Hey guys,
Last weekend I bought an '05 R1 with 15k miles on the clock (traded in my '03 model). Now that i've put a few miles on it and got a bit more used to it i'm noticing the power delivery low down is really quite choppy and rough - if I'm travelling in traffic at a constant 30mph in 1st, the revs don't stay constant and it's really not smooth at all, jerking about all the time. When it's on choke (or whatever the FI equivalent is) it's lovely and smooth but once it's off-choke it runs really rough. It almost feels like a twin low down, and sounds like it's not quite firing properly. I took it back to the dealers today and they went through the diagnostics on the clocks and it all checked out fine. They gave a few explanations:
a)They're all like that, rough as feck low down as they're designed to go fast, not slow. They're nothing like the '03 which is lovely and smooth.
b)They don't like Super Unleaded and run really rough on it. (It's had a full tank of Super, followed by a full tank of Premium once the fuel light came on, so it's 80% Premium now anyway)
c)The EPROMs on these 'learn' riding styles; the last owner rode like a girl, so now that you're giving it some beans it's got to get used to your riding style
I rode the bike home and I really find it difficult to believe it's designed to run rough in normal traffic conditions, it's not enjoyable to ride at regular everyday speeds. When it's revved high it goes well, pulls like a train in fact, but it's really lumpy at normal speeds.
Now, it's due in for a "full £250 worth" service at the weekend, agreed as part of the purchase deal, but when I asked if the plugs will be checked and/or replaced I was told no as they're not due until 24k miles, even though they're 6 years old. To my mind, rough running could be down to plugs?
So what i'm wondering is, can others with 04-05 R1s confirm or deny that the bikes are all rough and erratic low down? If not, what's the problem likely to be?
Thanks in advance!
Dave
