Tuesday 30 June 2015

BMW F650ST review



In 1993, BMW introduced the F650 "funduro" built in Italy by Aprilia and gifted it the reasonably well proven rotax engine.


The appeal of the F650 was a solid base for a bike that could do anything and be run very cheaply. Carb models could average over 57mpg and the newer FI models averaging over 67mpg boasting a tank range well over 200 miles.

Our F650 was the Strada (ST) version, which was introduced in 1997 with a shorter wheel base, 18" front wheel and lower seat height. Making the ST the more road biased version. 

We took a trip to Southend to view a blue F650 with low owners, full service history, heated grips, engine crash bars, new tyres and full hard luggage. One evening later that week saw us riding it home! 


Initial thoughts of the F650 was the very good handling on low speed manoeuvres, a silky smooth gearbox and a punchy amount of torque available as soon as you twist the throttle. With a 50 mile motorway trip home in the cold and dark the initial grin very quickly turned into serious doubts by one simple thing: the buffeting at 70mph.

Seriously it was bad, not helped by forgetting ear plugs. A taller screen was ordered and this did settle some of the buffeting around the head but it was never enough to completely avoid it. 


Our F650 was used for everything; commuting, fun and green laning. Oh yes, we took this beast off road with fully road going tyres, the result was interesting but we managed to keep it upright and fly through the odd rutt and puddle.

Maintenance was simple on the F650, with 12,000 mile service intervals and a centre stand making for easy chain adjustment. We do have to admit the dry sump took a few oil checks to get used to, starting the engine for a few minutes before checking the oil on a dipstick didn't come naturally. 

As mentioned above, the gearbox was silky smooth through all gears and allowed for very quick clutch-less shifting when on the move. The 650cc single, 50bhp, engine was good until a point, and this point was trying to cruise on the motorway with some luggage on the bike. Which became clear when travelling to and from the motorcycle live show in Birmingham. The bike felt like it was almost struggling between 75/80mph and had very little puff above that.

To throw a complete comparison the lower end of the rev range was actually pretty good with enough torque go accelerate quickly in and out of traffic and throw the bike into a corner knowing there was some power to push you out the other side, even when making a hasty escape from the flights the front wheel wasn't adverse to popping up. 


In short, the F650 was a reasonable all rounder, quite good fun to throw around and very easy to ride on the limit with those skinny tyres which was great fun. It was incredibly cheap and easy to run and maintain. It's just a shame the bike did have some annoying flaws.


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All the best
BirotarUK

Tuesday 9 June 2015

Mallory Park track day


We recently did our first track day on our ZXR 400 and GSXR 600 at Mallory Park with NoLimits. It was our first ‘proper’ full day on track on our own bikes, and it was absolutely awesome. We were very lucky to have dry weather and little wind, someone must have been looking over us because the forecast for the day was supposed to be poor. As you can see from the video, we have got some practicing to do. Our position on the bike needs improving, the braking points and racing line also needs to be improved - but hey, that's what a track day is all about! (Please excuse the shaky footage!)

If you’re thinking about doing a track day yourself, here are a few things that are worth considering.

Gear - what you need
  • You need a ‘double-d-ring’ helmet
  • You need a full (2pc/1pc) leather suit 
  • You need a good set of boots and gloves
  • We recommend a back protector

Tracks are very strict and will NOT let you on the track if you do not have this equipment.


Bike - things to bare in mind

Photograph by Wil Collins Photography 
Photograph by Wil Collins Photography 

You can take your own road/track bike to most track days, but if you are taking your road bike on track, there are a few things that will be recommended for you to do to your bike before you start the session:

  • Remove mirrors
  • Tape over the speedo

Your bike will have to be noise tested before you go out on track; noise limits range from track to track but our session was limited to 103dB. If you are worried that your exhaust might not pass, buy, borrow or steal a standard exhaust for your bike (okay, maybe don’t steal it!). It’s not worth you making the effort of booking the day, getting there and not being able to ride!

Photograph by Wil Collins Photography 


Tyre pressures are important 
  
Photograph by Wil Collins Photography 

Most tracks have a tyre specialist on site so make sure that you visit them before you go out on track. Road pressures and track pressures are different – DO NOT RIDE ON TRACK WITH ROAD PRESSURES IN YOUR TYRES. You can buy a pressure gauge from an online store or your local automotive shop so that you can check them yourself.


