[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

My intentions were that obvious eh?

I was looking at options and this feedback is very confidence inspiring - will take a decision around Feb as Jan and Feb budget plan has already overshot my earnings

I mean the big hint was the discussion in your thread about possible exhaust options. Also, I firmly maintain that these bikes need to be able to sing to the potential they have. It's a shame it's quietened down a lot from the factory, even more so for newer bikes.

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Congratulations Krishna for the 40K milestone. The iteration of R1 which you have is hands down awesome. Also, the way you have maintained the decade old beauty is just fabulous. Its always a pleasure to read your updates.

Happy and safe riding buddy

Thanks a ton for the kind words, Abhi. I too agree with you among the R1 generations to date the '08 model and the '12-14 are the ones I love the most with the '12-14 being my personal favorite.

Also loved the Street Triple thread I used to follow it regularly till you sold the striple and of course now I am following your Multi thread too. Keep em coming

Cheers
Krishna

[krishnaprasadgg]

It's almost a month since the last post. I barely got any time to ride the bike the last month.

It was also about time to do the oil change on the R1, the last one being done at about 36k km. I still had a good 300-400 km to go before it was time but since Xaos636 also wanted to get a routine service done on his blade we decided to make a ride out of it and rode to Cochin to meet our close friends to hang out and also work on the bikes together. I keep saying this, nothing beats the feeling and the good times had hanging out with friends while working on bikes/cars.

We started our trip early morning met up at around 4 am and headed out to Cochin.

No trip is complete to Cochin without our customary tea break at Paliyekkara toll plaza.

Also, a stop at Salkara near the airport is also a staple now. Had a heavy breakfast as we were pretty early compared to our usual schedule and both of us were pretty hungry too.

After the heavy breakfast, we slowly made it to our friend's house.

After an hour or so of chitchat, we started on our work. The list of work we had set for the R1 was pretty standard and has been covered multiple times in detail on this thread so will be just posting some photos and won't get into too much details.

Cleaned out the air filter. Have a look at the amount of dust that came out of the filter, this is just after maybe 2500-3000kms of riding.

Shows how dusty conditions we live in.

Replaced the Radiator cap which was giving the coolant drain issue from the previous posts, the R1 was running on a temporary fix but ordered the OE radiator cap and sorted out the problem for good.

Oil change is being done. Always remember to pre-fill oil in your new oil filter while doing an oil change.

Also replaced the oil filler cap, I noticed that the old oil filler cap had a small oil weep which was caused by a pinched o ring, so ordered a new oil cover cap and o ring and sorted the issue for good.

Back then as a temporary resolution, we had applied a small layer of rtv around the filler cap and the mating surface to stop any seepage. We did make sure to clean the old rtv off the mating surface(a new cap was installed) before we did the permanent fix.

Taking routine care of the clutch/throttle cables is also a good idea. Here are a few pics of oiling and lubing the clutch cable components.

Lastly, the chain slack was adjusted, thanks to the Lightech chain adjuster it's literally a 1-minute job and the rear axle nut tightened back to spec.

That's 150nm so the big boy torque wrench was taken out.

That's about it for the routine maintenance. The R1 is ready for another 5k km stint.

Fueled up the bikes later that night and was all ready for the ride back home the next day.

Here are a few pics from the return ride the next day.

Customary ODO meter shot to end the post.

Cheers
Krishna

[krishnaprasadgg]

A few days back marked the 4th anniversary of making the R1 my own. While the feeling of owning my dream big has mostly sunk in. There are still fleeting moments where I wonder how, a couple of years back all this felt unachievable.

So considered marking the 4th year of ownership with a solo short ride. I Rode until Thrissur and coincidentally ran into a couple of friends who were also about on their Sunday rides.

As luck would have it got the chance to experience the Panigale V4 for the first time. This is my first outing with a V4 configuration engine and if my love for cross-plane engines is to go by on paper (and through countless YouTube videos) I was sure I would love it and of course, I loved it.

The most obvious part for me was how light and tiny these new bikes have become. Maneuverability once on the move is just you think and the bike will react level of responsibility. Loved it!!!

