[SCRBen]

Ladies and gents,

Hope you are all well. My name is Ben - I've actually had my SCR (red) since June 17 (I think!). I've looked at the site a few times before, but never actually joined (I've lurked a bit on the YamahaStarBolt US forum as well).

I'm in Yorkshire in the UK. Got to say - not many SCRs on the road over here. In fact, mine is the only one I've ever actually seen on the road! As I see a few of you have also discussed on here, the model is discounted at various dealers around the UK, which makes me wonder if Yam are going to continue with it. Admittedly in the U.K., a higher proportion of riders are sportsbike obsessed than probably elsewhere, which may account for its apparent rarity here. Not that that bothers me!! 😃

Think I've done about 1500 miles up until putting it away for the winter. Mods so far are limited to the bash plate, crossbar cover, and replacing the number board bolts. However, since winter taking hold has allowed more time on-line, I've since got the cleated/off-road footpegs, the "meter base cover" (or, as we'd call it here - "back o' the clock"!! 😂), and some bar end mirrors to replace the very vibey stock ones (along with blanking plugs, of course). These are all to still be fitted though - with a young 'un in the house now, time in the garage is currently at a premium!!

My time on the Star Bolt forum has been mainly spent on establishing how to give the bike a little more 'pep' (cos a little more never hurt anyone, right?!). To that end, the ECU is off, and will be winging its way to Greece on Monday to get Ivan's re-flash from his European partner. Fingers crossed DHL!! Has anyone on here had this done yet? If you look at Ivan's website, the list of benefits is very impressive, and addresses some things that I've noticed too, and would like remedying. The site also has a thread with about 33 pages of compliments re the mod from satisfied Bolt owners, so my hopes are high.

To go with this, I've also placed an order for the Vance & Hines 2-into-1 Competition Series slip-on (due end of Jan). Have to admit, have loved the look and sound of this pipe since seeing it on an SCR on YouTube last year (datyamahafanboi?) so looking forward to receiving that. However, I'll probably run the bike a bit first with just Ivan's re-flash, so I know what mod is making what difference. I'll then have to choose an air filter too - decision decisions - currently edging towards the K&N specific Bolt filter that Cycle World fitted to their SCR flat-tracker late last year. It'll then be on to racks, as the lady wants a grabrail - Fehling in Germany have a decent one.

Having said all this - I'm not dissatisfied with the bike. In fact, I've had a number over the last few years (what? I hear you ask - Harley Super Glide; Yam XSR and XJR), and this is the one I've bonded with more than any of them. Hence the mods - I wouldn't invest so much otherwise in bits and pieces for it. It's just got a certain 'character', even in stock form, which I hope the mods are only going to accentuate. And of course, it's simply a gorgeous bike! 😁

Anyway, enough from me for now.

Ben

 

[Mellowrider]

Welcome to the forum SCRBen! Must be cool riding around England. Fascinating place!
I picked up my SCR in Late September. Ive got a little over 600 miles on it.
Parked for the winter. Illinois . USA.
Mine is all stock. Mainly because I dont have the extra cake to do anything to it.
And also because.... Its so new. Its the only new bike I've ever had. Ive only had two.
I dont want to do anything to it,..... Yet.
Ive got a 1977 KZ750 twin in the garage.
People keep sayin.... why dont you sell it? Well, it runs ,but it needs some work.
Its drivable. I was driving it until I bought the scr.
I dont want to sell the old KZ... Its a classic antique now. I put oil in the cylinders
and took the tank in the house.
Spring is right around the corner. !
Welcome!

