Phillip Island Trip Day 1 & 2

DAY 1

With a week off work and MotoGP on the cards at Phillip Island you could have excused me for being a little excited about hitting the road. That's an understatement if there ever was one. I was frothing at the Gib to get going as I hadn't ridden to the Island in years. I had packed my backpack as best I could. This new R1 has no luggage carrying capacity, that was my first hurdle but I didn't let that dampen my enthusiasm as Bushpig and I hit the road at 7:30.

First up was the boring slab work along the dreaded Hume Highway to Goulburn which consists of long boring straights that go on forever. Goulburn was our first fuel stop and time for a quick coffee at Trappers bakery. They do excellent pies and sausage rolls here, just take the second exit from the freeway or you'll have a 15 minute ride through town, it's only a minute from the second freeway exit. The local highway patrol arrived and there was 6 or 8 of them, just after we had our coffee which I was keen to get going and leave them, where we know where they are. I'd noticed my rear tyre was balling up rubber just on this straight slab section, that's how soft these bridgestone RS10 battlax tyres are. I was hoping they would make it to Bairnsdale as I'd booked a tyre change there tomorrow morning.

Next stop was Cooma for more fuel and a cool drink. As we had been doing mostly straight roads to here with a 110 kmh limit I'd noticed that the fuel economy on the R1 was pretty good when just riding steady and it was getting figures of 4.8 - 5.0 L/100km. I was pretty impressed with that. We could have ridden to Queenbeyan for our first fuel stop but I was being cautious. I don't want to run out again and it also gives me a little break. 4 hours in the saddle and I was getting a sore ass, this seat seems to be a lot harder than the older bike.

Cooma

We had to stop again shortly after in Bombala as the trumpy needed some fuel. He didn't fill up when I did in Cooma so we had another short break. Just after the photo below we had our first encounter with the NSW HWP who were hiding off the side of the road with the radar out, he was shaking his fist at us as we went past. Was it because we weren't going fast enough to book us or was it for us to slow down, I'll never know. We were only just over the limit. We knew we were going to see HWP patrol out for MotoGP weekend as its been blasted all around in the media, but it wasn't the NSW HWP we were worried about. No Vicpol are notorious for pulling some dodgy stuff.

Delegate

Turning off after Bombala we headed into Delegate and the Bonang Highway. There were lots of bikes heading down this way with a few passing by us a some speeds we thought were a bit fast, especially seeing it's HWP season.

The first section of dirt on the Bonang seems to be a lot shorter now more like about 3kms rather than the 7-8 kms it used to be, but the twisty dirt section is still 10 kms long. The R1 handled it pretty easily with only the occasional sliding about, Bushpig disappeared on the trumpy. Then the road gets into the thick of it with 105kms of beautiful twists and turns. Unfortunately the speed limit has been dropped from 100kmh to 80 kmh making this a perfect spot for the HWP to lurk about.

Beautiful twists and turns on the Bonang

No longer than 5 minutes after the we stopped at the curve in the above picture than we came down this wee little straight in the picture below. BAM out onto the road pops one of Vicpols finest and it's all over. Nice hiding spot in the bushes. Bastards got Bushpig, and just as we were leaving they were pulling in the next lot of bikes. We spoke to that guy in Bairnsdale later that night and 3 of his mates got done and the next lot of guys behind them. Everyone was less than 20 kmh over. They must have made thousands that day. Revenue or safety - I'll let you be the judge.

A brief stop to chat at the fire place in the above picture and there must have been 20 bikes went past us. I said to Bushpig "Look at how slow all of these bikes are going, I bet every single one of them just got done." He nodded in agreement.

We rolled on out a little more weary and with a lighter hip pocket as we finally motored into Bairnsdale late in the arvo. Filling up I noticed a pub next the the petrol station. I said lets stay here as after sitting on the R1 for 750kms was really starting to hurt my ass now and I didn't really want to ride any further. Luckily they had a room at the pub and we finished the night with several refreshing ales.

DAY 2

We started out by dropping my bike off at Bairnsdale Yamaha for a new set of hoops. The old tyre had just started to crack in the centre of the carcass. It was completely shot with only 2600 kms on it. I think I would only get these tyres again if I was doing a track day as they had excellent grip but oh so short life. I went with a set of Bridgestone S20 Evos.