The bike just masks speed on a level that was alien to me to date, don't get me wrong, the R1 is blisteringly fast but after getting used to riding liter class vehicles you come to learn that the R1 provides a sense of drama throughout the rpm range, while the newer bikes hide speed very very well, by taking you to unmentionable speeds like its cruising at 100kmph on the highway without the rider even realizing this, the thrill of being on a fire breathing dragon makes you forget some basic survival instincts I tell ya, that's what I felt different in the newer gen 10R how amazingly well they masked the speed, the V4 was on a different league with this, rock-solid stability maybe that's the wing in action(?), I'm not sure I am skilled enough to accurately chalk it to that, but sure did feel like it.

The next part was brakes, Oh man how I love me some aggressive and super responsive brakes on the bikes I ride and this has been the best so far! Now I realize my hunt for a similar braking performance on the R1 will continue for years to come.

Now, about the drama part I mentioned about the R1, I think I can explain it a bit further, the R1 is as raw as it can be with only a rudimentary TCS system to call for electronic assists, while the Panigale gets anything and everything under the Sun that you could imagine, maybe that's why the bike makes you feel like a riding God when you are on the bike in motion.

Funnily enough, I didn't feel scared riding the Panigale, but the R1 still scares me to date. 4 years in and still that feeling? I'm glad, I would credit that feeling of being responsible for me still being around kicking, because if not these machines are so easy to make you feel you can do no wrong and all that power on your right wrist can corrupt your mind very easily. And for that, I'm grateful to the R1 for being my guardian angel of sorts by keeping me in line. Hoping for many many more years of good times with the R1.

Customary ODO & Trip meter shot at the end of the ride

Cheers
Krishna

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

Funnily enough, I didn't feel scared riding the Panigale, but the R1 still scares me to date. 4 years in and still that feeling? I'm glad

Wouldn't that equate to more fun in the R1 than the modern superbikes, on our kind of rides? Unless you get roads were the Panigale can be truly unleashed?

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Wouldn't that equate to more fun in the R1 than the modern superbikes, on our kind of rides? Unless you get roads were the Panigale can be truly unleashed?

I do feel like that, while I’m not insinuating in any way the other bikes are less fun but the raw nature of the r1 i feel keeps me a bit more grounded at the same time. I do realise this might sound as contradicting words as well, but im finding it hard to put it in the right words. While the 10r and Panigale inspires a lot more confidence and security where its easy to feel overconfident. These bike allows the rider to get away with a lot lot more.
In some twisted way that way a ride on the r1 makes me feel more involved. In no way am i saying that as a negative on the newer bikes. They are still epic to ride, i just love riding the R1 more. I guess a good amount of bias is also there.

Cheers
Krishna

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

..While the 10r and Panigale inspires a lot more confidence and security where its easy to feel overconfident. These bike allows the rider to get away with a lot lot more.

I think this statement puts things well in perspective. My affair with the R1 was short lived for the exact reason. Main reason was that I moved from the fabulous '14 RSV4 factory to the '10 R1. The confidence and the sense of control the RSV4 gave me even with busted fork seals and a set of (comparatively VFM) Vredestein tyres were far far superior to my fully restored R1 with Metzler M7rr tyres, on which I plainly lacked any confidence on my familiar and regular twisties. The R1 is a perfectly fine machine and I love the raw nature of it. But for my type of riding it was too aggressive and heavy footed.

[Venkatesh.C]

I do feel like that, while I’m not insinuating in any way the other bikes are less fun but the raw nature of the r1 i feel keeps me a bit more grounded at the same time. I do realise this might sound as contradicting words as well, but im finding it hard to put it in the right words

Maybe its like a horse rider respecting the beast and the beast respecting the rider back. Ride it with respect and it gives you a ride to last a life time!

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

I think this statement puts things well in perspective. My affair with the R1 was short lived for the exact reason. Main reason was that I moved from the fabulous '14 RSV4 factory to the '10 R1. The confidence and the sense of control the RSV4 gave me even with busted fork seals and a set of (comparatively VFM) Vredestein tyres were far far superior to my fully restored R1 with Metzler M7rr tyres, on which I plainly lacked any confidence on my familiar and regular twisties. The R1 is a perfectly fine machine and I love the raw nature of it. But for my type of riding it was too aggressive and heavy footed.

