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7 Posts
Hello guys.
I'm from Malaysia and only yesterday took ownership of a 2018 Scrambler 1100 Special with only 2,800km on the clock. Prior to taking it home, I had only had a quick 5-minute ride on it and before that a 5-minute on a demo Sport. So these are my observations of my new ride after 2 days of pootling around in it.
1. The power is ... adequate. And I think that is just about the right thing for the bike too.
2. The gearing is too tall for me, but I think I just need to adjust my riding style. E.g. at ~120km/h I'm still in 5th and still wanting to eke some more oomph out of the bike before shifting to 6th, because once I shift it'll feel too tall again.
3. The infamous false neutral that I experienced in a Monster 796 all those years ago is still here. Haha. Mostly between 4 and 5 for me.
4. Gear shifter position is strange, but I'm adjusting it and once it gets to my "normal", I suspect 3 above will go away (mostly).
5. The exhaust note is very pleasing to my ears. And I suspect the exhaust note of a set of Arrow cans would be even more pleasing.
6. But the catalytic converter under the seat slow roasts my arse and inner thighs! 2 options for this, kevlar lined jeans all the time or a decat pipe. Being in Malaysia where an ambient temperature of at least 32C is average in some months, this really needs addressing.
7. I'm 100+kg and the rear suspension is struggling to keep me happy. I've adjusted the preload to reduce some of the sag when I plop my fat arse on the bike and will adjust the rebound damping a few clicks later to see if that'll help but I suspect an Ohlins or Hyperpro or K-Tech or whichever other (money sink) suspension maker would have to replace the stock Kayaba.
8. The seat ... hurts my tailbone. Sending it to an upholsterer to flatten out that kink and add an inch or more to the height. I think that'll solve that.
I know it sounds like a list of moans but in spite of all that, I really do like the bike. But I think I can make it even better...
Anyway, thanks for reading this far. And here's the machine:
I'm from Malaysia and only yesterday took ownership of a 2018 Scrambler 1100 Special with only 2,800km on the clock. Prior to taking it home, I had only had a quick 5-minute ride on it and before that a 5-minute on a demo Sport. So these are my observations of my new ride after 2 days of pootling around in it.
1. The power is ... adequate. And I think that is just about the right thing for the bike too.
2. The gearing is too tall for me, but I think I just need to adjust my riding style. E.g. at ~120km/h I'm still in 5th and still wanting to eke some more oomph out of the bike before shifting to 6th, because once I shift it'll feel too tall again.
3. The infamous false neutral that I experienced in a Monster 796 all those years ago is still here. Haha. Mostly between 4 and 5 for me.
4. Gear shifter position is strange, but I'm adjusting it and once it gets to my "normal", I suspect 3 above will go away (mostly).
5. The exhaust note is very pleasing to my ears. And I suspect the exhaust note of a set of Arrow cans would be even more pleasing.
6. But the catalytic converter under the seat slow roasts my arse and inner thighs! 2 options for this, kevlar lined jeans all the time or a decat pipe. Being in Malaysia where an ambient temperature of at least 32C is average in some months, this really needs addressing.
7. I'm 100+kg and the rear suspension is struggling to keep me happy. I've adjusted the preload to reduce some of the sag when I plop my fat arse on the bike and will adjust the rebound damping a few clicks later to see if that'll help but I suspect an Ohlins or Hyperpro or K-Tech or whichever other (money sink) suspension maker would have to replace the stock Kayaba.
8. The seat ... hurts my tailbone. Sending it to an upholsterer to flatten out that kink and add an inch or more to the height. I think that'll solve that.
I know it sounds like a list of moans but in spite of all that, I really do like the bike. But I think I can make it even better...
Anyway, thanks for reading this far. And here's the machine: