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Old 22nd June 2021, 13:29   #1
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Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

How do I start this! I think there is a long story behind why it happened. I will try to keep it short but please excuse me if I fail, as there is years and years of solid day dreaming that has led to this. Some of you might know that I had a 2015 CBR650F. The ownership thread of that bike is here:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...page-12-a.html (A dream come true - My Honda CBR650F. EDIT: Track Day at BIC on page 12)

In its ownership thread, I had written that I wanted to buy an R1. I had the CBR for 5.5 years and had clocked 32K KMs. It was a wonderful ownership experience and I had no complaints from the bike. It had only minor nuances, but as a bike it suited my use case perfectly. After about a year of owning the CBR, my desire for an upgrade was big. Mostly because owning the CBR gave me access to friend’s litre class bikes and as expected, I was totally in awe. Over the years of owning the CBR, this desire actually subdued a bit. This desire was almost at it lowest when I switched the tyres on the CBR to Pirelli Diablo Rosso 3. Those tyres totally transformed the bike for me. They gave me so much confidence and I was getting a lot of satisfaction back from the CBR. It’s usability, fuss free ownership made it such a wonderful bike to own. In my head I was warming up to the idea that I don’t want an upgrade anymore. The litre class bikes were becoming more and more expensive and there was not much value to gain after spending so much more money over the CBR. I was not open to used bikes as I had not bought a used vehicle till that time. Plus the 650 felt just right for our conditions. If anything, I wanted a 636 because I felt, it is the sweet spot. Life was fine, moving slowly and there is nothing more I could ask for especially in the times we are in today.

One of my friends was looking for a bike. This bike came up at one of the dealers. When I saw the pictures first, I did some oohs and aahs and how much I would love to buy it, this being my dream bike for so long. If I can be honest, there is no other thing, person for which I must have spent so many sleepless nights. But I was not serious of buying it. Who in his right mind will buy a 10 year old bike with hardly any factory support, when he is so happy and content with what he already has. But then I got to know from friends, who this bike belonged too. This bike belonged to an Ex Yamaha India Head R&D. He has been quite known in the biking circles. The reason I mention this is because this was probably the single biggest reason I could gather the courage to even consider this. I suggested my friend to go and check this bike out. He is not a typical super sport kind of person and he loves the Busa.
When he saw the bike he was blown by how clean this bike was. Knowing who the owner of the bike was, I expected it wouldn’t be abused and should be kept fairly well. My friend was confused and the asking price was pretty high, so he wanted to negotiate. While this was on, I had this deep desire to go and look at the bike myself. I just felt, that somebody in our group should get it and it should not leave our hands. When I went to see the bike, I was blown too. This bike actually was very clean, had only done 14K Kms. It was running an Akra Slip on with DB killer, just the way I would have wanted it and had hardly any signs of age. Apart from this, the bike was largely stock. I knew R1s are not easy to ride and that is why I wanted to test ride the bike before even considering to buy it myself. It is different to make a bike your dream bike seeing some European reviews, it is altogether a different thing, that the bike works well in our conditions. So I took this bike out for short spin in narrow by lanes of East Delhi knowing very well in my heart this is not going to work. I am somebody who takes at least 5-6 rides on any litre class bike to get even remotely comfortable with it. I knew this will not work, I will go back home happily without any regret that I tried and more importantly my bank account intact.

Well, I was wrong!! In those 2-3 KMs, I don’t know how, I fell in love with it. How smooth the engine was, how nimble and agile it felt even on low speeds, the low end grunt and we all know about the exhaust note. When I reached the dealer back, I was red and blushing and I knew I am going to take a stupid decision. The dealer saw it on my face too and he knew that I will sell my kidneys if need be to buy this bike. Much to the disappointment of my friends, I hardly negotiated on price and the next day we brought her home. I was not buying a bike, I was buying a dream.

