• Welcome to the new B.I.R.D. Forum. Please be sure to read the "New Member / New Registered ? Please Read" thread in the Coffee Shop. This contains some important information. To become a full member ( £5.90 a year ) simply click on your user name near the top on the right I hope you enjoy the new site ................ Jaws ( John )

Interesting First proper ride on the MP3

Jaws

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Went to the Ace cafe today, had breakfast and then moved on to High Beach in Epping, about 200 miles in total as we came back through some lovely twisty roads

1) It certainly keeps up with motorway traffic ( easily ) though it does not accelerate particularly well !
2) At motorway speeds it is not exactly economic, average 42mpg, and with a tank only 14ltrs in size that could be a problem on the continent !
3) The suspension is...shall we say on the firm side . I think my kidneys are on the A1368 in Essex .....
4) Brakes started off feeling awful.. but by the end of the ride they had bedded in nicely and had quite good stopping power
5) It rained ( hard ) for about 10 minutes.. amazingly I stayed bone dry.. The only water that landed on me was on my bash hat, and then not a lot
6) Riding position.. Too early to make a meaningful comment as it takes time and a couple of thousand miles for the body to get used to any new bike, but I did have a back ache after about 150 miles or so.
7) The seat.. after about 60 miles it started to get uncomfortable.. And I LIKE hard seats .. To my mind it is poorly shaped, far too narrow at the front, which means more pressure on the coccyx and upper bum cheeks
Though again its early to pass judgement really.... though as soon as I got home I fitted my sheepskin seat cover
8) Lighting. the headlights are more than adequate as is the tail light, but the indicators are 'on trend'.. small and LED. How effective they are remains to be seen, but they are almost identical to those fitted on the 1200 GS and they are ok, so perhaps I am worrying over bugger all
9) Handling... Considering it is basically a scooter with small wheels it was quite a revelation and felt sure footed and planted. In fact it was TOO easy to forget what I was riding and had to reign it in on the twisty back roads inn case I over cooked it.. No, I could not keep up the the three 1200 GS LC's I was riding with, but that was power related not cornering.. In fact I had the advantage one time ( only one time ) when the apex of a sweeper turned in to gravel.. The 3 wheels came in to play and I barely felt a slip, the others had a bit of a brown trouser moment :)

What do I think after the longer test ride ..
For me it should REALLY have a bigger tank..
The seat could definitely be wider
Power delivery was good and just about adequate. I should think much above 70(ish ahem ) it would be gutless
While we took in an old runway ( that is my story and sticking to it ) I did see 105mph on the speedo so maybe a genuine 90mph

But over all ? Yes.. I am happy enough with it and will be using it to go to Lake Garda ( though not in a day like on the Bird !)

Would I recommend a 500 MP3 Sport?
Not if you still comfortable riding and manoeuvring a 'normal' bike at standstill..
But for me, due to age and a brain fart leaving my right side a bit weak, it has extended by ability to ride for a few years . No problem riding anything, but once stopped I knew I was a liability ..Mates were happy to help and move my bike around for me, but no matter what they said I felt it was an imposition .. The MP3 has completely removed that issue. stop, lock the suspension and just wheel it about without any fear of dropping it.
If like me, you have possible issues when manoeuvring but want to carry on doing what you want to do, then yes.. go for it.
 

Pow-Lo

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Let's see a few piccies then!

Glad you can keep on riding John. Was quite sad to see you'd had to let the Panzer go.
 

Jaws

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Let's see a few piccies then!

Glad you can keep on riding John. Was quite sad to see you'd had to let the Panzer go.
Not half as sad as me Paul :(
Especially when like today I am out with the lads and watching MY gs leave me in the dust
Will sort out pics mate, but it is just the same as all the rest ( apart from a back box which does not exactly enhance it ! )
 

Pow-Lo

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Not half as sad as me Paul :(
Especially when like today I am out with the lads and watching MY gs leave me in the dust
Will sort out pics mate, but it is just the same as all the rest ( apart from a back box which does not exactly enhance it ! )
Apart from nasty tendonitis in my right elbow, which has only just started to heal, I'm in pretty good order and I occasionally find my GS A a handful. She's nearly caught me out a couple of times; if I didn't spend so much time in the gym, I'd have dropped her for sure.

I'm wondering if this new beast of yours will invigorate you and have you back on another GS by next summer. Stranger things have happened..................
 

andyBeaker

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Not half as sad as me Paul :(
Especially when like today I am out with the lads and watching MY gs leave me in the dust
Will sort out pics mate, but it is just the same as all the rest ( apart from a back box which does not exactly enhance it ! )
Were there any good cars at The Ace??
 

sr71caspar

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Re the tank range... is there enough room under the seat for a can of petrol?
 