 

[SCRBen]

Welcome to the forum SCRBen! Must be cool riding around England. Fascinating place!
I picked up my SCR in Late September. Ive got a little over 600 miles on it.
Parked for the winter. Illinois . USA.
Mine is all stock. Mainly because I dont have the extra cake to do anything to it.
And also because.... Its so new. Its the only new bike I've ever had. Ive only had two.
I dont want to do anything to it,..... Yet.
Ive got a 1977 KZ750 twin in the garage.
People keep sayin.... why dont you sell it? Well, it runs ,but it needs some work.
Its drivable. I was driving it until I bought the scr.
I dont want to sell the old KZ... Its a classic antique now. I put oil in the cylinders
and took the tank in the house.
Spring is right around the corner. !
Welcome!

Sound like love with the KZ, so don't know why you would ever sell it.
Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Mellowrider]

Sound like love with the KZ, so don't know why you would ever sell it.
Thanks for the welcome.

That is affirmative. Maybe one day Il fix her up. Glad to have you aboard.

 

[Mellowrider]

So whats it like riding in the UK? Whats the speed limits? Helmet Laws? Do alot of folks ride over there?
You ride mostly country roads or highway? Are the country roads narrow? Whats the attitude generally with the public at large towards motorcycle riders?

 

[Mellowrider]

Hey SCRBen.
You ever do any metal detecting over there? Ive been looking at the UK on google earth for years. Ancient round house crop marks. Roman towns villas. etc etc etc etc on and on. Ive got a couple hundred spots marked on google earth where you can see buried villages.... streets.... etc etc etc Just started reading about ceasers invasion somewhere around 60 BC? About the native Britons who fought on chariots. Carried long narrow shield and a spear and a sword. Just reading about the battles. If I lived in your country... I'd pick up a good metal detector and go looking for the treasure Ive read about people finding. Must be cool! The Lidar map of the UK is awesome too.

 

[SCRBen]

Ha - you're going to make me sound ignorant now, but no, that's not something I've ever done! You see people doing it from time to time, but don't know if it's a really popular past time or not. There's certainly lots of interesting old towns, ruins, buildings to visit. I used to live in Lincoln, and the cathedral there is one of my absolutely favourite buildings - its spectacular. Was started in 1088, apparently! (thanks Google!! 😉)
To answer your earlier points, that's certainly one of the advantages of the UK - lots of interesting, historic places to visit, and none really too far away (Lots of not interesting places to visit too!!) It also a disadvantage tho - nigh on 70 million people squeezed into a place only just half the size of California. Apparently 11 states are bigger than the UK (thanks again interweb). As a result, roads are pretty shockingly delapidated in places, and seemingly always busy, which can be annoying. Guess it also making biking a bit of an advantage though - filtering (Lane splitting) is legal here, though you often get some idiot who takes umbrage at it. It would sometimes be nice to go out for a good run though, and hit very little traffic. On a weekend, I often find myself getting up at 6am, to get out early so the roads are at least a bit quieter. I also work shifts though, so can sometimes find some quieter periods in the week, when everyone else is at work. I often find myself doing a bit of motorway (highway) to get away from the more populous areas, and then hit the quieter roads in the countryside - Lake District, Peak District, maybe a run to the coast, places like that.
I did a tour of California a few years ago on a Harley with the missus, and that was spectacular - trip of a lifetime! You guys don't do too bad for nice places to go, the climate is fab out there (not sure about your east coast at the mo!), and we sometimes went hours and only saw one car! It's certainly on the list to go back too.
Speed limits here? 30mph in built up areas, then 40s, 50s and 60s elsewhere, up to 70mph on the motorway. We are scourged by speed cameras everywhere, although not so much of a problem with the SCR. When I've had faster bikes, it's a constant concern. To be fair, here nowawdays, I think fast bikes are pretty much an irrelevance on regular roads - you can't use a 10th of what they've got. I'd much rather have something (maybe a scrambler-styled V-Twin?) that's just as engaging at "real world" speeds, where u don't have to be going 80 to get a hit.
Um - helmets? Compulsory - no exceptions (except trikes).
As for the public - I think many think we're a nuisance. The problem here is that there's always been a history of sportsbike riding - we've got a heritage, going all the way back to the early TTs, so, as a result, I think we're often seen as dirty, speed-obsessed nutters. Not by all, I have to admit - there's still a thriving biking culture here, but it's a steadily aging population of bikers. Sportsbikes do still dominate too (although plenty of BMW GSs around now).
How about there - how are bikers perceived? Is it basically still Harley's, and then a small minority of everyone else? (Nothing against them personally - had 2 myself! Not really suited to this small island though).
Ben