Tyre condition is also very important 

Photograph by Wil Collins Photography 

Check the condition of tyres by looking for splits, tears, nails, screws, tread depth, uneven tyre wear at least a week before you go on track, so that you have enough time to replace them if necessary. Your road tyres will be able to lean further than you think, but ideally you want a decent set of branded tyres on your bike. Remember that the only thing between you and the track are you tyres. Some track day hoonigans have multiple sets of wheels for their bike with slicks and wets. If you’re a track day virgin (like us) and you want to do an evening session or a full day, you don’t need to go to that extent. But bare in mind that you will be working your tyres hard on a track day!


Fluids: check them all, and top them up if necessary
 
We changed the oil before our track day – if you have the ability to do this yourself, we would recommend it as you will be working the engine hard. We also changed the coolant and brake fluid. If you are riding to the track, fill up your fuel tank to the top before you enter the circuit grounds. If you are towing or taking your bike to the track in a van, fill up a few jerry cans with fuel. We used 15-20 litres of between the two of us but even if you don’t use it all on track, you’ll have some spare for another day. Most tracks have a fuel pump but expect to pay more for the convenience.


Brakes will help you stop

Photograph by track side photographer

If you ride your bike on the road, and you know the brakes aren’t great, upgrade the pads to something more abrasive (we recommend ‘HH Sintered’). If you have an older bike and you can afford it, upgraded the lines too. And if that doesn’t help, upgrade the master cylinder (MC). We changed the calliper seals, upgraded the brake lines, changed the pads to HH sintered, and fitted a GSXR K6 MC to our SRAD because, frankly the brakes were sh*t. You have run off areas on most tracks, but you don’t want to go into the gravel at 130mph after the main straight!


Set up

We had our suspension set up and had a power run at Race Engineering in Essex. Find out more about this here.


Spares

Take spare fluids with you, tools, and anything else you believe you and your bike might need. Spare pair of pants?


You 

Photograph by track side photographer

Prepare yourself for some serious fun but be aware of your ability and don’t push yourself past your comfort zone unless you feel ready to. The first few sessions on the track are for you to learn the track and for you get an idea of where the braking/turning/acceleration points are. Take it easy! Someone at Mallory crashed on the first lap of the first session and damaged his bike. We felt bad for him because unfortunately he rode the bike there. So we suggest to warm up your tyres and your mind-set before you ride hard, it won’t hurt. Keep hydrated, and make sure you eat properly through the day. You will need all the energy you can get.

Insurance? Well this is up to you…


Novice, intermediate or fast?

When you book your track day you will need to choose a group to ride in. If you have any doubts, choose novice. If you’ve done track days before and you felt like other riders were holding you up, choose intermediate. If you’re fast, then you will know it and your choice will be easy. We’re not sure if you can swap once you have made your decision, but its worth asking if you feel like you’re in the wrong group.

Photograph by Wil Collins Photography 


Costs – expect to pay anything between £79 - £300 for a full track day.

It depends who you go with, what track it is and if tuition is included. The photography service is pretty cool, so set aside £20 - £45 for some cool pictures of you trying to get your knee down! Consider van rental, fuel, overnight stay, meals etc…


Photograph by track side photographer

This is what we paid for our track day at Mallory:


Track day
£198 (£99x2)

Van £49
Fuel for van £50
Fuel for bikes
£25

Hotel £40
Dinner £20
Lunch, snacks and water £10
Photography £25
Total:
£417
 

So you’ve got an idea of what you have to think about before your track day. But let us stress one more thing you shouldn’t forget: it is so much fun! It’s one of the most exciting things to do on a motorcycle. We would recommend it to anyone who enjoys riding. You learn your limits, the bike’s limits, and you are improving your riding skills, whilst having a good time.

Photograph by track side photographer

It’s okay to be nervous, it is a risky sport. But where is it safer to ride fast and hard but in a controlled environment that is purpose built? There will be no ‘unaware’ road users pulling out on you, everyone is going in the same direction (we hope), there will be a perfect road surface, and most importantly no police or speed cameras to try and trip you up! Just book your track day and have some fun, you will be hooked. Let us know if you have any questions, we will do what we can to help.


Photograph by track side photographer

P.S. share the photos of your track with us!


We look forward to hearing about your track day and hopefully you found our tips useful. Please remember that this is advice only, track day companies have different rules and we recommend that you check them before you book your track day. We can't be held liable if you make any bad judgments.

