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BigJimnyMeet (North) 2024 (12 Jan 2024)


BigJimnyMeet 2024

14th July 2024
Parkwood Nr. Leeds

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Initial impressions from a biker for bikers

  • Groenewald
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07 Nov 2020 06:08 - 07 Nov 2020 07:35 #229763 by Groenewald
Here is a 1 day ownership review from someone that replaced his 1200GSA with a Jimny.


Walking up to the Jimny before setting off is as nice as walking up to a nice bike. You get that same proud feeling that you are driving something a bit different, something unique among what the rest of the people are driving.

Not entirely what most people would call practical, but thats all fake news so @#%@ them!!

The Jimny definitely seems to screw around with time and space. Kind of a reverse, inverted black hole event horizon Schrodingers cat situation.

From the outside it is tiny. Once you get into it, it grows. Not only on you, but physically. In most respects there is more room inside than you would expect and it feels substantially bigger than it really is. It feels quite dense for its size.

Even if you can flat foot a 1200GS Adventure with the seat and the suspension in the highest setting, you will find there is ample leg space. Lots of headroom too for your offroad helmet.

The seats and seat backs are a bit narrow - 20mm wider would have been ideal, then again - if you lose about 15 kg it will also sort out this issue.

Everything feels and looks old fashioned and chunky. All the controls are a pleasure to use and provide positive feedback. Feels a lot like the controls on a Super Tenere...

Apart from the two push stick thingies by the speedo - these are very small and rather flimsy. Requires two fingers and a pinky in the air to operate.

Excellent visibility - On a bike you can look all around you and the Jimny performs very well in this respect - nice big oversized side mirrors.
You also sit rather high in it.

Stuff inside:

I was fortunate enough that the one available was the base line GA model which is my first choice. I am not overly fond of lots of electronic gadgets and crap in a vehicle. Even an older aircooled GS has too many electronicals for me.

The window winders remind you of an old land rover! As do the passenger grab bar.

Aircon, fan and heater controls all reside where they should and are nice and functional. The radio connects to your phone and answers calls on the go even when you lost your phone somewhere inside. (See 'space' comments below for more details.)

GX Model - Regrets for me? I just wish mine had the split rear seat with that small cargo bay...... That is a bloody nice design!

If you want more stuff to play with, get the GX.



Performance?

I am VERY surprised with the performance of the Jimny. An aircooled GS is less than a quarter of the weight and has about 7 KW more power. Not even talking about the KTMs and new 1250s....

.... so I was not REALLY expecting a lot from the tiny 1.5 engine.

The Jimny pulls well for what it is and the gear ratios feel comfortable and perfectly adequate. I can do uphill stretches more easily than I expected. Less gear changes than expected.

Disclaimer: I have been riding bikes since 2007 and have always taken it very easy, so I got used to a very sedate manner of riding. Did have a couple of visits north of 180km/h on my GS but did not enjoy it at all. Scary and feels like somewhere you should not be. Like arriving at a place without toilets.

If you rode a bike and got a kick out of the performance and speed and handling and cornering and dicing other stuff and racing.... Then buy a Jimny by all means! (Just dont sell your bike).

You can ride offroad without worrying about hitting a rock with a front tyre and blikseming over. A front tyre blowout also wont cause a close up inspection of the road surface.

110kmh on the highway feels like a nice comfortable cruising speed.

Not worrying about stuff like oil on the road, sand, potholes and the rest of the banes of motorcycling gives you more time to take in your surroundings. You will notice new buildings and stuff on the side of the road you have not noticed before.

Some things to get used to: You will stall it because at low revs you cannot really hear or feel what the hell the engine is up to. The engine is surprisingly quiet (compounded by deafness caused by not always using earplugs on your bike.).

When you do hear it though, it sounds a bit bigger than a 1.5. A bit more low pitched and grunty sounding.

It is best driven with light shoes and not heavy size 11 boots. The pedals are close together and does not have a comfortable spot for your left foot.


Ride quality?

Very nice on good roads. Quiet and smooth. On bad tarred roads there is a fair amount of side to side wobble and an enthusiastic approach to a roundabout will require your crash helmet, and maybe a neck brace as well. On a bike you do not experience any lateral forces at all since you (hopefully) lean INTO the turns, so be prepared to notice the sideways movements of the Jimny.

Dirt roads are another story. It feels as if the Jimny likes dirt roads more than bad tarred roads. Going over a big bump with one set of wheels produces less sideways lean than you would expect - must be the solid axles.

Corrugated / washboard roads are still a pain given the small wheels. Especially if you drive too slowly.

The brakes work as advertised - they slow down and stop the vehicle. It also holds itself in place on an uphill. Even if you depress the clutch. Not sure yet how the hell this works....

Positionally I am not used to the wheels yet. The rear wheels are located only a foot or so behind your ass. You feel they should be a lot further back.

Space?

Lots of space. Loads of space! And options too:

You can put stuff in the glove box.
You can put stuff on, under and in front of the passenger seat.
You can put stuff on the floor.
You can put stuff on the back seats.
You can put more stuff behind the back seats.

An arm span of 2 meters allows you to reach most of the stuff in the car and then put it somewhere else.


Weekend rides?

Very few people take a standard car on a breakfast run. The Jimny is a bit of an exception. This proper little 4x4 opens up new a LOT of offroad horizons and places to go.

After taking a couple of offroad classes you should also have the pleasure of annoying guys in big expensive heavy non-cute 'proper' 4x4s.



Project and long term stuff.

If you like fiddling with your bike, I am pretty sure you will enjoy the Jimny!

It has more surface area than the biggest bike, which means more place to attach stuff.

'Stuff' as previously mentioned is important.

It can be functional, make your ride a bit more unique, and also look cool.

You can design and build your own stuff and also buy stuff. Jimny stuff also tends to be cheaper than bike stuff (depending on what you ride).

So even standing still it will still keep your workshop and mind as occupied as a bike.


In closing

New owner. Everyone is always impressed with something new. New wife, new car, new bike, new dog (until it leaks on your bed and then eats your phone charger after it inspected your slippers).

For now I plan on being 'stuck' with a Jimny for a long time. (Figuratively speaking that is ;)


So lets see what happens!
Last edit: 07 Nov 2020 07:35 by Lambert. Reason: Swearing. Please remember this is a family friendly forum.

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  • The quickest Jimny in Harrogate...(that I own)
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07 Nov 2020 07:37 #229766 by Lambert
Nice writeup. Interesting to see it through the eyes of a regular none car user.

Temeraire (2018 quasar grey automatic)
One of the last 200ish of the gen3s, probably.
ADOS Attention Deficit Ooooh Shiny!

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07 Nov 2020 08:43 #229770 by Scimike
Good write up and you have the correct expectations of the Jimny, you are going to love it's quirkiness.
I still get the same buzz jumping in my Jimny as I do on my favourite bike.
PS my old Land Rover does not have wind up windows, too modern all that stuff !!!! :laugh:

Yokohama Geolanders, Sony head unit, NAUTILUS Air Horn, DRL conversion, Rear cargo space, Elvis Bobblehead, transfer Guard, Indian hanging Elephant, Koni Heavy track dampers, Custom SS exhaust, Voodoo Doll, Adventure Rack with LED ight bar, vintage ERIBA caravan usually attached (yes it's slow)

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07 Nov 2020 11:01 #229773 by RumbleAndSway
+1 from another former biker. Agree with everything. Jimny has proved a perfect 4 wheel replacement to an RNineT

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08 Nov 2020 11:07 #229817 by DrRobin
Interesting comparison between a Jimny and a large capacity bike, glad you like both. The bike might be faster, but just think by the time you have put all the kit on, you could be half way there in the Jimny for a short journey.

Oh and you can take your dog in the Jimny and it can chew it’s way through all sorts of stuff in the back perfectly happy, you can’t do that on your bike.

Perhaps if I get my 43 year old 750cc bike back on the road, I can write a similar comparison.

