I have had to spend some money on my new (well, new to me) R1, so I doubt it was a bargain. When I bought it, I paid £2700. It came with nearly new tyres, front pads, clutch, recent MOT and a year's tax, but it really needed new front discs. The old pair were below their service limit; they looked worn in the ebay pictures, so I wasn't surprised. I paid £200 for the replacements and decided to replace the C+S too, though in hindsight I think the aftermarket alloy rear sprocket was well worn, giving the illusion that the chain was more stretched than was actually the case. Anyway, at the Great Offley bike show, one Mr. Lozzo of this parish pointed out that the rear shock was not original: TBH I hadn't noticed. There was nothing obvious to give away what it was as the remote reservoir is half hidden by the (one-piece) tailpiece/seat unit. After much trawling through maker's websites, I had a idea I knew what it was, but wasn't sure, so I went down into the garage to have another look, this time armed with a torch. The words 'Ohlins Racing' cast on the bottom C-collar confirmed my thoughts. This last discovery helps make up for the extra expense. I'm rather pleased. I'm still not convinced about its power output, though. Trouble is, I was intending to buy a 'disposable' 'Blade or R1 just for this summer, but that seems to have gone out of the window now.
