Hello, and My New-to-me 1100S

Erwin8r · 12:59 PM

Bike shopping late last week, I posted a few questions, etc. on another board. Rapid Dog responded with a couple of choice ads.... and, well, here I am! LOL! I found a very nice, '01 1100S Light model at an almost give away price. It has a significant number of miles (just under 44k), but it has been well maintained, and runs very well. Being the Light model, it has a few nice carbon bits (fender, belly pan, tank cover, etc.) and a blacked-out engine. Cool.

It had a cheesy net over the rear, and some Alpinestars stickers covering a couple scratches on the tail. This might have scared off other potential buyers (good for me), but once removed, it wasn't that bad underneath. I'll probably have the tail re-sprayed at some point. The owner's manual, service records, tire repair kit, tool kit, etc. are all under the seat where they belong. Cool.

The seat is comfy enough, but it does ram one forward--it's gotta go... LOL! The power is not earth shattering, but I have my Aprilia Factory for that kind of stuff, so I'm good to go.

First impressions were interesting. I fell in love with it as the seller was delivering it. Very nice guy that made buying the bike a pleasure (who delivers anymore?!?!). I couldn't ride it the first day (forgot my helemt at home) so left it at work in the parking garage. Sucked! LOL! The next day I finally got to ride it, and we went the long way home (up the Angeles Forest/Crest roads). Nice. It handles just fine.

It has the sport suspension, and the wider 5.5" rear wheel (I measured...). Mroe big +s. I can't wait to get a corbin on it, maybe do HID's after that (I will commute on this thing), and then Ohlins and exhaust.

I used to make fun of my brother's R1100RT, and secretly always lusted after the R1100S... Now I see why my brother bought his to commute with. Very drama-free commute.

I plan to uphold my end of the bargain by doing all of the maintenance at the appropriate intervals--and this seems like the perfect site for just that (Thanks Rapid Dog!).

sgoodwin · sgoodwin's Garage

Nice beater, and it's black the fastest color!

CoffeeGuy · CoffeeGuy's Garage

Nice. If you want to get rid of that awful carbon fiber- I've got some black replacement panels for sale.

There's a CF seat cover on another forum for sale (not me) if you want one. I think it's $100. PM me if you'd like a link.

Good looking S.

EZ-RIDER · 09-02-2010, 01:38 PM

Nice, Welcome Aboard !

Guest24 · 09-02-2010, 01:48 PM

Say, was last week buy a noir R11S week. Welcome. Sport shocks, huh.

and a belly bra, too.

I'd forget the boat anchor Corbin, it weighs a ton. Find a Sargent if you must have an aftermarket seat.

Erwin8r · 09-02-2010, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nail24

Say, was last week buy a noir R11S week. Welcome. Sport shocks, huh.

and a belly bra, too.

I'd forget the boat anchor Corbin, it weighs a ton. Find a Sargent if you must have an aftermarket seat.

Must have been... LOL! I'm ready for ANY seat other than the stocker. Again, the foam feels fine--its the slight forward cant that's doing mine, er, me in!

Thanks guys!

nidah · nidah's Garage

Welcome aboard. Get the shortened paralever arm and do the suspension first up

Erwin8r · 09-02-2010, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nidah

Welcome aboard. Get the shortened paralever arm and do the suspension first up

Roger that! I'll keep my eyes peeled...

Guest24 · 09-02-2010, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erwin8r

Must have been... LOL! I'm ready for ANY seat other than the stocker. Again, the foam feels fine--its the slight forward cant that's doing mine, er, me in!

Thanks guys!

You want to try the extra seat that I got with mine. It was re-foamed up front up for that and the po twice removed even had a slot left for the jewells to fit in. That's a first for me.

I'm in NC.

CoffeeGuy · CoffeeGuy's Garage

Quote:

Quote de Nail24

Say, was last week buy a noir R11S week. Welcome. Sport shocks, huh.

and a belly bra, too.

I'd forget the boat anchor Corbin, it weighs a ton. Find a Sargent if you must have an aftermarket seat.

Must have been... LOL! I'm ready for ANY seat other than the stocker. Again, the foam feels fine--its the slight forward cant that's doing mine, er, me in!

Thanks guys!

