches to the basement to make room for the new pet. There was some growling and a few unkind mumblings from the older pets, but in the end, they appeared to get along and seem to be accepting her. Only the old Harley seemed really put off. He slipped to the back of the garage.



We finished the cleanup and I sent my son home, then it was time for a real ride. It made it up in the 60s (F) again here today, so I decided to take one of my favorite 2-hour journeys from Bothell to Sultan and back on the 2-lane twisty farm roads with a lot of vertical fun as well. There were lots of opportunities to stay in the lower gears, use a lot of different RPMs and break it in like BMW wants.

So, here is a picture of the bike in my driveway, and one of the back tire before leaving home. Notice the roads are still wet and the tire is still slippery.

[Rainman]

Somewhere near Sultan, the mountains were beautiful, so I stopped and snapped a few pictures of the bike against them in the background.



It was nearly twilight before I got home. When I got off, look at the mess I had made of her.



She now knows she not going to be any garage queen. And while the "chicken strips" are still really wide, at least the meat of the tires aren't slick anymore.



Last shot of the day after her bath was a simple testimony that we put a few miles on in about 2 hours today. Tomorrow is going to be excellant out, and after a morning meeting, I'll be out on the hiway chewing off more miles towards the break-in service.



If you haven't already, I hope you guys get your bikes soon.

-Rainman

[pinshaw]

Ok, that was cool, oh, and nice choice of color, btw

and imo real men have messy garages that are used and do not require maid service! (no offense Nigel, yours is very pretty)

So along with everyones new bike, which I hope to see and add to myself shortly, go ahead and post more pictures of their stalls and of course any siblings.

[snocompton]

Awesome! I personally got to drool over your bike as I watched it being uncrated! First Acid Green in the state if I recal correctly. Glad you got out riding! So, first impressions?

[1000RR]

Very nice pics.. especially the one w/the mountains in the back drop. Just hoping you didn't drive off w/you rear seat not fully attached Figure you had to put your camera back in there, eh?!

Cool Rainman!

CONGRATS!!!!

D

[Rainman]

Thanks guys. Very supportive. If I couldn't sleep last night waiting for today, I really can't wait for tomorrow. As I sleep, I will be ON the bike every second; making the perfect line, braking at just the right point, my weight transfers and body positions will be spot on, and I will finish at the poll to take the checkered flag. What is restful about sleep? I'll wake up tired.

pinshaw - imo real men have messy garages that are used and do not require maid service!

Ha, than I must be the man. I'm a widowed bachelor with all adult children out of here. The fukin house is my castle. The garage is just another storage space. Weights and laptop in front of the big screen TV, tred mill behind the leather lounge chairs, mail and papers cover all other sitting surfaces,... Heck, I see the OEM seat for the DR650 is on the sofa and all the GT and Harley side cases are conveniently stored under the dining room table. Oh, and the toilet seats are always UP.

Snocompton - First Acid Green in the state if I recal correctly.

Yup. I was thinking of you. I asked RW to PLEASE let me know when DHL delivered it to you guys, so I could do the uncrate thing, but by the time I was told it was there, I knew it was too late. I was told this morning it was the #2 bike out of RW, and first Acid Green. I LOVE it. Black wheels, polished swing arm, mono color body in a color that can't be ignored or confused with anything else, and the metallic shows off all sorts of variations in different light. It makes the other black body parts just fade away and become unimportant. Saw more cages nearly crossing the centerline this afternoon gawking. Even a couple of LEOs. It's nice to be on top of the world.

Impressions? Lots, but I'll try to summerize. I love the riding position and the controls. I especially like the instrument cluster and choice of info on the screen, and where it is. The quick shifter is awesome, and the brakes are simply overpowering. I am not a racer, and happen to like the stock exhaust for now. It's quiet when being treated in a civilized manner, but roars when asked to. Remember, the roads where I rode today were wet in the shade and there was sand (and cow ****) in some of the corners, so I was "pretty" careful, but I loved flicking it about in some posted 15 - 25 mph corners at well above that when it looked safe, and I certainly didn't let it hang around any one point on the rpm scale for long. It can grunt pretty good on the bottom end and I could definetly feel it want to become supersonic starting at the mid-range where alas I let up to keep it under 7k in this first hundred miles. Tomorrow I'll try 9k, and then by Monday I'll see how big my balls really are.

1000RR - Very nice pics.. especially the one w/the mountains in the back drop. Just hoping you didn't drive off w/you rear seat not fully attached Figure you had to put your camera back in there, eh?!

Holy crap. How did you know? That is a problem, and I was warned about it. When I got home, I found my pillion only half mounted. There just isn't much vertical space under that seat. The tools they attach to the bottom of the pad make the space deceiving, and if you don't press down on the back before you turn the key, it may end up above the locking bar that holds it in place. Looks like I'll have to join the backpack crowd now.

For all my other bikes I'm a RAM mount fan for GPS, Radar, iPod, camera, etc. I'm looking at that big hole in the steering head thinking somebody ought to have a compression fitting that would let me put a short stalk and RAM ball right in there so I can interchangeably use all my other longer RAM stalks and adapters. Anybody else use RAM parts on sport bikes?

[kevin_stevens]

MV Auxiliary Adapter for PDA and GPS Holder for BMW S1000RR - MV Motorrad Technik GmbH - hochwertiges Sonderzubehoer fuer Motorraeder

KeS

[Rainman]

Originally Posted by kevin_stevens

MV Auxiliary Adapter for PDA and GPS Holder for BMW S1000RR - MV Motorrad Technik GmbH - hochwertiges Sonderzubehoer fuer Motorraeder

KeS

Oh yeah KeS, You da Man !!! I'll be ordering that right away.

[1000RR]

Originally Posted by Rainman

I'm looking at that big hole in the steering head thinking somebody ought to have a compression fitting that would let me put a short stalk and RAM ball right in there so I can interchangeably use all my other longer RAM stalks and adapters. Anybody else use RAM parts on sport bikes?

I use a Techmount in that hole in the steering head. Check their website out. Not quite as fancy as the one Kevin mentioned, but not bad.

[Mrgrn]

i love your neighbors cherry tree and that pic of the mountains, OH and the bike too LOL

congrats on the bike and nice to see it dirty too