Back in Business - My New S4RS!

Well it’s been almost 10 weeks since the loss of poor Alice - my beautiful custom S4. Despite daily scumtree\eBay searches not so much of a whiff of the bike or any of its parts have shown. I can only conclude that she is gone for good – but not forgotten.

So, as they say, onwards and upwards. The insurance settlement came in and I assessed my options for a replacement. I settled on either an S4R or and RS depending on which came up first. Fortunately for me, it was a latter and on Saturday after a glorious test ride I put the money down on this:



It’s a 2006 trade-in with just over 12k on the clock, 1 owner from new (in his 70’s apparently), full service (with the big 12k done), Termignoni slip-ons, alarm etc… it really is in superb condition. I really wanted to find a blemish or two so I could knock the dealer down with the price but it was in showroom condition… it hasn’t even contracted the flaky engine paint disease yet!

So, first impressions after the test ride? After spending the last 4 years exclusively on the S4 I noticed a few major differences immediately. Firstly, it definitely felt a lot lighter. The combination of the plastic tank and lightened wheels seemed to me to make a big difference and made the bike feel more agile and easier to lean quickly – this could also be those expensive shocks at work. The second major difference was that it felt instantly more comfortable. I think I am so used to the clip-ons on my S4 that I naturally expect my shoulders and wrists to be under strain when riding. The raised bars on the S4RS seemed to take a lot of strain out and it felt much kinder - also the Ohlins suspension felt a lot less jarring that then Showa setup on bumpy roads – I felt I could ride this bike all day and not get tired. Lastly… that engine! Wow, I can’t say I really noticed the extra 25bhp or so over my S4 but, to me at least, it is the refinement of the 999 motor makes all the difference. Where as the 916 motor felt quite edgy and raw the 999 just feels sweet and balanced, it pulls harder and smoother in all the gears and the power delivery is just sublime.

Overall, it was everything I thought it would be and more. The only small criticisms I would make are that the levers didn’t feel as nice as my old ones… for some reason they felt a big and ungainly to me but this can be easily changed. I also felt the clutch was heavier and more grabby and needed a fair bit more sensitivity then the S4 off the lights – I could just be me out of practice though. Oh and finally the sound… my S4 had “race use only” Termis and it definitely had more of an angry bark to the exhaust note. These Termis and stamped with a C marking on top and I think perhaps they are the tamer EU certified pipes (can anyone confirm this?)… it is still loud but I can’t imagine it setting off car alarms like my old bike used to – still I guess I’ll be more popular with the neighbours.

So this turned into a very long post in the end but I am incredibly excited – I’ve got all my bikey stuff here at work and I should be collecting this week. Hurrah!

Oh... and that ridiculous Shell sticker is coming straight off before anyone asks!

Happy for You mate! Enjoy it!

[gary tompkins]

Nice to see you back on a monster again

Good call on the naff shell sticker too

[J.P]

Hi it certainly looks in tip top condition from the photo.

Having had one & made a number of changes I can suggest the following if you've got a bit more money to spend.

1) you can get rid of the CAT by buying link pipes for a few hundred quid probably. Lightens the bike and will definitely be louder on the exhausts.

2) I really, really, recommend the 14tooth front sprocket

3) I really, really, really recommend having the bike ECU 'remapped' professionally, even if the ECU has been changed to the Ducati Performance ECU. It'll make a world of difference to how smooth the bike runs. I can recommend a couple of places if you like.

[Capo]

The EU marking is with the db killers installed. The cat is doing a lot of silencing.

[damien666]

If you have a look on ebay in bike parts, someone is selling evotech radiator and oil cooler guards. I have them fitted myself, very good fit/ quality. starting bid is £29.

[slob]

Nice one James

[steeevvvooo]

that is a lovely looking bike. Seem to be pretty rare in red too

Agree with everything JP said. Decat, sprocket and ECU remap are almost a must

Welcome to the a'RS'e club, James. Lol. Enjoy, and I concur with JP, get some link pipes etc.

Good to see you have bought another one, that's a very nice bike, look forward to seeing it.

Are you going to repaint it like you did the last one?

awesome bike fella!

[Nickj]

Nice find. looks very tasty

Might be an idea to make a mobile enclosure out of this stuff, maybe hook up to some of this to give it a bit more bite.

Thanks for all the comments guys!

I picked up the bike last night after spending most of the week climbing the walls with excitement. I went for a long ride around central London admiring the sights and riding into work this morning was utter bliss after the 10 weeks or so I’ve spent in the Victoria line rat race.

I’m really pleased I found a red one… I fancied a change from white with a red stripe so I went for red with a white strip… haha, imaginative… I don’t think I will be repainting it anytime soon - I hear the red ones are faster anyway!

I’ll definitely be getting some link pipes. I’ve always thought the standard cat is a bit of an eye-sore and if it will beef up the sound a bit then I am sold as I quite miss the growl of my old bike, this one sound more like an angry-toy where my old bike just sounded bad-ass… I am wondering if its quietness is also to do with this:



Are these pipes different to the race pipes I had on my old bike… or are they the same straight through pipes supplied with DB Kills installed?

J.P. - Yes I’d certainly appreciate some recommendations for places to have the fueling setup properly. Can the standard ECU be remapped or will it need a piggy-back power commander type thing? Also, does a decat\remap up the power much from standard?

I think the most immediate changes I’ll be making are finding an open clutch cover as I miss that “pair of skeletons ****ing in a metal dustbin” sound. I’ll also be swapping the orange indicator lenses for clear ones doing something about the mirrors… I think I actually preferred the Micky Mouse ears on my old bike.



Oh, one last thing I noticed and thought was a bit strange, the headlight on and off switch is blanked off so the headlight is permanently on, is this normal? Not that I am complaining but I'm sure I could switch the headlight off on my s4.

[simon_g]

That's about the time they changed to having headlight permanently on - my 2007 Monster is the same.

Looks great!

[J.P]

Minty,
Headlights are on full time as standard on the modern bikes.

As for remapping, they break into the ECU , regardless of what one it is, and as they do it directly to the ECU you do not need a power commander. Power commanders are so last decade, remapping is the only way to go. A couple of places can do it and well known for doing good jobs, unfortunately not in London. I've used CJS Racing (http://www.cjsracing.co.uk/) near to Bath for a couple of my bikes (1200 Multistrada & 1100 EVO), also BSD Performance based in Peterborough (http://bsd.uk.com/).
I'd say CJS is better because he creates his own computer models where as BSD buy there's in, but both are very good.
With Dyno time & the work, you're looking at about £500, plus a tank of fuel and the getting there etc, and the hanging around for 3 or 4 hours.

It will improve power slightly, but the more important thing is the smoothness it creates all the way through the engine.