Ride Diary

I rode down to the MSF instructor conference in Portsmouth VA over the weekend and had the opportunity to go on a spirited back road Sunday morning ride with a buddy who rides a '02 BMW R1150R Roadster. He also made a Quick Time sound movie of me riding with the VFR's new Micron pipe, which sounds incredible in the tunnels down there.

After hitting some twisties, we took a road through the Great Dismal Swamp (aptly named BTW) that was wide, straight and fast. Anyway I began to notice some new things about the VFR, particularly slow turn in with the Givi bags. Press the hand-grip and you can feel the bike lean over for a split second and then begin to turn. You actually ride down the road momentarily in a lean without turning. Try this on a long straight road sometime. Loaded Givi side bags increase the time lag. I've identified the syndrome, but what is the cure? Shimming the rear shock perhaps?

I also notice the red low fuel idiot light coming on sooner (at about 180 to 190 miles) when the side bags are on. There is a slight mileage penalty due to increasing weight and aerodynamic drag, but that didn't account for all of it. The red light comes on, I stop for gas and notice it only takes 4.8 or 4.9 gallons. So I put my thinking cap on and figure out it's probably the bags causing the front end to rise up a little bit, making the gas gauge and low fuel indicator to read low.

Tom and I swapped bikes for a while since I'd not ridden the BMW Roadster before. The seating position brought back memories of my '91 Nighthawk, but the similarities ended there. The upright bars means steering takes a little more effort than the VFR's sportier ergos (MCN has a good piece in the Dec. '01 issue on why this is so) but once the bike turns the suspension is utterly smooth. The Para-lever and Tele-lever suspension means no wallow. That's probably the single most impressive thing about this bike. BMW clearly has the suspension nailed since the Roadster outweighs the VFR by a good 25-30 pounds (dry) and the Roadster carries it very well. The longitudinal crankshaft means the bike tilts to the right when you spin up the engine, both at a stop and also during engine braking. That takes a little getting used to. The heated grips are the bomb. I'd love it if they were an OEM option on the VFR. And the power-assisted ABS brakes, wow. Even think about stopping and you stop, right now. I did notice a lot of buzz from the engine at about 5K and the mirrors get blurry. Must be a built-in shift indicator. :) Time to upshift. And you gotta love that torque down low. Roll-ons at 3K are handled without complaint. The VFR is not happy in that range unless you're coming to a stop.

A couple of minor quibbles are BMW's slightly bizarre switch arrangement and the shifter ergos. Go for the horn, oops, that's the left turn signal. Go for the turn signal: bleeeep! The switches need to be farther apart or have a distinctive feel so you don't have to take your eyes off the road. I also like to keep my thumb on the signal button for the entire duration of a lane change, which is not possible with this arrangement. I feel like BMW tried to solve a problem with the single button turn signal switch that didn't need solving. Why have three large buttons on two different hands when a single small button does the job? I find going to the opposite hand to cancel a left turn signal to be a bit of a bother. I also felt like I had to really bend my ankle and point my toes to the ground to get my toe under the shifter. It takes a little extra effort to lift the lever in an unnatural movement that our leg muscles are not suited for.

I suppose a day or two in the saddle (which is very comfortable and well made BTW) would put both complaints to rest. I could see spending a lot more time on this bike, but I still enjoyed getting back on the old reliable VFR. My friend did comment how buttery smooth the VFR's gearbox is by comparison and I've grown to prefer the more varied, slightly forward or more aggressively tucked in riding position depending on need, that the VFR affords as opposed to the more upright "standard" position of the Roadster. The Beemer does have a lot to recommend it though, particularly in the brakes, suspension, torquey engine, overall fit and finish and attention to detail.

I had a beautiful ride back to DC. Tom led me to Surry and we said our good-byes and I took the ferry across the James from there and picked up the Colonial Parkway on the opposite side, rode to Yorktown and then took VA 14 and 721 through the Middle Peninsula as an alternate to US 17. It's a beautiful road: wide, smooth with long sweepers and the occasional 25 mph sharp turn. No traffic either, though I narrowly missed an "opportunity" to contribute to the King and Queen County patrolmen's Christmas fund.

Overall a great weekend and in early December, no less.