New K7 Owner in South Australia

[SA14]

Hi everyone, Last Thursday (today is Sunday) I took delivery of a 70,000km K7 2008. Pause for applause.

Lots to say about it but basically it's been sitting idle for 5 years. The first years outside near the beach (salt corrosion) and then another 2 years inside but not cleaned after a road trip. I don't blame anyone - life is funny and the last owner (I'm the third) did me a good deal and the bike seems fine mechanically (nice tight sounding engine) and the best part...when it arrived it only had 40,000kms!!

Here's a vid of the startup on the night she arrived.

The box is coming off, the smokey fairing is coming off. I have an immaculate stock muffler that came with it which I installed for registration and inspection but a Scorpion muffler (sounds great!) came with the bike too.

She's going to need a light restoration, engine covers, forks, headlight mounts, motor re-paint and detail...etc and I want to polish the rims too. Apart from that, it's ride, admire and enjoy owning one of the best motorcycles ever built!

Glad to be here.

[grog]

Welcome Mate. Will come up beautiful. The best colour 14, K7 Blue/White. Im not biased.

[Taniwha]

Very Nice Bike. Grog is right. The Blue & White 14 IS the best colour. I'm not biased either. 

[KiwiCol]

Gidday mate, welcome to the forum.

[Kiwifruit]

Welcome matey good to have you along. 

[SA14]

Welcome Mate. Will come up beautiful. The best colour 14, K7 Blue/White. Im not biased.

Welcome Mate. Will come up beautiful. The best colour 14, K7 Blue/White. Im not biased.

Gidday mate, welcome to the forum.

Very Nice Bike. Grog is right. The Blue & White 14 IS the best colour. I'm not biased either. 

Welcome Mate. Will come up beautiful. The best colour 14, K7 Blue/White. I'm not biased.

Thanks all. Agreed on the blue, especially candle apple. I'd love to catch up with other SA 14 owners if there are any in here and of course I have a billion questions. This is the first bike I've owned for 37 years and (of course) the most powerful so I'm taking it very easy but the 14 is so beautiful and well behaved that it's a cinch to ride around at less than 3,000 - even when absolutely petrified...lol

Short story:
Ok so it arrives, I clean it up, get a permit and get all dressed up several times because I forgot the order of importance...lol it all came back to me very fast and I called myself several names on Friday morning. Yep, gloves went on before helmet and before grabbing the keys...etc

Wait...it gets worse.

So I'm ready to head off down my quiet suburban street on my maiden voyage and although honestly confident (what could possibly go wrong?) I ease out the clutch with appropriate revs and started rolling down the road. A bit wobbly, to be expected - right? Into second but still wobbly and getting worse. I found I couldn't control the bike in a straight line, it was weaving left and right (a bit) and I was always having to correct it to keep it sort of straight. Something definitely wrong. So I turned left at the first corner and could barely make the turn! Bike couldn't keep straight AND it was really hard to turn. I really had to manhandle and if there was a car on the other side of the road you wouldn't be hearing this story - it was that bad and a little freightening - not going to lie. What the...? The bike was unrideable or I'd forgotten how to ride. Can you guess what the problem was? Extremely basic rooky mistake. I'll allow a few guesses for a laugh and when someone picks it I'll confirm. The clue is in the story so far.

I sorted out the issue and went on to have a fantastic day of rising, dealing with government officials and having a few admirers come up to me who new EXACTLY what the 14 was and loved them, had always loved them and want one and always wanted one...etc. 

[KiwiCol]

Flat tyres?

[grog]

Maybe you shouldve checked tyre pressure? Just guessing. I like your approach to re learning to ride. Confidence, revs will all go up in time. Once you get used to it, a few fast rides, foot touching down cornering etc. Youll never cease to be amazed how good 14 is, i dont.

[Mick_J]

Welcome to the forum SA14  bike sounds fine.  I'm not biased at all but you definitely have the best colour there and it might be an idea to check your tyre pressures before riding. 

[SA14]

Maybe you shouldve checked tyre pressure? Just guessing. I like your approach to re learning to ride. Confidence, revs will all go up in time. Once you get used to it, a few fast rides, foot touching down cornering etc. Youll never cease to be amazed how good 14 is, i dont.

Flat tyres?

Yep! 8 in the front! 2 in the rear!! They "felt" firm and looked inflated so it didn't occur to me to check. Weird how they rolled and allowed me to ride a little bit.

Check your tyres ya drongo!

[Eric GSX1400K3]

 :smile2:welcome along, maybe one day I'll tackle the Nullarbor and ride perth to Adelaide and beyond, (after checking tyre pressures of course).

[SA14]

:smile2:welcome along, maybe one day I'll tackle the Nullarbor and ride perth to Adelaide and beyond, (after checking tyre pressures of course).

Ha, I'll send you an extra tyre gauge, I bought 10.

[T 24]

Welcome SA14 !

[seth]

 
To all things 1402

[SA14]

Welcome to all things 1402

I love forums. Thanks for all the welcomes.

Maybe you should've checked tyre pressure? Just guessing. I like your approach to re learning to ride. Confidence, revs will all go up in time. Once you get used to it, a few fast rides, foot touching down cornering etc. You'll never cease to be amazed how good 14 is, i don't.

I'm still in that shock phase. I remember Kwaka 9s giving me wide eyes so I can't wait to build the confidence to ride this bike in a spirited fashion. That may never happen which means I've got a never ending supply of growth in the riding skills department. This bike will (according to all of you) do everything I want it to do and more (except preserve my license if I'm careless). There must be a faster way to become a skilled rider than simply riding. I need some experienced riders telling me to "now listen carefully..."