Test ride K1200S

Following the disappointment of the Blackbird purchase falling through
and on hearing Nige's non-stop admiration for the K1200S, I have
arranged a test ride for this morning. And what a beatiful morning it is
too. I wonder if I'll be smitten?

 

Place bets.....

 

OK, I'll place a fiver on Jeremy saying he loved it, & you offering to
sell him yours.

 

Although I've never ridden one, I found the K really comforatble when I
sat on one at the NEC a couple of years back. Only the price put me
off and I got the Sprint ST instead. I'll seriously consider one next,
although probably the newer 1300 and an R (or R Sport) rather than the
S.

Let us know how it goes.

 

and the extreme weight of the damn things.

 

first a Qashqai, and next a BMW K series.

<fx: aside to the audience>

has anyone actually ever seen CT with a woman?

</fx>

 

Hey, the QQ is great. Well, not great *exactly* - it's slow, heavy,
underpowered and doesn't handle. And it's not exactly economical. But
it *is* comfy and at my age that's all that's important.

"seriously consider". And, as you well know, I currently have a Sprint
ST so what's the difference?

ppppppppppp

 

Budget - the one I'm about to ride is 7.5k - I already told the dealer
that I wasn't necessarily going to spend that much and I recognise it's
going to be tough to impossible to find a low-ish miles model for
anything less than 6k. And I don't think I want one of those yellow
ones...as much.

 

keep telling yourself that.

Triumphs, whilst not being exactly cool, aren't actually hom.

 

Even Lozzo likes them ........

 

I am.

 

he'll wheel out his "bad back" excuse any moment now.

Our Jeep was "comfortable". I'm still really glad we have an RX-8
instead now, though.

Then, I'm as old as CT.

 

Look, I just found a "to me" down the back of this 'ere sofa!

Seriously, if I could make the QQ quicker[1] and better handling, it
would be fine (for me). As much as I like the idea of something a bit
less bulky, I do really like the driving position and it's good for my
dodgy back. My A3 was quite uncomfortable in that respect.

[1] I wonder if the 3.5L V6 from the 350Z would slot in...

 

heh. I've just done so!

 

Well.

- Look good.
- Goes like the clappers.
- Really poised, very confidence-inspiring.
- Love the front suspension arrangement.
- Superb brakes.
- ESA is a nice toy - noticeable difference between sport and comfort.
Ability to adjust within that also for pillions is a boon.

But... is it worth another 5k to me to change from the Sprint? Maybe
it's (the Sprint) like a comfy pair of slippers (actually, I don't own
any) - but it can excite, it does handle nicely, it is paid for (!) and
I really, really get on well with it (after 4 years though I guess
you're going to).

If I was comparing a new-ish K1200S with a new or new-ish Sprint ST
(i.e. i was sitting with 7k+ available) I would be sorely tempted. It is
very nice.

But right now, and I reckon this could spark a heated debate, it isn't
sufficiently different to what I have to make it worth (to me)
switching. This may say more about my riding than it does about the
similarity of the bikes - I just don't need *that* much extra power and
performance. It's nice though.

Reading that back to myself, I am reminded of the time when someone
described a ZX10-R as "nice".

 

Yeah you do. You just don't realise it yet.

When I first rode my GSXR750 I thought "how can I be allowed to ride
this on a public road? It's insane!" 9 months later I was bored with it.
So I bought a thou. When I first rode that I thought "how can I be
allowed to ride this on a public road? It's insane!" I won't say I'm
bored with it, but I've certainly got used to it.

If you want it enough, you'll buy it. If you don't want it enough, you
won't. If it seems too expensive, that just means you don't want it
enough. Simple as that. Need has nothing to do with it.

 

I had an English teacher once who banned the use of the word 'nice' in
his classes on the basis that it was a crap adjective, barely conveying
any useful information.

He had a point.

 

Hmm, one of my English teachers had the same opinion. Wonder if it
was taught at "Teacher School" in the 70s?

 

We did too.

 

Thinking back, it may not have been an English teacher. I think it was
my third year primary school teacher and yes, he was an absolute 24
carat solid gold cock.

He still had a point though, even if it was second-hand. As a word, it
only really conveys a useful degree of detail if used with an ironic
bent.

I had an English teacher like that in my first year at secondary school
but without the happy-ish ending - he retired at the end of that year
and was dead about 18 months later.