The first time I saw her:
Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0242-copy-2.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0243-copy-2.jpg

Bringing her home:

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-4a6ecd4156f0446fb681f21c9b318e45.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-a75bad3f03d64e6fb4f205847feef9c0.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-f90cee91e04c43e38170faf59c25aea4.jpg

The 2nd part of this story was selling my CBR and it was a tough one. My bike was really in top shape. I was blessed to have been able to keep it that way. Letting it go just didn’t feel right. But I needed the money to pay for the R1 and I don’t ride enough to justify 2 bikes. With a very heavy heart, I had to let it go. Although I am glad, a friends friend took it, who is going to ride and keep her well.


Now, when all this settled and it dawned on me what I had done, I started getting some jitters. I had bought my car and bike new. I had given them my best during the ownership, hence I was confident about everything working as expected. Smallest of the problems were sorted with best possible solutions. So I am used to a certain amount of confidence and a feeling of ‘It is mine’ with my vehicles. Suddenly I had a missile, whose history I didn’t knew, didn’t knew the condition of its internals, didn’t knew if everything was the way it should be and most importantly how to get it fixed if something did end up being wrong. I am very lucky to be blessed with an excellent friend circle and especially one of them is a genius with all things technical including mechanical, electrical and even computers. He is very hands on and works even on the engines of these machines. I pretty much bought this bike knowing I have his back.

I planned to give it a good thorough check up and a basic service to see what is what and I just hoped that we had made a good enough decision. We were told by the owner that the bike was recently serviced, had new tyres, battery and front forks were also recently serviced. My first couple of rides had gone well and I could only feel a couple of issues and challenges.

The front brakes were just not strong enough. They were downright scary for a bike of this calibre.
Because the front brakes were not strong, the rear brakes took more load of braking and they were pretty good. However, this bike not having ABS meant that the rear brakes would make the rear tyre slide at odd times and it was a pretty scary experience too.
The suspension was tuned to be on the firmer side by the previous owner as he is a larger man than me. This probably also compounded the rear tyre sliding under braking.
This bikes gets hot and I mean Ducati level hot. It just hates even moderate amounts of traffic.
The bike takes longer cranks after a week of rest while starting. Sometimes it takes 3-4 cranks to start up. The battery seems to be in good condition, not sure what is the reason. I have heard that R1 are finicky in this department.

Apart from these, rest everything felt good.
The plan of action was to open it up for inspection.
Get the Coolant flushed
Get the brakes checked
Switch to Stock suspension settings.
Planning for LED headlamps to reduce the load on the battery
I was so pleased with Diablo Rosso 3 tyres, that I wanted to switch to them even though existing michelins were fairly new. But no compromises on tyres for me especially for a bike of this calibre.


Since there is hardly any factory support, I will have to do a lot of DIY, which I had all the intentions for but no experience. So I was eager to start learning.

Me and one of my friends opened the bike and were pleasantly surprised to see how clean and well kept it was even from inside too. This did help my confidence a lot. We checked the air filter, it was a bit dry but in good condition. Since it was K&N, we just needed to lube it. We opened front brake callipers to check the pads condition. We cleaned them with brake cleaner and while doing it realised that there was not enough pressure on the pads probably. We put the pads back, pushed them and voila that fixed the front braking issue. I was so glad that we didn’t have to spend anything on it. So far so good.

Initial Inspection sessions
Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-8f5e3adffada49d5804cfe35791f8eda.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-f26be0fb19de41e8b87db3f792feba76.jpg

I then took the bike to Pathpavers and due to some last minute confusion ended up getting the 200 section rear tyre instead of 190, which I had actually planned. This bike being so agile, plus the profile of Rosso 3, I took the gamble that it might not hurt the handling negatively that much and I am glad, I was right. The bike still feels very easy to turn. Oil Changed, Air filter cleaned and then we flushed the coolant and put Engine Ice. However, I think because of some air pocket the full capacity of coolant didn’t go in. Bikes cooling performance has not improved much too. I think this is something we will have to look again into.