Agility and quick footedness were always a forte for the Italians/German bikes for a long time. Japs have taken it to heart more recently. That's why I mention the newer 10r, I didn't mention the newer gen Japs because I haven't ridden the last gen Blade or R1 but those who have had the most to say about how much slimmer and quicker on its feet the bikes have become. Again, it's not like the older Japanese bikes lacked all this, they have just become so much better at this that it takes you by surprise. Now waiting for the time I get to experience the RSV4 too. In good time or till the next time we meet

In your case, once you got used to that level of lightness going back was always going to leave a want for more in your mind. Luckily for me, it was just a slight taste and I am so used to the heft of the R1, that my wallet did take a sigh of relief even though it was sweating quite a bit when the test ride was being done.

Originally Posted by Venkatesh.C

Maybe its like a horse rider respecting the beast and the beast respecting the rider back. Ride it with respect and it gives you a ride to last a life time!

Yes and No. While these bikes let you get away with a lot, external factors are out of the bike's control anyway. So respect for the ride is one thing, any lack of respect for the surroundings will most likely be the beginning of very very bad days ahead or worse a quick one-way ticket upstairs.
Man, that took a dark turn very fast!

Cheers
Krishna

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

I do feel like that, while I’m not insinuating in any way the other bikes are less fun but the raw nature of the r1 i feel keeps me a bit more grounded at the same time. I do realise this might sound as contradicting words as well, but im finding it hard to put it in the right words. While the 10r and Panigale inspires a lot more confidence and security where its easy to feel overconfident. These bike allows the rider to get away with a lot lot more.
In some twisted way that way a ride on the r1 makes me feel more involved. In no way am i saying that as a negative on the newer bikes. They are still epic to ride, i just love riding the R1 more. I guess a good amount of bias is also there.

Cheers
Krishna

My experience with the S1000RR is exactly the same. They are so well engineered and confidence inspiring. You will be faster on a more modern bike, but more involved and thrilled on the R1. If its the speed, modern bikes, if it the feel and adrenaline, older school bike.

CHEERS!!
Rachit

[V0rtex]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

Thanks a lot, the feeling is surreal. What can I say, even now each time I walk up to my parking space it feels like a dream that the bike actually belongs to me, it might wear off in time but I am in no hurry and I enjoy these small moments a lot.

It is a 2013 bike, so it should be BS3 compliant. I had no issues or concerns raised by the RTO while getting it transferred to my name. The vehicle has FC till 2028 so the vehicle can be sold and ownership transferred/re-registered(in case of sale out of state) up until that point, you shouldn't face any problem till then. Now in 2028 whether they will be ready to provide FC for the bike again is something I am not sure.

Cheers
Krishna

Was there any modifications done to the bike. Would that affect that transfer of ownership. In Kerala the MVD is very strict about keeping your vehicles stock.

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by V0rtex

Was there any modifications done to the bike. Would that affect that transfer of ownership. In Kerala the MVD is very strict about keeping your vehicles stock.

The bike was bone stock when I got it. Of course, a spare set of Leo Vince slip-ons was also part of the vehicle purchase.
All my mods are road-legal so to speak, even the Akra slip-on is street-legal, how cops see it in each state is a different thing altogether. But the general idea is, to treat the cops with respect and try not to be a smart guy and you'll be surprised at how understanding and appreciative cops can be.
Yes, even Kerala cops and MVD officials. I say this from experience.

So don't let the thought of cops deter you from doing functional mods.

Cheers
Krishna

[V0rtex]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

The bike was bone stock when I got it. Of course, a spare set of Leo Vince slip-ons was also part of the vehicle purchase.
All my mods are road-legal so to speak, even the Akra slip-on is street-legal, how cops see it in each state is a different thing altogether. But the general idea is, to treat the cops with respect and try not to be a smart guy and you'll be surprised at how understanding and appreciative cops can be.
Yes, even Kerala cops and MVD officials. I say this from experience.

So don't let the thought of cops deter you from doing functional mods.