Whilst my tyres were getting fitted we made a bee line for the main street to get a yummy bacon and egg breakfast. We were not disappointed. With our bellies full we made our way back and picked up the bikes and made our way through East Gipslands quagmire of road works and potholes till we got to Mirboo North. The victorian roads used to be in great condition compared with NSW roads but now they seem to be reversed.

We stopped in for a spot of morning coffee and a toasted samich at the Inline 4 Cafe. What a great little cafe this is with all the motorcycle paraphernalia inside, they even had a set of Casey Stoners Repsol leathers hanging up. The food and coffee was fantastic and a great atmosphere to boot. I highly recommend any bike riders to stop in here and support these guys.

Inline 4 Cafe

Interesting table decorations

Tom Sykes WSBK 2012 Tyre

Bushpig just had to have a photo with the sign below, he couldn't help himself.

The final stretch from Mirboo North out to the Island itself was short and sweet and we were there in no time, it's a bit of a boring ride and we had to stop in at San Remo to have a quick beer to appease the motorcycling gods. Iwas glad to get off the bike as I was quite tender around the buttock area. Yes I know it's not a sports tourer.

Beer at San Remo

Selfie Time

Getting to the cabin in the caravan park at Cowes I waited for a bus to the track but it never came. The caravan park owner took pity on me and gave me a lift out to the track. There are still some good people in the world after all. I gave him the $10 that I was going to give the bus driver for beer or petrol either way he didn't have to do it and was a nice gesture that was very much appreciated. I did have visions of him axe murdering me when I noticed he wasn't driving in the direction of the track but it was all good.

After watching the last of the Aussie superbikes and supersports it was off to the camp ground for some beers with some of Bushpigs mates and other like minded people.

2015 R1 Battery

The new 2015 R1 has shed a truck load of weight compared with the previous model. Looks like the battery is one area they found some weight reductions. Here is the photo of the new R1 battery followed by a comparison of the 2000 R1 battery. The new battery is tiny.

2015 R1 Battery

2000 R1 Battery left and 2015 R1 battery right

I've read a few stories on the R1 forums about the new R1 battery going dead after a few weeks of not riding. So far nothing has happened here yet but I'll have to wait and see.

2 Tickets to Paradise

With Motogp imminent these arrived in the post just in time.

98 R1 vs 2015 R1 Road Test

What happens when you have two motorcyclists with a weekday off work? Being the sad bored individuals that we are here at The Road to Nowhere blog, I thought we should help out the homeless and orphaned children, but bushpig said "Fuck that, bikes need be ridden and thrashed to within an inch of their lives". Who am I to argue with that? And what better way of doing that than having a comparo between the first ever R1, the 98 R1 and in my opinion best R1 invented and ride it up against 17 years of evolution in the all new 2015 R1. Would either of these 2 bikes ever be the same again after this high speed, car intimidating, granny scaring, wheel standing balls out test ride?

First up was a walk around both bikes to look at the differences. Standing behind both bikes you can see that the old R1 is lower in the tail section and the seat is lower and the front screen is lower. The 15 R1 has a tall screen which I can attest to that it makes it easy to tuck in behind when speeds rise. You can also see how compact the engine has become in the latest generation engine, its much narrower. The 15 R1 is so much more compact in just about every area.

Both bikes have standard exhaust systems fitted and are fairly quiet but both bikes have distinctively different engine/exhaust notes. This is mainly due to the 15 R1's cross plane firing order. I love the sound of the cross plane engine, it sounds much like a V twin and when you fit a aftermarket pipe the cross plane  sounds like the motogp Yamaha M1. Bring that shit on!

The new R1 had the same design intent as the original bike. A no compromise light weight, high power race bike for the road. Over time after the first couple of models the R1 developed a under seat exhaust system which added weight and added a high centre of gravity and basically the bike got heavier and became more of a comfortable road bike than the race bike it was born to be. The under seat exhausts also fried its riders from the heat in summer from all reports I've read and heard about. The new R1 has gone back to the original spec with a low down pipe on the side. I prefer that look and you don't get roasted.

