I saw a B-King on the ads... and I fell in love!
- Thread starter CalebG
- Start date
Just a picture when it was presented to me, more to come soon. I've put the Suzuki sliders and engine/clutch plate guards on for now. I wanted the blacked out with red accents, but it was last year's model.
So here's some quick impressions from a guy who jumped from a KTM RC250.
The first thing would be the weight. As a stocky 5'5'ish Asian guy (I know, we are rare breed), I instantly knew I had to approach many situations differently. I need to avoid moving my bike manually if possible, reverse park more, etc. Regardless, I foresee getting a good workout and more muscles like I did with my previous bike!
The engine difference bit is like what everyone says smoother, less vibrating and quicker response to the throttle controls. I didn't change my exhuast, I like it as it is. It almost sounds like an electric bike <5k RPM with a low hum and a light whine as it goes up in RPM. But once past the 5k RPM mark, it starts to sings.
The clutch pedal feels almost like an electrical switch. It "clicks" into place and has a rather short throw, compared to my KTM. The one minor issue about each gear click being so affirmative, is that it also works for Neutral. I dropped gears from 2nd with the intention to let the engine do the rest, went "Oh wow, I rev matched so perfec... why am I not slowing down?", before squeezing brakes and dropping it to 1st.
Turning feels so much less scary. Turning radius is much tighter too, compared to my sport bike.
I'm still trying to switch from the very aggressive posture of the KTM. My body keeps trying to lean forward, the seat slopes down to the tank, and I'm not used to having the tank touch Mr. Johnson. But once I adjust right, it should do wonders for my back.
The seat itself is rather comfortable, but one can argue a wooden horse is more comfortable than the KTM RC seats.
The mirrors are stiff and provides a good view... if I can actually get them into position. Leaning forward slightly and I loose all sight, and I have to lean quite far back to get the right amount of view behind.
Front brakes are smooth, though I havn't tried to do high speed emergency stops yet to get a good guage of braking distrance. The back brakes are a bit too touchy imo, going from 0 - 100% power too quickly. Maybe it's just me though.
Going at around 80 km/h, I could feel the wind at full force. Probably will get a Puig windscreen soon, along with radiator guard and Ram mount.
Weird quirks to me:
1) The sidestand "foot peg" for you to use to bring it down? It's in the middle and not the end, and because of that, I have to use the heel of my foot to bring it down instead of the ball of my foot.
2) The said peg is long, and actually prevents me from flat footing with my left leg comfortably. I have been trying to switch to standing with my leg leg more since my previous bike, as doing it with my right feels way more comfortable/natural, but this is making it difficult. Ironically, I'm left-handed.
3) The engine off switch (the red one the right handlebar) does not switch off your dash, unlike the KTM. Embaressing moment for me when I tried to start it at the dealer to drive off.
So here's some quick impressions from a guy who jumped from a KTM RC250.
The first thing would be the weight. As a stocky 5'5'ish Asian guy (I know, we are rare breed), I instantly knew I had to approach many situations differently. I need to avoid moving my bike manually if possible, reverse park more, etc. Regardless, I foresee getting a good workout and more muscles like I did with my previous bike!
The engine difference bit is like what everyone says smoother, less vibrating and quicker response to the throttle controls. I didn't change my exhuast, I like it as it is. It almost sounds like an electric bike <5k RPM with a low hum and a light whine as it goes up in RPM. But once past the 5k RPM mark, it starts to sings.
The clutch pedal feels almost like an electrical switch. It "clicks" into place and has a rather short throw, compared to my KTM. The one minor issue about each gear click being so affirmative, is that it also works for Neutral. I dropped gears from 2nd with the intention to let the engine do the rest, went "Oh wow, I rev matched so perfec... why am I not slowing down?", before squeezing brakes and dropping it to 1st.
Turning feels so much less scary. Turning radius is much tighter too, compared to my sport bike.
I'm still trying to switch from the very aggressive posture of the KTM. My body keeps trying to lean forward, the seat slopes down to the tank, and I'm not used to having the tank touch Mr. Johnson. But once I adjust right, it should do wonders for my back.
The seat itself is rather comfortable, but one can argue a wooden horse is more comfortable than the KTM RC seats.
The mirrors are stiff and provides a good view... if I can actually get them into position. Leaning forward slightly and I loose all sight, and I have to lean quite far back to get the right amount of view behind.
Front brakes are smooth, though I havn't tried to do high speed emergency stops yet to get a good guage of braking distrance. The back brakes are a bit too touchy imo, going from 0 - 100% power too quickly. Maybe it's just me though.
Going at around 80 km/h, I could feel the wind at full force. Probably will get a Puig windscreen soon, along with radiator guard and Ram mount.
Weird quirks to me:
1) The sidestand "foot peg" for you to use to bring it down? It's in the middle and not the end, and because of that, I have to use the heel of my foot to bring it down instead of the ball of my foot.
2) The said peg is long, and actually prevents me from flat footing with my left leg comfortably. I have been trying to switch to standing with my leg leg more since my previous bike, as doing it with my right feels way more comfortable/natural, but this is making it difficult. Ironically, I'm left-handed.
3) The engine off switch (the red one the right handlebar) does not switch off your dash, unlike the KTM. Embaressing moment for me when I tried to start it at the dealer to drive off.
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