Bike getting serviced and coolant flushed at Pathpavers

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-97d73aaf92b044f8ba7a549ed65dc216.jpg

New Tyres
Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0397-copy.jpg

After about a couple of weekend rides, I started hearing some tak tak noise from the front on small slow speed bumps. I think it is from the cone set. Will have to get it checked. While working on the bike, I probably over tightened one of the nuts and the next day after a ride, there was a small crack around it. Well I guess, this is the price to pay to learn DIY. Will have to get some remedy done for it.

Some Pictures from the Initial few rides

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0547-copy-2.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0546-copy.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0545-copy.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0621-copy-2.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0352-copy-2.jpg

So what do I think of it now?? To be honest, my belief that litre class is a bit too much for our roads has become stronger. 600s are more satisfying to ride. The night before I actually took the leap, I kept thinking only 1 thing, if I didn’t buy it, I will probably regret it my entire life. I got a rare opportunity to buy my dream bike, which was in such a clean condition at a price which I could stretch too. I don’t think I could have asked for more. There were many things I considered like how will I maintain it, selling my CBR in that condition was foolish, do I even need it but in the end, I felt I will regret not buying it. This was the moment. If it wouldn’t have happened that day, it probably would have never happened again.

My small ode to Vale!!
Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0650-copy.jpg

Tank Pad and Tank Grips Installed. Also got Domino grips
Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0647-copy.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-272b4e97c75d474d9400d875df478aad.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-9f06814e53174918850885495ffbab5f.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-6f83349baacd4c6a8e6c17515e49f7b9.jpg


After a cleaning session:
Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0670-copy.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0671-copy.jpg

How is the R1 2010??
I don’t have loads of experience of riding different litre class bikes but I have ridden a few. Of them I have regular access to 4 litre class bikes and I have ridden them on quite a few occasions.
2007 Honda fire blade (Almost stock)
2013 GSXR (earlier tuned, now stock)
2013 ZX10R (Tuned)
2004 636 with some tasty mods like High Lift cams, full race exhaust. Feels almost like a litre class to ride.
By tuned here I mean they were running power commanders and an aftermarket map.

All these points are just keeping those bikes in reference.
1) Crossplane engine has a very different feel to it. It feels different to ride then a conventional inline 4.
2) This bike has a very instant bottom end and feeling or torque which is different to most inline 4 where power builds with revs. The way it shoots is addictive and scary too especially while coming out of corners. Thankfully the first 5% of the throttle is soft which makes it easier to modulate and ride smoothly.
3) Even though it has a very strong low end, it needs to be in the right gear for it. Surprisingly it rides more like a 600 where you need to keep it in the right gear. Because of this in the almost 1000 KMs I have ridden it, I have not seen the 6th gear and hardly seen the 5th gear too. If you shift up early, the power below 6K RPM feels dull and it feels like the bike is complaining. I think my friend summed it up nicely, its like a KTM390 at lower revs. It does not vibrate or shudder, but it makes you know that it’s not liking it. It’s not a fire blade or for that matter any of the other three that I had mentioned above. All those 3 bikes are easier to ride and not as fussy about the gear in which they are in.
4) Well, we all know this bike is FASTTT!! In my observation, it is scary fast but not brain freezing fast. My friends GSXR earlier with the tune, felt brain freezing fast. Now stock, it feels scary fast, but not brain freezing fast. My friends tuned 10R, feels brain freezing fast. This is what I like and I am glad, R1 is scary fast but not brain freezing. I could see the shift light on it at 12K revs. I don’t dare to take that 10R to 12K revs. This could also be because those bikes were running tunes and louder exhausts and some time that adds to the sensation of speed.
5) But to my surprise, the party piece of this bike is not the power, it is the handling. The handling of the R1 is sublime. It will not be an exaggeration if I say that this is most nimble, agile and easy to corner super sport that I have ridden including the latest 636. R1 almost feels like the Daytona 675 in the way it goes into corners. The suspension is on the stiffer side. We switched the suspension setting back to standard settings, which definitely helped the bike feel smoother on the ride and a bit more planted, however, it is still on the stiffer side. The bike has a very good connection with the road and grip information from the tyres come to you quite well.
6) It is committed in its riding position, but I think not as committed as the Daytona or that 2004 636. Good thing is the bike comes with 2 way adjustable foot pegs. Me being a shorter guy, raised them to the higher position and it definitely saved me some money from buying after market rear sets. I had those on my CBR.