A quick spin up through the Blue Mountains along the Bells Line of Road saw us testing out the bikes handling along some of the bumpy surfaces that were pitched at us. Both bikes handling these with ease. It was good to see that some of the twisty sections of the Bell's line have now had long stretches of hot mix tarmac layed out like a magical carpet ride to knee down heaven.

Crossing from the Bells line we headed through Mt Victoria which has now become speed camera central with average speed cameras at the top and bottom of the hill. We were soon turning off and headed out towards Oberon.

We stopped along this section to swap bikes. Riding both bikes back to back showed up a couple of things right away. The old R1 feels like you sit down in the bike more than the new R1 which feels like you sit on top of with an ultra hard seat. The old R1 seat is so comfortable in direct comparison. It's funny I used to think you sat on the old R1, but not now. The new R1's suspension is a lot firmer than the old bikes which soak up the bumps where the new bike feels a lot harder. I've backed off everything by 5 clicks on all settings, it's pretty good where it is maybe one more click softer will help out for road riding. Both bikes felt fairly similar to ride in both ride position and handling however it was clearly evident that the new bike felt so much more refined and much easier to ride. The new bike turns into the bends effortlessly but that's not to say the old bike wouldn't turn into the corners it just required a little more effort but was still easy and enjoyable.

Shooters Hill road is always a bit of a must when out this way and it is an adrenaline filled roller coaster ride. Some long deserted straights mixed in with sweeping bends up and down through the pine forested hills. This is sports bike nirvana and we have the weapons to slay the beast. 

Stopping to compare bikes and soak up this fantastic weather and location bushpig said "This new R1 motor is fucken powerful, its got loads of grunt everywhere, you could get yourself into trouble quickly on this thing" The old bike had 150HP and weighed in at about 200kg but the new one is a 200HP monster weighing in at 199kg wet. Around 9-10K rpm the new R1 engine just surges, a bit like a power band on an old two stroke it just takes off even harder. I've been running the bike in C mode with power 2 setting which seems to be the smoothest for riding on the road. Its absolutely mental in A mode in power 1. Save that for the track as it's too on/off for the road. C mode of the new bike is about the closest match for the smoothness of the old R1 carbys.

The brakes on the old R1 are also much more responsive in feel coming on strong very quickly, the new R1 brakes seem to be not there until you give them a real good squeeze but once working they seem pretty powerful pulling you up quickly, they just lack that initial bite.

Chiller and 15 R1

Sportsbike Heaven

Bushpig and his mint 98 R1

I didn't bring the Gopro today but Bushpig had brought his Sony action cam and he got a little bit of footage. However most of the videos didn't turn out as the camera kept turning off or maybe it was user incompetence, whichever this is all the video we got. Maybe we will have to do a part 2 of this....

It seemingly didn't take long at all to get to our lunch destination at the fabulous Taralga Hotel. These guys have the best counter lunches at very reasonable prices especially seeing as this place is miles from anywhere. All washed down over a nice ale. There is premium unleaded fuel available in Taralga as well just across from the pub at the local Agriculture supplies shop. The petrol station across from the pub doesn't have petrol and looks like its closed. I put 3 litres extra in just in case as I'm still a little unsure as to the fuel distance plus how we've been riding them today. The old bike is much better on fuel than the new bike.

2 sexy bitches waiting to be ridden

After that excellent lunch I rode the 98 R1 back to Shooters Hill and I tried to ride in the same manner as I'd ridden the new R1. I was really surprised at how easy it was to swap between these 2 machines and not have any difficulty in riding them. I think I was going just as fast on the old bike as the new one. The old bike really is a great machine. It handles our bumpy roads with ease. You can get a bit nervous on the new bike at speed hitting some big bumps as you tend to bounce off them. The suspension is good but it is hard. 1 more tweak maybe.

Interestingly enough we managed to do several top gear roll ons from 100kmh. I was surprised here by the old R1 walking away from the new bike every time until about 150kmh where the new bike started to open up and make some real power. In fairness the old R1 has one tooth less on the front sprocket and with a shorter top gear. The new R1 at that speed is sitting at 4000rpm right in its dead spot and it's taller gearing doesn't help here. I think a 4 or 5th gear roll on would have been completely different. Top gear on the new bike is more like an over drive gear. Both myself an Bushpig found it was much more responsive and fun riding in 5th as you had instant grunt.

