Figured it out (S1000RR vs R6)

[notbike]

tl;dr for those who saw the meltdown thread where I pined over my sold R6, it was the footpegs on the S1K that were actually too short and it "handles" as good as/better than the R6. I now have a track day coming up.

So since I bought the S1000RR I slowly (then quickly) started to regret it on the grounds that "it doesn't handle like my R6 or like 600s do".

I posted a thread here losing my actual mind and was extremely close to jacking in the S1000RR for another R6 13S (2008-2016), but luckily the dealership had too much trouble finding an underwriter to part-ex my bike for the R6 so I gave up on that.

At first I thought it was suspension related so I toyed with softer/harder settings, made no difference.

Then thought it was the tyres themselves so I replaced those. It did make a positive difference although it was probably more of a placebo effect.

I was able to lean lower into corners with more confidence but was still getting to the limit because the traction light would go spastic when I'd push it. Body position still felt completely unnatural and forced, very uncomfortable.

Then I realised it might be the rearsets, so I adjusted these. The previous owner had them on -1 (lower) to make it more comfy so I jacked it up to 0, which is stock, then +1 which is higher than stock. +1 sucked, 0 seemed perfect. Seemed to improve a little bit.

Also tried adjusting front and back position and found that front, or stock position was perfect as-is so I left that alone.

So at that stage I felt that I finally had my feet in the right position but still somehow felt completely cramped and unable to really maneuver properly around the tank.

Stuck with it this way for a good few months (still very much disliking the bike) and then realised the problem was that I could not turn my outside leg away from the bike with enough room to weight the outside peg.

Instead my outside leg would be high on the ball of my foot and I'd be stamping down as hard as I could just to give me enough room to be able to hang off and not fall off the bike. This would make it really weak/tired really quickly and felt really unnatural.

Fast forward to a week ago I learned by posting on the S1000RR Facebook group that the stock rearsets come with 100mm footpegs.

The spec on the footpegs for the HP rearsets is 82mm. That's almost 2cm less room for my foot.

Contacted Gilles who supply parts for the HP rearsets and got the 5mm spacers and the foldable pegs. Combined these measure 96mm, so close to stock.

As soon as I put these on I can get both knees down anywhere again and the bike feels exactly like the R6 felt, ridiculously stable at any speed and any lean angle in any gear. The way I tested this was by getting knee down at 20mph into a Tesco's car park slip-road thing and other stupid places where it's narrow and this shouldn't be possible.

The whole time all that was wrong was that I didn't actually have any room to move my legs around the tank without them getting very tired.

I'm just posting this update in case anyone else sees my old thread and is put off upgrading to a 1000 because their 600 handles better. Now I've figured it out I can never go back to a 600. This thing is a pure upgrade from the R6 in every way and I'm glad this shit is finally put to bed. I actually thought there was something wrong with the bike, but there isn't.

I wasn't going to do track days on this bike until I fully sorted out the problems that were eluding me and driving me insane, but now I've got Brands Hatch booked for the 22nd of August. Really curious to see how the bike behaves compared to the R6 on the same track.

[chickenstrip]

Good to hear, would have been an expensive mistake if it had turned out you were never going to get along with it. Funny how sometimes such a simple thing can make a big difference like that, who would've thought?
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[P.]

I'm just waiting for the update where the engine has lunched itself after cracking a valve and it dropping in.

[notbike]

Yeah I'm shocked they make the footpegs on rearsets so bloody short. It's as if they were designed by midgets with size 6 feet. I didn't realise that such a small thing could make such a massive difference to the point I actually hated riding the bike.

@Paddy lol don't start to worry me now... I'm not aware of issues like that with these bikes

[Fin]

Glad to hear it's sorted and I'll admit your thread did put me off the S1000rr a little bit. In my mind it was the best bike for power and handling and I was surprised to hear otherwise.


I hope to get one some day although I've despised BMW since buying my car last year

[P.]

[notbike]

[MCN]

[MCN]

[Evotion]

Thanks, that is incredibly interesting and informative.
It just shows how important actual setup is for each individual rider.
I am just running in a new track bike and this is one thing I need to look at quickly.

I can already see that I will change the pegs for ones more rounded off for better grip on the edge.

It will take a while to get the sets and suspension setup right but worth it in the end.

[stevo as b4]

[P.]

I think if I had to buy a litre bike that wasn't one of the big four... I'd buy the Aprilia.

Why, because V4. IL4 is great, but a V4, hmm.

That said, I like my bikes to be pretty reliable and I would buy the Aprilia WITH something else AND have to be earning well into 6 figures before considering one.

[notbike]

@MCN Cheers for the additional tips. You got a point there RE suspension. I haven't messed with the settings. Slick felt too stiff but Race feels just right at the moment for road riding.

I will be slapping it into slick mode on track which is noticeably more stiff to see how it runs. I am actually planning to get my suspension set up by the guy who did my R6 before. He transformed that bike and will likely transform this bike.

I just haven't pushed this bike to the limit yet to see where the suspension will start to mess with me. I reckon after a few sessions at track any dodgy suspension issues might show up on the tyres.

Even if all is good, I might just get it checked over anyway.

@Evotion Yeah definitely change your pegs if they're being a hassle and especially if they're rounded off. Might transform your bike. Mine were also so worn out that my foot once slipped when I was trying to be a roundabout hero (frantically practicing knee downs when they felt completely sketchy). Ended up falling half ass off the bike while it was pointing in a straight line but managed to clear the exit thankfully, that shit me up. In fairness, I could've just loosened them, rotated them, and tightened them back up. There would've been fresh grip from the unused section on the underside, but hindsight is a bitch.

@Stevo I'd go for the BMW but that's me being biased. I did ride an F3 800 though and it felt raw as hell in comparison to the very much refined S1K. Haven't rode an Aprilia yet.

[chickenstrip]

[B0ndy]

Man gotta get myself a s1000 one day, can't control myself on an old R1 so not sure how much self control is required for one of those though
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CBF 125 -> CB400SF -> GSX600F -> ZX6R (G1) -> GSXR1000 K4 -> ZX6R (B1H Stunt bike) -> VFR800 -> R1 5PW -> Sprint 1050 -> Fireblade 929 -> ZX10R C2H -> GSXR1000 K3

[notbike]

Thought I'd upload a couple of pics on how the track day turned out.

I felt a lot faster than on my R6, without tripping traction control before anyone says muh electronics.

https://i.imgur.com/n1PdZ6i.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/dFtBEVI.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gSuZhcM.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZYkXnXI.jpg

[Pigeon]

[notbike]