7) For many people of my age, this will be the College Poster bike. When it was launched, many people were skeptical of its looks but over the years, I think people started liking it. To me, in this paint scheme, this bike is among the top few.
The fit and finish and the paint quality feels really good. It has held up all these years pretty well. The bike feels well put together.

Negatives:
1) This thing gets seriously hot. It needs a certain speed to be happy. It works well on early Sunday morning rides with comparatively lesser traffic on roads but anything less and you will be constantly looking at the temp gauge. One of the reason for this is also because the fan on the bike switches on at 105 degree celsius, which is too high. My talented friend is coming up with a DIY bypass mechanism to switch it on at lower temperatures.
2) This thing is a gas guzzler. It is a known fact that R1 are notoriously thirsty and well, Yes they are. I am getting around 12KMPL. Thank God for IOCL to launch the 95 octane fuel. I put in 100 octane fuel a couple of times and although the bike seemed to love it, at 160 Rs a litre I was crying.
Power delivery and gearing. This is not the easiest of the bikes to ride. Now I appreciate this on most days, because I wanted this learning curve. It is the learning curve that makes you ride attentively. But the fact remains, other inline 4s are easier to ride and probably easier to master in terms of power delivery.
3) No ABS. My tyre switch and the front brakes getting fixed solved the rear tyre skidding issue. However, it always plays in your mind that this bike does not have ABS. I am somebody who is mostly gentle on brakes and in my 32K KMs with the CBR, I hardly remember its ABS kicking in. But still, this is not a bike you can ride without paying attention and you always have to be aware of the road surface you are on.


Changes planned:
The bike didn’t have any tank pad or grips, I plan to put them on.
Switch to LED headlamps to reduce the load on the battery.
I am a sucker for tail tidy. I am still contemplating getting whether to get it or not. It looks good as it is too.
Re-do the coolant thing
By pass mechanism for the fan to switch on earlier.


To sum it up:
When I was about to buy the CBR, I was very clear in my mind that I wanted a bike that would scare me on the weekend rides, a bike that will look me in the face and tell me I am not man enough, a bike that will make me straight away go to sleep, tired after the weekend ride. Well, thanks to my sane friends, I ended up buying the CBR which was totally the opposite. But the CBR ownership was very crucial. It taught me so much about big bike ownership like their maintenance and upkeep, nuances, riding skills, reflexes training, technique and above all discipline to stay within your limits.

I have got that bike now and I feel on cloud nine. I was almost on the verge of giving up this dream and then I ended up with the biggest prize. The goal is to keep her for long. Maybe, hopefully forever, if not in riding state then maybe in the drawing room.

R1 feels really special and fun to ride. Its handling is just so good that it is to be experienced. It just shrinks around and hides its weight so well. The power and torque delivery are different and will take some time mastering and this is where I feel other litre class bikes are easier to master maybe. Thankfully the initial 5% of throttle is soft because of which you can smoothly modulate the torque and it does not get very jerky. But when you open the throttle it almost shoots instantly like a twin. This bike feels the most complaining at average cruise speeds than other bikes I have ridden. You need to maintain a certain pace to keep it in its sweet spot, but at that point this bike really feels special to ride.

Well in the end, all I can say is: Dreams do come true!!

Some more pics:
With //M's Tiger
Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-8aa3332dcb364e1e82a97c094d2c2308.jpg

With a sister:

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0675-copy.jpg

Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0677-copy.jpg

Somebody clicked this picture of me on the Gurgaon Faridabad road:
Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!-img_0687.png


Thank you
CHEERS!!