I wanted to show Bushpig the other roller coaster ride which is a short 8km stretch off shooters hill road which is a forestry road and back entrance into Oberon correctional centre. This piece of road is some of the best anywhere just not at the speed limit. Both bikes were humming along onsong on this little bit. We both had smiles a mile wide.

The Rollercoaster

The picture above was the end of the fun bit, but being a dead end meant we had to ride that last bit again, I thought to myself "I wonder what the poor people are doing".


This back to back comparo really showed me how good the old R1 really is. I threw everything at it that I threw at the new bike on the road and it was still there keeping up, with the one exception the top speed. The new bike has a big top end. The new bike is so much more refined than the old bike and makes everything seem much easier and more confidence inspiring to ride. You could get yourself into a lot of trouble quite easily and quickly on this new bike but it is oh so much fun. It was also interesting to note that on the trip back to Oberon that the fuel consumption of the new R1 wasn't that much worse than the old one. Bushpig put in 16.2 litres and I used 16.8 litres for around 230kms. Don't just take my word for it here are some views from Bushpig.

Second thoughts

"second thoughts!?....put it this way I didn't want to hand the hoss s rocket back but he insisted......its a 30 grand machine for a good deal less.....the engines power is big ,deceptively smooth and loves to rev and the suspenders top notch...my old r1 still goes like the clappers but these new ones are in a class of their own....now to get one of those invisibility cloaks to keep the gestapo at bay". - Bushpig

Hitting the Apex

There's a new movie just out for those that don't know which is about Motogp racers. For those of you that have seen Faster and Fastest will remember Ewen McGregor narrating the last Motogp movies. Well that task has now gone to Brad Pitt. Here is the movie trailer for those that want a quick snap shot of the movie.



 For the rest of you that want some more substance you can watch the movie online here or download it. I just watched it and its absolutely brilliant. I loved the part where Marco Simoncelli and Jorge Lorenzo were arguing about who was right and wrong. Brilliant. A must watch for any motorcyclist. Here is the link.

http://www.vonlinemovies.com/watch/hitting-the-apex/

Hitting the Apex

Get in fast as I don't know how long this link will last.

Bada bing, Bada Bling

Today I got a little package in the mail. I was so excited as I knew what it was. The last piece of bling for my new R1 had arrived.

I ordered a set of Pazzo folding levers to replace the bog stock ugly ones that the bike comes with. I'll let you be the judge in quality between the originals and the new Pazzos. So it went from this......

Original fitment levers

To this

Pazzo shorty brake

Pazzo shorty clutch

I adjusted the levers to fit my hands so that I didn't have to reach up and over to pull the lever in. It amazes me how many people ride their bikes around without adjusting their levers. When you ride their bikes it feels horribly unnatural with that up and over reach to the brake lever. Uh so bad. I like to just reach my fingers out and down and squeeze the lever so much easier.



I thought I'd buy the Oggy knob kit when the bike was new, not like my old R1 when I bought them 4 months before retiring it, d'oh. It didn't take long to fit them only a matter of minutes, hopefully I'll never have to use them. I got the frame sliders and front and rear axle sliders so I have everything covered.




















The radiator guards arrived not long after I got the bike so they were the next thing to go on. They are R&G brand guards. They took a hell of a lot long to fit than I thought they would but they look good and should stop the crap from flying into my radiator and destroying it. My old R1 radiator is just about stuffed due to stone chips in the core.Thats why I decided to get one straight away from day 1 really. Better to protect the radiator than have all the fins smashed in and have the bike run hot.
















I junked the tail guard assembly even before I rode the bike out of the dealership. It was so hideously ugly it had to go so when I bought the bike I got a R&G tail tidy to clean up the rear end. It looks so much better now. Compare the original to the tail tidy and its much cleaner.

Original Tail piece

Tail tidy fitted

The next bit of bling was a solo seat for the tail of the bike. This is what Yamaha should have put on to start with rather than a pillion seat. Seriously who would sit up there on the back of that little R1 seat. Looks the goods now.

Now what else should I have on my shopping list for farkling this thing up. I've just about run out of funds for now, just need a tyre fund as these bridgestone melt just when you look in there general direction.

Whats left for this thing......an nice sounding exhaust is about the only thing left on the list at the moment.