Cheers
Krishna

Honestly I understand why the cops are strict in Kerala. It is because of a few people that put these ridiculously loud and annoying exhausts in their scooters, duke 125, ns etc.. that the cops have been strict about exhausts.

If you get caught by the MVD for an exhaust, I don't think that there's anything you can do to escape from the punishment. Have you had any trouble with cops because of the exhaust. An exhaust change would be the first change that I'd do to any bike, it makes a hell of a difference.

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by V0rtex

Honestly, I understand why the cops are strict in Kerala. It is because of a few people that put these ridiculously loud and annoying exhausts in their scooters, duke 125, ns etc.. that the cops have been strict about exhausts.

Precisely, when you tend to do things just to show off and be a general nuisance to others on the road, the authorities or even the general public are never going to stand with you or appreciate you. At the same time, try being respectful and slip under the radar, and the experience is the polar opposite by said parties.

Originally Posted by V0rtex

If you get caught by the MVD for an exhaust, I don't think that there's anything you can do to escape from the punishment. Have you had any trouble with cops because of the exhaust. An exhaust change would be the first change that I'd do to any bike, it makes a hell of a difference.

You'd be surprised.
I have been stopped multiple times on the R1 and the Tiger. Mostly just normal checkpoint stops. I never antagonize the cops or the officer, answer to them respectfully if they call you out on anything, accept gracefully, and show an understanding that they are also there to do a job. Arguing or teaching them the "law," as you see it, is never met with a welcoming smile.

I have passed through numerous checkpoints throughout Kerala and even in Bangalore city, and I have yet to face any issue. I don't rev my bike and make noise deliberately, in the city I mind my own business and putter along drawing as less attention as I can and I don't engage in ego clashes that bait you to do stupid things where you are caught in an incriminating situation.

I will take this chance to put out a situation I had in Cochin on a Sunday morning while I was on the Tiger, it had the arrow exhaust on and all the touring accessory support brackets(no panniers or top box) on it and I was fully kitted out. I was flagged at the bottom of a flyover, and 2 cops came running apart from the officer who pulled me over and started accusing me of not stopping at a previous checkpoint and that I ran away from them. I politely greeted them and told them they might have been mistaken as I did not pass through any checkpoint. I filled them in on my route and told them I was traveling from Palakkad to Cochin. They did not agree and told me I should not lie as the consequences would be dire. I reiterated that they are welcome to radio the officers at the previous checkpoint and cross-verify whether the bike or rider description is the same. I have not passed the said checkpost they were talking about.

This seemed to calm them down a bit, and they again stated that it had been reported to the higher-ups that the vehicle would be impounded, and I'd have to report to Cochin on short notice at any time. To which I said no issues; I am willing to wait for any amount of time to clear up the confusion. After 15 minutes of waiting, the officers had fully calmed down, and we chatted about the bike, its cost, and where I got it. Why I was t Cochin, by that time, the officers at the other checkpost had communicated that it was indeed a white bike(Tiger was white). Still, it had no number plates on and had a pillion along with some colorful helmets and were dressed in t-shirts and jeans. Clearly, they understood that I was speaking the truth and by then the amped-up officers had cooled down and we were having a friendly chat, they apologized for the inconvenience to which I responded by saying I understood the nature of their job and I was not inconvenienced at the slightest and I moved on.

So there is nothing special about being Kerala (I am a Native myself) cops or MVD apart from the fact that they are just doing their job and are expected to hit quotas almost like they are salesmen, while that doesn't warrant fake penalties some bad apples don't represent the entire force. But when the offender/citizen gets in their face, tries to be the wise man, and starts antagonizing them, they can put you in a spot of bother. So be respectful and move on; if you are penalized at the end of the day for an aftermarket exhaust(road legal or not), accept it, pay the fine, and move ahead.

So moral of the story is, that being nice and respectful can go a long way and things are not always as black and white as you might think.

Cheers
Krishna

[krishnaprasadgg]

All is not well with the R1.

Riding has been less, only a few 20kms round trip runs on Sundays just for the sake of keeping the bike running have happened since the last longer ride. And of this a couple of weeks back during one such day while trying to take the bike out it refused to crank up properly, almost like the battery wasn't charged up. The meter would switch off while cranking and the starter motor would go dead without getting juice. But this was not possible because the bike has been hooked on a battery tender the previous day and was fully topped up.