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 25th June 2021 at 11:38. Reason: Edited out those not forum friendly words.
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Old 22nd June 2021, 13:56   #2
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

@ Rachit,

you are a very lucky man. If you had not bought this, I would have bought it. I was checking out the Ducati 959 that Extreme Machines had and overlooked this gem.

Congratulations on this beauty. That is a sweet looking R1. One of my all time favs. I see its sister has the Termignoni pipes. That is a fantastic ride. Delhi has some hidden gems.

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 25th June 2021 at 11:40. Reason: Edited out not forum friendly word
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Old 22nd June 2021, 14:10   #3
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

Congratulations Rachit bhai once again for this. It was such an emotional day when we all got her home and I can never forget the happy smiles all around. And thank you for letting me ride one of my dream bikes whenever I want to and my god the power on this is addictive! Wishing you loads and loads of fuss free years and many many rides together.

Quote:
Originally Posted by no_fear View Post
I see its sister has the Termignoni pipes. That is a fantastic ride. Delhi has some hidden gems.
Sounds absolutely heavenly. Unfortunately, the owner is set to sail again so we wont be seeing her for a bit. And I must apologize to you since this is the ride this Sunday that I totally forgot to message you about.

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 25th June 2021 at 11:41. Reason: quoted post edited
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Old 22nd June 2021, 15:12   #4
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

Congratulations for acquiring something that really got many of our generation go weak in the knees. Have followed your CBR thread with avid interest as I made my own upgrades to the killer class (no pun intended. SBKs are a dangerous indulgence - the wiser me opines - but its still worth scratching the itch )
Have a great innings with the R1.
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Old 22nd June 2021, 15:17   #5
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

Congratulations Rachit. Looks pretty well maintained. Glad you could fulfill your R1 dream. Although i'm really sad to see your CBR go. Your ownership thread (and our private message conversations) were the biggest reasons i bought my CBR650 a couple of years ago. I'll let you enjoy the bike for a few months before bombarding you with my questions
Enjoy it and keep updating this thread.
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Old 22nd June 2021, 15:29   #6
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

Congrats Rachit, you got yourself one mean looking bike. R1 is one bike which pretty much almost all bike lovers adore, and probably always wanted to have in the garage at some point of time.

Good to see you trying your hands on DIY and saving money along with learning the finer details. This is true ownership experience.

Wish you many miles of happy and safe riding.
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Old 22nd June 2021, 15:39   #7
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by RohanDheman View Post
And I must apologize to you since this is the ride this Sunday that I totally forgot to message you about.
I was wondering where you vanished. No worries, now that lockdown is over, we can plan something. Let me know if you plan on a ride on Sunday.

@ Rachit - feel free to join us if you want to have a quick ride.
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Old 22nd June 2021, 15:54   #8
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

Many many Congratulations for what is every middle-aged enthusiast's boyhood dream.

The 2010 R1 looks immaculate and beautiful even when parked along side newer and sharper motorcycles. The shape will probably never get old, it is a future classic in my books for sure. Add to that the classic blue-white paintjob with bronze/golden wheels. This is truly a very very gorgeous acquisition !

It was great to see you ride the other day. While I was trailing you, I couldn't help but notice how confident you were looking with the R1 in the corners. The symphony was absolutely a visual treat. It felt as if you were united with a long lost cousin.
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Old 22nd June 2021, 23:38   #9
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by no_fear View Post
@ Rachit,

you are a very lucky man. If you had not bought this, I would have bought it. I was checking out the Ducati 959 that Extreme Machines had and overlooked this gem.

Congratulations on this beauty. That is a sweet looking R1. One of my all time favs. I see its sister has the Termignoni pipes. That is a fantastic ride. Delhi has some hidden gems.
Thank you so much!!
Yes, there was a 2019 959 parked right next to it. I don't blame you for overlooking the R1 as that Red Ducati surely looks super hot!!