2020 blue SZ5
Ex 2011 Blue Jimny SZ4
Northumberland Jimny Blog

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  • Groenewald
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08 Nov 2020 16:58 #229828 by Groenewald
Replied by Groenewald on topic Initial impressions from a biker for bikers
Thanks guys!

Rumble: Quite nice to hear from someone else that made the same switch. I would like to know what made you do the switch to a Jimny?

I had a trip from the Lowveld to JHB earlier in the year just before lockdown. This trip would make a very nice story and here are some of the elements:

In one afternoon, while looking for Toolquip I went through three separate spotty afternoon thundershowers. Three times I got wet and dried off while on the bike. Rode through weird soapy looking non-soapy smelling stuff covering the road in an industrial area.

Got lost, or rather the GPS sent me on the scenic route via District 9. I have seen the movie, so I decided to turn around.

Some diabolical practical joker approaching in a yellow Mazda or something from the other direction decided to make his afternoon by blasting though the dam of water that accumulated on the other side of the road.

This drenched me and the bike and the wave he caused also prevented me from getting his numberplate.

Locals surveying the scene from within their side of the road shops thought this was hilarious. I didnt.

Creative packing to get home. When I finally located toolquip I bought a granite surface plate. Not a big one, but still.

Thunderstorm at night on the way back to the Lowveld. Roadworks. Narrow two way road near Belfast. Horrible visibility. Cold. Wet. Driving slowly bacause of the conditions with a moron in a car constantly sitting on your tail.

Etc.. Etc...

However, stuff that makes nice stories are not a hell of a lot of fun while you are experiencing it....

Compared to my GSA or even the new one, the Jimny ticked the following boxes:

* Space and Comfort.
* Small, unique, and old fashioned in its looks.
* Ladder Frame and Low Range which puts you in a different class from most of the stuff on the road.
* Fuel consumption:

Of course, when you get a new vehicle gatskuur is pretty mandatory, so yesterday I visited my brother in Carolina. Took the N4 from Nelspruit (not Schoemanskloof, the tunnel road) in order to spend some highway time on my new quad bike. ;)

I reset the avg fuel consumption readout and when I got back it reported 15km/l on the dot ?? There were a number of trucks in front of me on the way back and I was in no hurry which definitely lowered the fuel consumption. Mind you - only one 120kg occupant.

I usually got about 19 to 19.5 on my GS. Never could break 20.


And DrRobin makes a very good point: We can do dog accompanied one day weekend outings. This will allow me to get a dog KbV rating for the Jimny as compared to my wifes 1997 Rav4. KbV = Km before Vomiting. I think the Jimny will score a bit lower because of the swaying....

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08 Nov 2020 18:36 #229834 by DrRobin
Our dog was sick in the back of my work lease car just a couple of weeks before it went back, but that was several years ago when she got travel sick. When she was a puppy she could make about 20KbV, but now she is nearly 12 years old she has grown out of it. Still doesn’t like going in the car but at least she isn’t sick anymore so my Jimny is safe.

My advice, best take your wife’s Rav 4 until your dog grows out of the travel sickness.

15km/l sounds quite good, that is 42mpg, I don’t get anything like that out of my Gen 3 about 35mpg (12-13Km/l) still the weather is cold and wet up here and with our lockdown everything is a short journey.

2020 blue SZ5
Ex 2011 Blue Jimny SZ4
Northumberland Jimny Blog

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08 Nov 2020 22:45 #229842 by lightning
Great review, l've been a biker for many years and never thought to compare our new Jimny to a bike.

l've still got a bike, a KTM Duke 390, bought because it was small and light to have some fun on.

l agree that the Jimny is a car that's great to drive and one that you look back at after parking it up.
l've been nothing but impressed with our Jimny SZ5. There's nothing about it that l don't like, except maybe that it's only part time 4x4
But you can't have everything.

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11 Nov 2020 13:18 #229929 by Bob1050
As a fellow biker I enjoy jumping between riding a missile and the more relaxed plod down the road in my Jimny - both forms of transport get you to a destination with a grin on your face and can encourage strangers to approach you for a chat - which can be both very enjoyable and on occasion downright irritating. Just for variety, I also drive a tractor, which offers another form of road going experience.

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