javahaxxor
Wizard
Part 1
Got in the saddle of my trusty old (ish) FZ1 and at 1 degree celsius and headed north to pick up my new ride. Long story short, after roughly 250km I got there, with my ass in good shape after riding the comfy couch.
Yada, yada, yada, handshake, and I'm the slightly scared owner of a slightly nervous new bike. I fill it up near the dealer and head for the freeway. In with first gear, then second, then "floor" it. The front wheel heads for the sky in a very predictable way and stays there for I don't know, 15-20 seconds. And the thing just keeps pulling and revving. Seeing that I'm headed for the shoulder I let it down harshly and ave my nuts crushed against the tank. "Ow, my balls" from that movie where everyone's got stupid popped into my head ..
So I decided to take it easy for a while, and start with looking at a slightly less aggressive mode. In with STD. And cruise control. Touched the clutch, and it cuts so abruptly, that I recall "ow my balls" again. Maybe I should skip the narrative and get down to some bullets.
- I had to stop after 100km because my ass was hurting like a m******er. That thing is hard like a rock, and my ass bones happened to be exactly on a freaking edge of the seat. Because it has a hard edge. I had a burger and a coffee, and just by looking at it through the window, the pain went away
- I decided that I'll ride in STD mode which is the least harsh when opening and closing the throttle (it's pretty much perfect) and TC mode 1, which allows big wheelies. You can pull small wheelies with TC mode 2 also.
- I found myself riding it at half throttle in 6th and just pinning it for overtakings. The thing just pulls, you don't need to shift, and I liked it. Going up the revs it just pulls harder and harder , it felt like it's joing to rip my arms off. And it doesn't stop untill you hit the rev limiter. Not that I hit the rev limiter, I let go a bit before I hit top speed. It's an animal.
- Going so fast I realized that the wind deflector is doing a pretty good job. I felt super comfortable at 130-140, even 150 km/h for longer periods, so touring is an option even without a screen. even 160 is ok if you lean forward a bit. That was a nice surprise.
- At those speeds moving your arms becomes a problem, they get caught in the wind , you need to keep them close to the body. Not a problem.
- my hands hit the stupid mirrors several times when waving to other riders. Not sure what to do about that, bar end mirrors could be even more in the way. The OEM mirrors are quite bad, but you get an idea of what's happening behind you. If you don't rev it, because then everything is a blur. Let's face it, it's not a touring bike.
- The fuel gage is so stupid I can't believe it. The first half is one bar. So either its full or almost half empty. Strap that guy to the fence Yamaha, and let the other guys throw tomatoes at him.
- Also, going that fast , every crack in the pavement I hit sent a shock to my spine. The suspension probably is completely wrongly setup. Take a couple of clicks of the compression damping I guesss. Otherwise the ride is quite plush, nothing like the sportbike-like BMW S1000R. Which by the way is a weapon. I'm happy with that, I like a plushy ride. How can it be plushy and harsh at the same time ?
- On one overtaking I pulled a wheelie from 130km/h in third gear. Absolutely controllable and non-dramatic. This engine and chassis makes it so easy, I can't believe it.
- flicking it side to side is so easy, much like the S1000, or any other REAL sportbike. This thing is going to be a blast on the B-roads. No more being afraid I won't make that corner. This is going to carve a groove in that pavement.
- Fuel consumption. I couldn't get it to do less than 7.3 L/100km average. It's quite thirsty. This is probably completely unimportant for the guys in the states, or Venezuela. I'll just pay and smile, I think. I'll see it like I'm paying extra for the larger grin on my face.
- The clutch is really easy to pull, I'm really happy about that. I used to get a lot of pain in my wrist after half a day.
- It vibrates when accelerating but mostly then. Otherwise I didn't feel any numbness during 3,5 hours of riding it home.
- Forget about passengers. Passenger seat is minimal, and pegs are super high. And it's probably going to flip over as soon as you accelerate.
- I think I'll have to get a link pipe to hear that big bang a little bit better.
- The biggest problem is the seat
Those last two will set me back another 500 USD/EUR
- it's a really good road bike.
- is it the perfect bike for you? Well, if you like to ride it like you stole it, then I'd say yes. Are you a hooligan? Yes again. If not, I'd think again, or maybe change the gearing so it doesn't wheelie all the time.