Yup and those Termi's do sound majestic!! Delhi surely has some hidden gems.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RohanDheman View Post
Congratulations Rachit bhai once again for this. It was such an emotional day when we all got her home and I can never forget the happy smiles all around. And thank you for letting me ride one of my dream bikes whenever I want to and my god the power on this is addictive! Wishing you loads and loads of fuss free years and many many rides together.
Bhai, Thank you for all the support and motivation to go ahead with this decision. If it was not for friend's support, I probably wouldn't have been able to gather the courage!!

You guys being able to join in on the delivery day definitely made it one of the best days of my life!!

It's yours to ride whenever you want it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mik View Post
Congratulations for acquiring something that really got many of our generation go weak in the knees. Have followed your CBR thread with avid interest as I made my own upgrades to the killer class (no pun intended. SBKs are a dangerous indulgence - the wiser me opines - but its still worth scratching the itch )
Have a great innings with the R1.
Thank you so much for your kind words. Yes, for our generation, this bike has a very special place in our hearts. I thought this could be big enough charm to solve this itch for good for a few years at least.

SBKs are definitely an expensive and dangerous indulgence. What did you upgrade to? Suzuki GSXS750?? Got it from your signature.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hgps View Post
Congratulations Rachit. Looks pretty well maintained. Glad you could fulfill your R1 dream. Although i'm really sad to see your CBR go. Your ownership thread (and our private message conversations) were the biggest reasons i bought my CBR650 a couple of years ago. I'll let you enjoy the bike for a few months before bombarding you with my questions
Enjoy it and keep updating this thread.
Thank you so much!! Letting the CBR go was not easy. Even for all my love for my car and bike, on the previous occasions when I let go of my vehicles, I was able to move on without much remorse. But letting the CBR go was painful. It was such a perfect match for my use case and a delight to own.

You are always welcome for any discussion on motorcycles.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AtheK View Post
Congrats Rachit, you got yourself one mean looking bike. R1 is one bike which pretty much almost all bike lovers adore, and probably always wanted to have in the garage at some point of time.

Good to see you trying your hands on DIY and saving money along with learning the finer details. This is true ownership experience.

Wish you many miles of happy and safe riding.
Thank you so much!!
Yup, in my observation Indians have a soft spot for Yamahas. If only the company could capitalize on it.

Yeah, I could finally get to it. I always kept planning and dreaming, but now with not much options, I am happy to start learning DIY.

Quote:
Originally Posted by no_fear View Post
@ Rachit - feel free to join us if you want to have a quick ride.
Absolutely, wherever Rohan bhai goes, I follow.

Quote:
Originally Posted by //M View Post
Many many Congratulations for what is every middle-aged enthusiast's boyhood dream.

The 2010 R1 looks immaculate and beautiful even when parked along side newer and sharper motorcycles. The shape will probably never get old, it is a future classic in my books for sure. Add to that the classic blue-white paintjob with bronze/golden wheels. This is truly a very very gorgeous acquisition !

It was great to see you ride the other day. While I was trailing you, I couldn't help but notice how confident you were looking with the R1 in the corners. The symphony was absolutely a visual treat. It felt as if you were united with a long lost cousin.
Thank you so much brother!! I agree, there is just something about this bike in this color scheme that just clicks.

To be honest, my comfort with this bike has surprised me also. It takes me at least 2-3 rides to feel comfortable with any bike of this class. But I felt comfortable with the R1 so much quicker. Every time I sat on a 10R, I always used to feel its made for me as its ergonomics works well for shorter riders. I get the same feeling riding the R1. I had absolutely no idea that the handling will click with me so well.

It was really fun riding with you and we should do it more often.

CHEERS!!