This started to give me signs that probably the battery is not able to handle load but it is still retaining charge.

Here is a video of what was happening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFw3Ea3qSmM

As you can see the meter goes off, and the starter motor does not have enough juice to crank the engine.

I wanted to check the volt readings but my multimeter was packed away somewhere and me being lazy I put it off and 2 weeks had passed, and yesterday I finally fished it out. Mind you the bike has not been on a battery charger for these 2 weeks. I didn't hook it up to a charger before the test yesterday because I wanted to test the resting volt before and after fully charging the battery

So, I got out the multimeter and checked the battery volt and it sat at a healthy 12.6 V. And then hooked up the battery charger and the battery was fully charged in about 1-2 hours. So I am assuming it has not lost too much charge over the 2 weeks.

Then I began the test, I checked the voltage and it was again 12.6V and then I proceeded to check the volts while cranking to see how far it dropped, the first time I checked it dropped to less than 6V but I could not manage to get it on video, I assumed I had hit record but hadn't. So I try again and here is the result

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHfWljr1q_A

As you can see it goes to 8.xx V as the lowest value.

Now since I have a Battery Jump Pack I hook it up to the battery, which btw is a bit of a bother, the rider seat and the plastic panel on the subframe need to come off and the battery needs to be taken out of its resting cavity so that I can hook up the alligator clamps onto the terminals.

When I hooked the jumper pack up and cranked the bike cranked right up, no resetting of the meter happened, and a very normal voltage drop too. Here is the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_51MNRnXbk

Now the next step I just wanted to check the condition of the charging system to see how much the volts read when revving the bike and to rule out overcharging and any potential damage to the stator coil or RR unit.

Here is the output with short blips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fj4SZotCUY

Later I left the bike idling for about 20 minutes and returned back and checked the readouts while revving it past 3k rpm since that's the rpms above which the battery actually gets charged(I think, correct me if I am wrong here)

And this was the output

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NA_TRhrbqk

Don't mind the sudden drop that was because the probes on the multimeter got a bit loose, it was tough to handle recording holding the probes, and revving with just me trying to do all of them.

Anyway, to sum it up, I think a new battery is in order, the Varta I have been using is almost 2 years old since fitment and now it's starting to let go. I have ordered its replacement, and this time I chose the BS BTZ10S SLA. This has a higher CCA of 190A as opposed to the 150 of the Varta TTZ10S I was running.

In between all these tests, I also noticed that one side of the battery had started to bulge. Which was alarming. Good that I actually noticed it.

Won't be risking using this battery anymore, I should be getting the replacement battery in a day or two and will repeat all these tests again post-installation and will report the findings here.

The reason I am checking this again is because of the readouts the battery gave when the bike was revved above 3k rpms, Ideally, it should have been 13.8 or slightly higher, that's the optimum reading for a healthy charging system I have been told. which was not seen, so that leads me to think maybe the charging system is also being strained because of the battery and. could be on its way out. After all, it is an 11-year-old bike at this point. So need to do some more detailed voltmeter checks at the pinouts of the Stator coil and RR unit. But no point in checking that with a bust battery, so will wait until I have the new battery in place and fully functional. There is also a possibility that I am overthinking this and the readout was slightly low because of the battery being bust alone. That doubt also can be cleared once the new battery is here anyway. So the bike will be out of commission up until that point.


P.S: The lack of Li batteries availability in the country right now is very very infuriating, alas not much that can be done from the looks of it.

Cheers
Krishna

[shankarbn]

It's a dead battery. There may be other issues but it is a dead battery nonetheless. When you replace the battery, pay close attention to the CCA rating on the battery and what your bike needs - IME Varta batteries are very low compared to Yuasa in the same segment. You do not *need* a lithium ion or lipo battery. Just get a good battery.

If the bike does not start with a new battery, that's when you start checking the rest of the electrical bits and bobs.

When you do check the starter and RR unit, please do yourself a favour - replace cables and check for corrosion in connection points before you throw away money on brand new parts you may not need.