U don't get why yamaha won't do a touring bike on this platform. Just a top fairing with proper mirrors and optional side fairing. Hell, give me a top fairing with mirrors as an option and I'd probably buy it
Got in the saddle of my trusty old (ish) FZ1 and at 1 degree celsius and headed north to pick up my new ride. Long story short, after roughly 250km I got there, with my ass in good shape after riding the comfy couch.
Yada, yada, yada, handshake, and I'm the slightly scared owner of a slightly nervous new bike. I fill it up near the dealer and head for the freeway. In with first gear, then second, then "floor" it. The front wheel heads for the sky in a very predictable way and stays there for I don't know, 15-20 seconds. And the thing just keeps pulling and revving. Seeing that I'm headed for the shoulder I let it down harshly and ave my nuts crushed against the tank. "Ow, my balls" from that movie where everyone's got stupid popped into my head ..
So I decided to take it easy for a while, and start with looking at a slightly less aggressive mode. In with STD. And cruise control. Touched the clutch, and it cuts so abruptly, that I recall "ow my balls" again. Maybe I should skip the narrative and get down to some bullets.
- I had to stop after 100km because my ass was hurting like a m******er. That thing is hard like a rock, and my ass bones happened to be exactly on a freaking edge of the seat. Because it has a hard edge. I had a burger and a coffee, and just by looking at it through the window, the pain went away
- I decided that I'll ride in STD mode which is the least harsh when opening and closing the throttle (it's pretty much perfect) and TC mode 1, which allows big wheelies. You can pull small wheelies with TC mode 2 also.
- I found myself riding it at half throttle in 6th and just pinning it for overtakings. The thing just pulls, you don't need to shift, and I liked it. Going up the revs it just pulls harder and harder , it felt like it's joing to rip my arms off. And it doesn't stop untill you hit the rev limiter. Not that I hit the rev limiter, I let go a bit before I hit top speed. It's an animal.
- Going so fast I realized that the wind deflector is doing a pretty good job. I felt super comfortable at 130-140, even 150 km/h for longer periods, so touring is an option even without a screen. even 160 is ok if you lean forward a bit. That was a nice surprise.
- At those speeds moving your arms becomes a problem, they get caught in the wind , you need to keep them close to the body. Not a problem.
- my hands hit the stupid mirrors several times when waving to other riders. Not sure what to do about that, bar end mirrors could be even more in the way. The OEM mirrors are quite bad, but you get an idea of what's happening behind you. If you don't rev it, because then everything is a blur. Let's face it, it's not a touring bike.
- The fuel gage is so stupid I can't believe it. The first half is one bar. So either its full or almost half empty. Strap that guy to the fence Yamaha, and let the other guys throw tomatoes at him.
- Also, going that fast , every crack in the pavement I hit sent a shock to my spine. The suspension probably is completely wrongly setup. Take a couple of clicks of the compression damping I guesss. Otherwise the ride is quite plush, nothing like the sportbike-like BMW S1000R. Which by the way is a weapon. I'm happy with that, I like a plushy ride. How can it be plushy and harsh at the same time ?
- On one overtaking I pulled a wheelie from 130km/h in third gear. Absolutely controllable and non-dramatic. This engine and chassis makes it so easy, I can't believe it.
- flicking it side to side is so easy, much like the S1000, or any other REAL sportbike. This thing is going to be a blast on the B-roads. No more being afraid I won't make that corner. This is going to carve a groove in that pavement.
- Fuel consumption. I couldn't get it to do less than 7.3 L/100km average. It's quite thirsty. This is probably completely unimportant for the guys in the states, or Venezuela. I'll just pay and smile, I think. I'll see it like I'm paying extra for the larger grin on my face.
- The clutch is really easy to pull, I'm really happy about that. I used to get a lot of pain in my wrist after half a day.
- It vibrates when accelerating but mostly then. Otherwise I didn't feel any numbness during 3,5 hours of riding it home.
- Forget about passengers. Passenger seat is minimal, and pegs are super high. And it's probably going to flip over as soon as you accelerate.
- I think I'll have to get a link pipe to hear that big bang a little bit better.
- The biggest problem is the seat
Those last two will set me back another 500 USD/EUR
- it's a really good road bike.
- is it the perfect bike for you? Well, if you like to ride it like you stole it, then I'd say yes. Are you a hooligan? Yes again. If not, I'd think again, or maybe change the gearing so it doesn't wheelie all the time.
U don't get why yamaha won't do a touring bike on this platform. Just a top fairing with proper mirrors and optional side fairing. Hell, give me a top fairing with mirrors as an option and I'd probably buy it
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