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 25th June 2021 at 11:43. Reason: quoted post edited
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Old 23rd June 2021, 00:36   #10
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

What a write up! I drooled over a few of these images that you posted in the CBR650 whatsapp group as well. And then @krishnaprasadgg told me you guys knew each other. The 09-14 R1 series has to be the dream bike of many of the individuals out there, how much ever the superbike segment has grown. And thanks to my good friend with the GP anniversary edition and each time I take it out for a spin, I understand why these individuals drool over it(even though he now hands it over to me in heavy traffic knowing I wont say NO despite the heat )Honestly, you are lucky to find a good example of one and I am sure you will take good care of her. Happy miles ahead!
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Old 23rd June 2021, 06:27   #11
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

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Originally Posted by Xaos636 View Post
And thanks to my good friend with the GP anniversary edition and each time I take it out for a spin, I understand why these individuals drool over it(even though he now hands it over to me in heavy traffic knowing I wont say NO despite the heat )
Krishna has a very good deal going on with you. He enjoys the gains, and you take the pains. Next time, you are in Delhi, come over and ride my 1198SP in 40 degree heat. Will see how long it takes you to say No.
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Old 23rd June 2021, 06:38   #12
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

Congratulations man!!

What a lovely motorcycle! That crossplane engine is a riot, especially in the corners. Was close to getting one myself but the paper work was out of whack and it had some work done on the crank. Unfortunately had to let go... Someday may be.

Wish you a happy million miles on this pony!! Stay safe.
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Old 23rd June 2021, 08:23   #13
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

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Originally Posted by no_fear View Post
Krishna has a very good deal going on with you. He enjoys the gains, and you take the pains. Next time, you are in Delhi, come over and ride my 1198SP in 40 degree heat. Will see how long it takes you to say No.
Haha deal. I would research on some air conditioned full suit and boots for that job
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Old 23rd June 2021, 09:00   #14
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Rachit, Finally you did come out with a thread on your beauty. Awesome words penned down mate.
I am not going to lie, I am a bit jealous of that Akra system and that colorway you have there..that Yamaha blue just holds such a special place in our hearts!

We need lots more pics and updates of rides and mods and whatnot!


Wishing a lot more miles and a long ownership time with this beast of a machine mate.

Cheers
Krishna

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
Well, I was wrong!! In those 2-3 KMs, I don’t know how, I fell in love with it.
The CP4 does that to you. I'm yet to meet someone who hasn't had this experience after riding it.

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Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
I knew I am going to take a stupid decision.
Welcome to the club mate!

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Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
I was not buying a bike, I was buying a dream.
Golden words! This needs to be seen by everyone planning on buying their dream machines.

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Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
The front brakes were just not strong enough. They were downright scary for a bike of this calibre.
I am pretty sure even after the brake fix you did you will find it lacking. Just give it time. Chasing that feeling of better brake bite and feedback and led me down the rabbit hole. Soon things will be revealed in my thread too, I'm sure you will join in that too.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
The bike takes longer cranks after a week of rest while starting. Sometimes it takes 3-4 cranks to start up. The battery seems to be in good condition, not sure what is the reason. I have heard that R1 are finicky in this department.
That is unusual. I never had that issue even after the bike not being cranked for over 2 weeks or so. I think maybe have a look into the battery health with those machines they have at the battery store. Also, consider Li-ion replacement, trust me you will thank yourself for doing it over the years.


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Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
Apart from these, rest everything felt good.
Switch to Stock suspension settings.
Why back to stock? I think adjusting it to your height and weight is the best thing to do. I am currently looking into how it can be done and will be doing it on my bike soon.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
Planning for LED headlamps to reduce the load on the battery
Aren't you worried about the stock dust covers? Weather sealing will get effected. Let me share video here I found of someone getting rid of having to cut out a hole in the dust seal but I am still against it becuase I think the method he took will overheat the projector glass and eventually cause a meltdown inside the headlight.

Watch from 5:55 - 6:40.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
Since there is hardly any factory support, I will have to do a lot of DIY, which I had all the intentions for but no experience. So I was eager to start learning.
Trust me you will enjoy it to the core.