I agree with bubba. I've gone through four seats. I currently have a Corbin (for the backrest) & another Corbin (for the smuggler trunk). The comfort is just alright, but I'd love a Sargent. I found the tendency to slide forward on the stock seat to be laughably ridiculous. I had a leather covered Bill Mayer saddle that wasn't much better, but in his defense, it wasn't designed for me.

Erwin8r · 09-02-2010, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoffeeGuy

I agree with bubba. I've gone through four seats. I currently have a Corbin (for the backrest) & another Corbin (for the smuggler trunk). The comfort is just alright, but I'd love a Sargent. I found the tendency to slide forward on the stock seat to be laughably ridiculous. I had a leather covered Bill Mayer saddle that wasn't much better, but in his defense, it wasn't designed for me.

Yeah, I wonder sometimes... WTF are manufacturers thinking? Some things are genuine "quirks" and go along with the character (turn signals....), but a seat that rams the wee ones home??

I don't get it. Still, I can't complain--at least my back/neck/wrists aren't sore when I get into the office (or home). I'm a happy camper.

Guest24 · 09-02-2010, 03:50 PM

I just figured it out, the 11S is a "girls" bike.

GotRoad? · 09-02-2010, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erwin8r

...but a seat that rams the wee ones home??

I don't get it....

If you do a search you can find some remedies w/o buying a new saddle. Since you're new here, you get some slack. Here are a couple of things you can try to reduce the forward angle of the seat. Add some flexible rubber shims to the bottom of the saddle where it sits on the seat posts. You can get ~0.1-0.2" of height this way; not much; but it makes a difference. Another thing to try in combination with the shims is to push the nose of the saddle up by adding another hard rubber shim or wedge at the base of the tank where the nose of the saddle overlaps. Try some different combinations and if one of them works for you then you're good to go.

Paulaner · 09-02-2010, 09:35 PM

Hey, and welcome! nice bike- there are some screaming deals out there on bikes rigt now.....

Get the Sargent, it's made a huge difference for me!

My bike just turned 70K, still has the stock 'sport' suspenders. They are pretty crappy, but the Ohlins are so damn pricey!
Good luck, you've done well in your purchase, and you also managed to find the best R1100S forum on the web!

peace
Len

SeabeckS · 09-02-2010, 10:21 PM

Uh oh! A seats thread!

A highly personal choice...but at the risk of starting a flame session...I am most enamored of the Rick Mayer seat I added to my S bike two years ago. Had Corbins (on a couple of Ducati's) and a Sargent (on an R1150R), those were all good saddles. But having a seat made for my S in Rick's shop near Redding was the best thing I've ever added to any bike.

I'm just sayin'....LOL

Cheers! Bill J

Meeni · Meeni's Garage

Ah, the wonderful feeling of the saddle trying to crush your jewels on the tank. I'm still looking for a reasonably priced sargent saddle for 2001-on models btw.

Erwin8r · 09-03-2010, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meeni

Ah, the wonderful feeling of the saddle trying to crush your jewels on the tank. I'm still looking for a reasonably priced sargent saddle for 2001-on models btw.

...which is why I'm after a used Corbin...

Sergeants are nice--but I remember when they were LESS expensive than Corbins (that, and a good friend, Gary Smith, used to run their western sales program--so we got very decent deals on them in the late 90's...).

ergomoto · ergomoto's Garage

I vote Sargent for light, well shaped non slip comfort. That, and no nonsense Stomp Grip Tank pads. Stomp does not offer pre-cut pads for the 11S, but I just bought the clear generic or biggest pads I could and cut them to fit. Significantly better grip than the smoother rubber BMW accessory black swoosh pads and see through body color!

Stomp Design Online

Cheers and Welcome!
Mark S

Erwin8r · 09-03-2010, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ergomoto

I vote Sargent for light, well shaped non slip comfort. That, and no nonsense Stomp Grip Tank pads. Stomp does not offer pre-cut pads for the 11S, but I just bought the clear generic or biggest pads I could and cut them to fit. Significantly better grip than the smoother rubber BMW accessory black swoosh pads and see through body color!

Stomp Design Online

Cheers and Welcome!
Mark S

Stomp grips! Of course! I'll be adding those to the list... and say, what type of valve covers are those?

ergomoto · ergomoto's Garage

These are the over the valve cover guards that the Twin Spark BCR's sport.

Mark S