 

[Mellowrider]

Hey Ben,
Well out by me, bikes are a bit more excepted than in other areas. I'd say we have 3 kinds of riders around here. Middle aged folks like my self who like to ride, younger people who are speed crazy riding the ninja style bikes, and motorcycle gangs. Out here its the outlaws gang.. they all ride harleys. Theres all kinds of bikes on the road here. Lot of people out here too but I live on the edge of the urban area and farm roads are mostly where I ride. Try to keep away from the cars because for what ever reason, Sometimes they dont notice you. No lane splitting here. Helmets and gear are not required here. Personally, I wear all the gear. Had a few close calls. My guess is that most people look at motorcycle riders like they are nuts. Unless you ride you dont understand .. You know.
Out of a population of 300 million or so... we have around 10 million registered bikes. I'd say the majority of people n the usa dont ride.
If you ride you are part of an unorganized club as everyone you pass on a bike waves a sign hello as they pass. Except for the Biker Gangs. You dont wave hello to them and they dont wave at you. Everyone else seems to have a bond in that we ride.

 

[Mellowrider]

Sometimes... if its 90 degress. I might not wear the jacket.. But always the helmet. People think that if they fall, they will be able to keep their head up. But when you come down on your shoulder.. your head ends up whacking the pavement. Its physics. I always wear the helmet.

 

[Mellowrider]

Acceptance Among Non-Owners Holding Steady. A quarter of non-owners surveyed in 2008 have a positive attitude toward motorcycles, with another 33 percent being neutral. As in 2003, more than half the non-owning population has a neutral or positive attitude toward motorcycles, demonstrating there is still much room for even more market growth.
“The 2008 survey reveals that motorcycling is continuing to become more mainstream in America,” Buche said. “Back in 1992, right as motorcycling started trending upward, Americans only bought 278,000 new bikes. Times have changed, we’ve sold more than a million each year for the past six, and two-wheeling may have a bigger role in the future of American mobility than we can imagine.”

 

[flatrack]

Hey Ben, Ive been looking for blanking plugs for the mirror holes. Do you have a link to where to get them? Thanks and welcome to this forum!

 

[SCRBen]

I don't have UK figures, but I sure do hope biking has a big part in the future. Who knows.....part of me feels the apparent constant strive by the 'safety police' to remove risk from every aspect of life (automated cars that supposedly can't crash, stopping kids playing certain games lest they get hurt, etc. - the list is endless) means they'll have us in their sights at some point.

Flattrack - just picked them up from eBay: https://tinyurl.com/ydb2x8do

Hopefully this link works, but any M10 blanking plugs will do. Just remember the right hand mirror hole is reverse thread (most Yams and BMs have this, I believe) - normally denoted by the little
Mark on the RH mirror adapter.

Sore point with me at the mo - after my initial post, I saw Eddies thread about 10 minutes later, where he helpfully points out that inside each end of the bar there's a massive steel insert (presumably to try and numb vibration) that's not going to come out easily!! Shame I didn't see it about a month ago! So, no bar end mirrors for me - not on the standard bars, anyway. Might need to consider some Renthal bars as replacement - shame though, I really like the standard bars, and if those inserts are there to numb vibration, how much worse is it going to be without them in place? We'll see.....
Ben

 

[YamiGuy]

Welcome to the forum SCRBen!

 

[Robin P]

Hello, Many thanks, glad to be here, I pick up my SCR next weekend, I am considering adding a freeflow air filter and the Akropovic pipe, any alternatives or views on the idea ?