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Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
The bike still feels very easy to turn. Oil Changed, Air filter cleaned and then we flushed the coolant and put Engine Ice. However, I think because of some air pocket the full capacity of coolant didn’t go in. Bikes cooling performance has not improved much too. I think this is something we will have to look again into.
I would suggest getting this done on a priority basis. It is not a good idea to run the cooling system with air in it. Can drastically affect the engine before you know it. I can't stress this enough.

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Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
There were many things I considered...buying it. This was the moment. If it wouldn’t have happened that day, it probably would have never happened again.
truer words cannot be said. I am glad you did get her.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
How is the R1 2010??

3)Even though it has a very strong low end, it needs to be in the right gear for it. Surprisingly it rides more like a 600 where you need to keep it in the right gear. Because of this in the almost 1000 KMs I have ridden it, I have not seen the 6th gear and hardly seen the 5th gear too. If you shift up early, the power below 6K RPM feels dull and it feels like the bike is complaining.
Beautifully put, in the initial days of ownership was perplexed too. While other 3pot and 4 pot bikes I rode I was able to ride at lower speeds at higher gears with 0 knockings or jittering, but the R1 never liked it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
Negatives:
1) This thing gets seriously hot....My talented friend is coming up with a DIY bypass mechanism to switch it on at lower temperatures.

2) This thing is a gas guzzler. It is a known fact that R1 are notoriously thirsty and well, Yes they are. I am getting around 12KMPL. Thank God for IOCL to launch the 95 octane fuel. I put in 100 octane fuel a couple of times and although the bike seemed to love it, at 160 Rs a litre I was crying.
That's an awesome Idea, do share the detailed DIY steps and wiring diagram if you do end up doing it. Asking for a friend

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
Changes planned:
The bike didn’t have any tank pad or grips, I plan to put them on.
Switch to LED headlamps to reduce the load on the battery.
I am a sucker for tail tidy. I am still contemplating getting whether to get it or not. It looks good as it is too.
Tech specs hands down. Trust me when I say this!

If you are going for a tail tidy, get the TST industries integrated tail lamp and the front flush mount indicators as well. If at all you decide to get this do ping me maybe we can do a combined order.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
Well in the end, all I can say is:
Dreams do come true!!
Thank you
CHEERS!!
Amen to that borther!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xaos636 View Post
And then @krishnaprasadgg told me you guys knew each other. The 09-14 R1 series has to be the dream bike of many of the individuals out there, how much ever the super bike segment has grown. And thanks to my good friend with the GP anniversary edition and each time I take it out for a spin, I understand why these individuals drool over it
I'd say you have enough kms under your belt on the R1 you have pretty good first hand idea as to why that engine is a gem too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xaos636 View Post
(even though he now hands it over to me in heavy traffic knowing I wont say NO despite the heat )Honestly, you are lucky to find a good example of one and I am sure you will take good care of her. Happy miles ahead!
Woah! You threw me under the bus there man.!! Haha. Just kidding. What is a ride with your closest buds if you don't swap rides in between! That's been more of a tradition for us in our rides for over a decade now.

Quote:
Originally Posted by no_fear View Post
Krishna has a very good deal going on with you. He enjoys the gains, and you take the pains. Next time, you are in Delhi, come over and ride my 1198SP in 40 degree heat. Will see how long it takes you to say No.
Haha! no doubt.
Looks like Xaos636 will be planning a trip to Delhi soon then, maybe even I will tag along.

Cheers
Krishna

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 25th June 2021 at 11:46. Reason: back to back posts merged
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Old 23rd June 2021, 10:28   #15
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re: Dreams do come true | My 2010 Yamaha R1 | And now a BMW G310GS too!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg View Post
Looks like Xaos636 will be planning a trip to Delhi soon then, maybe even I will tag along.
Please do. There is no greater joy than going out for quality rides, exchanging bikes and seeing someone else ride your bike and you get to enjoy seeing your own bike from a 3rd person perspective.

When I go out for solo rides, these are the things I miss. The opportunity to talk with riders, exchange perspectives, and a sense of camaraderie.
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