Photograph by track side photographer
Photograph by track side photographer
Photograph by track side photographer
Photograph by track side photographer
Photograph by track side photographer
Photograph by Wil Collins Photography 

Please share this if you enjoyed reading it!
All the best
BirotarUK

Monday 8 June 2015

Ally-Pally photoshoot

Trying to find a good 'un-discovered' photoshoot location can be difficult! We're always on the hunt to try and find somewhere new to take some pictures, so one evening we set out on a mission. 

After a visit to the legendary Ace Cafe with Wil Collins, we went for a ride and ended up at Alexandra Palace. 



Alexandra Palace, London
The sun had just set and the city lights in the distance made for a great setting. Here are the results:


Photograph by Wil Collins photography
After a short while, it got darker and Wil worked his magic in this awesome night time setting.

Photograph by Wil Collins photography
Honda VTR SP1

Suzuki GSF Bandit S 600
BMW R1200GS
We hope you like these shots! A big thank you to Wil for the photographs.
You can check out his work here.


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Tuesday 2 June 2015

Bandit 'Blandit' review

Bandit 600S chasing RC8

We’ve owned two Bandits now, of different variants, so it puts us in a good position to give you an honest bike review. A lot of people have given the nickname 'Blandit' to this Suzuki and it’s pretty hard for us to understand why. 


Suzuki Bandit 600 (1996-2005) specification

Max power: 78 bhp  
Max torque: 39 ft-lb  
Top speed: 129 mph  
1/4-mile acceleration: 12.4 secs    

Fuel capacity:
18 litres  

Average fuel consumption: 44 mpg  
Tank range: 190 miles
Engine size: 600cc  
Engine type: 16v transverse four, 6 gears  
Frame type: Steel tube double cradle     
Seat height: 805mm  
Bike weight: 204kg

Bandit 600N admiring country views

One of our first bikes was a 2002 Suzuki Bandit 600N (N meaning naked). With 78bhp and a fuel range knocking on 200 miles it’s easy to see why a lot of people use these for commuting. The small fly screen as standard does offer some wind protection but take it above 75mph (on a private road) and you start to feel the wind resistance strain on your neck. 

Bandit 600N catching the sun

The Bandit is a budget middleweight bike, but don’t let the word budget put you off, you get a wide comfy seat, ample under seat storage, 4 pot Tokicos on the front and a fuel gauge from 2002 onwards. Who needs mod cons anyway?

Bandit 600N detailing

The engine is reasonably free revving, giving enough low down torque to be able to enjoy riding at town speeds in a higher gear. It is very comfortable to cruise at 70mph on the motorway, and you can rest assured that you can keep on going, as it’s often described as a bullet proof engine. With routine servicing we’ve seen Bandits exceed 100k miles. 

Bandit 600S

The riding position is up right with wide bars and this combination makes for a very comfortable ride. Fear not, you show the bike some twisty lanes and it isn’t shy. It will make cornering fast feel effortless, although it’s not a patch on its sporty big sister, the GSXR. The adjustable forks can be a bit soft for some, but it’s nothing some thicker oil can’t sort.

We used our first Bandit as a fun bike, with the occasional pillion, and it managed this without a problem. We’d say it’s an ideal first bike and because of this, if you’re interested in buying one, we recommend that you check carefully for signs of it being dropped and for any large gaps in servicing.

In late 2014 we’d been missing our first Bandit and so decided to see what was out there. After a few phone calls and a long drive to Wales we retuned with a 600S (the faired version of our first bike).
Morning sun in Wales
'How many men does it take to load up a Bandit?'

Comparing the two is night and day in terms of wind protection, we could happily sit on this all day and enjoy minimal wind resistance, although we have put an aftermarket screen on. With the engines being exactly the same, we knew what to expect in terms of power, nothing that will make the earth shake, but plenty to enjoy on day-to-day rides. 

Bandit 600S
 
We have fitted a top box on our 600S and we use it for everyday commuting, social rides, pillions and doing the shopping. It still has the same soft front suspension as previous but with today’s roads, the softness is welcomed. These bikes are very easy to work on, with a plug, oil and filter change being done in about an hour start to finish, it’s easy to keep on top of routine maintenance.


The Suzuki Bandit 600 isn’t going to win any awards, unless there is one for simplicity and reliability, but it is genuinely a comfy bike that will take you across many foreign borders (and back) and then ask you: what’s next?

Photograph taken by Wil Collins Photography, Alexandra Palace London