[silverstreakcbe]

Completing a group ride, recently, to unexplored territories of Nilgiris, 'Manikarnika' completes 5000KMs since April'2024. Wanted to bring in some useful updates and observations(pros & cons).

Yay! 5000Kms

Ride Purpose: I take out my GS only for long tours/rides. I rarely use it for local rides within the city. I generally keep it a point to take it out for rides minimum >50Kms. Almost all my travel to Bangalore has been on my GS since i owned it.

Ride Comfort: As i had mentioned on my initial ownership thread, i was fairly impressed by the ride comfort it provides. I am able to do 350+Kms in 5 Hrs without any fatigue. The suspension is very good for the tarmac. Having said that, my long trips have been predominantly solo rides. The suspension would need right adjustment/tension when riding with pillion. In many cases, i have experienced the suspension flat-out when riding along with my wife.

Engine: Robust! Happy to revv, i would say. Pulls hard and gives the expected power (atleast for my expectation). I generally do my rides between 85-95Kmph which i think is the sweet spot for this bike and engine is not stressed out. Having said that, i have pushed it up to 133Kmph(not recommended) which puts you, out a bit, off your seat. It does standout till 115Kmph, but you will still feel the vibes till hips. I have enjoyed it a lot when i ride hills, it goes give you the instant torque and grunt to pull. On the tarmac, it just glides with no undulations.

Gearbox: Having driven this much, i can say this area is still a miss. The gears are notchy(upshifts only) and not an easy to adjust thing. But, having said that what i have observed is that with the bike running in the certain rpm, the gear upshifts are smooth. Its not all bad, but i am still getting used to it to see if i can shift at the right rpm. But overall, i would say, gear shift is a place for improvement on this bike.

Brakes: Hit or Miss!! Another area that needs some improvement. The Rear brakes are spongy and does not give you the expected bite. The rear break level slips down after certain pressure and have experienced scratching my shoes under toes. I don't know if this is intentional to support off-road settings, but i felt rear breaks are a way down in performance and bite. The front-brakes are however spot on, i have always felt confident and reliable.

Tyres: I have ridden on both tarmac and hilly regions. The tyre does the job very well. I have never tried off-roading, but i am very happy with the tyres and it does adds to the riding comfort (I generally maintain 32ps front & 34ps rear with full luggage). The recommended tyre pressure setting, as per my understanding, for off-road setup which i dont do.

Seats: Nice and comfortable for the rider. However, pillion will struggle. Though i have ridden with my wife on pillion for long distances, she has not complained on the cushion, but only on the foot pegs. But, i feel, the seats are bit thinner for pillion.

Handle-bars: I did add-on height adjusters ( i am not recommending it on purpose, since the quality is not good). But, adding one does gives a bit of extra comfort on your shoulders and i did feel less stressed after the recent ride to mountains the whole day. It does add to your comfort and ride posture. I am planning to replace with a good quality one.

Height-adjusters (low quality)

Lights: Adequate! The LED setup, Low-beam is very good at night and does the job well. However, the High-beam is good for overtakes (can be mistaken for a car on rear-view mirror in the front). I have never tried to adjust headlights, as i am satisfied with the current setup. Blinkers are very fragile. In one of my trips during rains, the muddy floor gave way to the stand and it tilted on side. It did not fall, but slipped as i was holding it. But even then, the indicator broke. The blinkers are expensive and riders need to be extra careful.

Fragile blinkers

Side-stand: I have not tried with full luggage (saddle bags) setup. I have ridden with a top-box and a back-pack on pillion seat. It does the job of allowing to climb with the stand placed out. But center stand is a definite miss.

Heating issues: None! In all my journeys, i have never felt that engine is over heating. Yes, within city limits, you will feel the heat. But, on long tours, the cooling mechanism does the job well.

Chain issues: None, till now. I have ensured to regularly clean and lubricate the chain and sprockets. Last week i did clean the front sprocket for the first time since its delivery. Below are few pictures, befor and after. I was able to see the difference in performance after front sprocket cleaned.

Dirty front-sprocket - 5000Kms


Front sprocket guard - 5000kms


Clean front-sprocket


Rear sprocket-cleaned


Front-sprocket guard cleaned


All put back to place, Clean!

Ease of Maintenance: In my experience, i did not feel any issue with maintaining the bike (chain cleaning, rear suspension tweaks, sprockets cleaning, wash & wipe). I generally do my own detailing. No wraps or coating. But still my bike looks fresh after a wash and wipe. Of course, i need to spend some more time to get the confidence level to put my hands-on on other areas of maintenance.

Shampoo wash


Shampoo wash - after

Fuel-efficiency: As mentioned above, i only use it for touring and long run. The efficiency does surprise others, when they hear. I get 31Kmpl which is decent for the bike. I have tried with Shell, IOCL, BP, HP. Based on my ride track record, the bike performance will and returns good numbers with Shell (normal) and IOCL (XPS). It did not go well with HP and BP, only in my case (may be different for others).

Economy as per OBD

I don't want to comment on road presence, colors, style as it is more subjective and about personal preference. But, i do feel a sense of happiness when i ride it.

Niggles to check:

1. I did experience the bike gasping for air during my recent trip to hill station. May be, it is of due to less oxygen/air, or a cloggy fuel filter. Need to check after my next week trip once again to bangalore.

2. Rear brakes. This is one area of concern since the beginning. Need to see if there is any issue with my brake pads or i dont know if its my riding style/psychology.

Hope this update is of use to fellow riders. Until next time, take care and ride safe.

Cheers!!

[Quicksilver85]

Hi thanks for the post.

Could you also share how was your service experience and cost?

Cheers,
QS85

[silverstreakcbe]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver85

Hi thanks for the post.

Could you also share how was your service experience and cost?

Cheers,
QS85

The vehicle has been done first service (parts - 2991/- + labor - 3048/- + GST - 1087/-) Total came around 7127/-

Since i have done only one service, my experience has been smooth and with no niggles. After service completion, the service manager explains what has been done to the vehicle and also mentions if there are any tweaks done like throttling adjustments, software update etc., And yes, the service estimates are provide before they start the service. Only after we approve the estimate, they start to work. This is at Kun BMW Motorrad, Coimbatore.

Service interval is 10K Kms. Other that this, there are no expenses with the ASS as i do my own general check up and maintenance (Chain clean, lube, wash).

Cheers!