Minkey

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it is good to see you can carry on riding if not on your first choice bike
 

ianrobbo1

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It's good you seem happy' ish with the new bike John, and hope it continues to grow on you, I've been practicing getting on and off the Biffer, getting pretty good at it so far, if it does prove too much I'll be looking at something like yours. but at the moment I can't get this bloody thing MOT'd, back brake light switch failed, so got a replacement, that's so tight Yvo had to adjust it, in the meantime I got a Hydraulic switch, that arrived with the wrong pitch screw and won't fit so is going back tomorrow.
 

Jaws

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Were there any good cars at The Ace??
No Andy.. no cars at all.. It was ( of all things ! )Polish bikers day.. even had a polish rock band which was bloody amazing !
 

Jaws

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Apart from nasty tendonitis in my right elbow, which has only just started to heal, I'm in pretty good order and I occasionally find my GS A a handful. She's nearly caught me out a couple of times; if I didn't spend so much time in the gym, I'd have dropped her for sure.

I'm wondering if this new beast of yours will invigorate you and have you back on another GS by next summer. Stranger things have happened..................
Mybe, but I have been told by the quacks that what I gat is now pretty much what I am stuck with ,,, could have been worse mate.. Grateful for what I got :)
 

Jaws

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Re the tank range... is there enough room under the seat for a can of petrol?
Plenty of room.. but not on a camping trip across to Italy casper.. bike will be loaded up as it is..
But I am gonna spend some time looking to minimise what I take this time
 

Jaws

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it is good to see you can carry on riding if not on your first choice bike
Yep.. thanks Minkey.
I reckon if I had tried to carry on I would have ended up sort of avoiding riding cos I would have always been worried about dropping it ( on my foot !!! ) again
 

Jaws

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It's good you seem happy' ish with the new bike John, and hope it continues to grow on you, I've been practicing getting on and off the Biffer, getting pretty good at it so far, if it does prove too much I'll be looking at something like yours. but at the moment I can't get this bloody thing MOT'd, back brake light switch failed, so got a replacement, that's so tight Yvo had to adjust it, in the meantime I got a Hydraulic switch, that arrived with the wrong pitch screw and won't fit so is going back tomorrow.
All I can say is keep at it Yin... I still live in hope the specialists are wrong, but I guess at nearly 70 the years are agin me as well
 

derek kelly

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I just don’t see how you can ride one of those things.
 

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Cougar377

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Plenty of room.. but not on a camping trip across to Italy casper.. bike will be loaded up as it is..
But I am gonna spend some time looking to minimise what I take this time
Trailer.? :couch:
 

Pow-Lo

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Mybe, but I have been told by the quacks that what I gat is now pretty much what I am stuck with ,,, could have been worse mate.. Grateful for what I got :)
I wouldn't be too quick to accept that prognosis if I were you. Doctors told a young Hoolio Iglesias that he'd be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life when he was injured in a car crash which left him paralysed from the waist down. Señor Iglesias disagreed and, well, I've never seen him a wheelchair. Have you?

Just sayin'.
 

Cougar377

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+1 on that.

Doctors are not god (despite what they might believe) and they can only give you a statistical probability of your future health, so I'd take it with a big pinch of salt. Any prognosis is based on a "look up table" for a man of your age and condition with this or that ailment/disease/injury. There's a lot of lazy doctors out there who are too afraid to say "you can achieve more" just in case they get sued. One thing you'll notice in the vast majority of cases is that at the start of any rehabilitation program no-one asks you what your fitness, health and lifestyle were before your injury. They just treat you as an "average" and aim any treatment and prognosis accordingly. It's lazy and counter-productive.

Don't fall into the "witch doctor syndrome"....set your own goals and prove them wrong. (y)
 
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andyBeaker

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I wouldn't be too quick to accept that prognosis if I were you. Doctors told a young Hoolio Iglesias that he'd be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life when he was injured in a car crash which left him paralysed from the waist down. Señor Iglesias disagreed and, well, I've never seen him a wheelchair. Have you?

Just sayin'.
I have never seen him in a wheelchair.

Probably as I have never seen him at all.

:p
 

Jaws

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I wouldn't be too quick to accept that prognosis if I were you. Doctors told a young Hoolio Iglesias that he'd be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life when he was injured in a car crash which left him paralysed from the waist down. Señor Iglesias disagreed and, well, I've never seen him a wheelchair. Have you?

Just sayin'.
Oh I know only too well and to be honest, apart from surgeons, I have little faith in the medical profession.
Aged 40 I was diagnosed with advanced osteoarthritus in both knees and chronic asthma.. Knees turned out to be caused my big muscles above the joint pushing the kneecaps down, and as for asthma !
 
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