Today was a nice bonding ride, about 110 miles. I'll need a couple more of these. I cruised I35 at 85, poked along on a gravel/dirt road at 30, and found some "okay" roads to try the handling out on.
Overall I am just shocked at how much this bike pushes all of the right buttons. Tuono fast? No. R6 handling? No. Fun to ride? YES!!!!
The brakes are rock solid, wonderful feed back. On the dirt road I played around with the ABS. It will cut in, but is very smooth.
The suspension is very nice too for my weight. The damping is spot on. Over dirt wash board roads, there is NO kick back. It simply tracks. I was really surprised.
I found that with the huge amount of torque, about 80 foot pounds off idle, I simply put the bike into 3rd a putted down the gravel road at 30 mph. That is about 2,800 rpm. At the same time I could grab a hand full and spin the rear tire up. What I like is the tire stays in line. Very controlled.
The exhaust tone is like no other. Think (dare I say) Harley + Ducati + oh never mind, it's a Moto Guzzi! The sound is stunning!
I pulled into Pop's, (a local Okie stop on Route 66) and a HD guy said, "I didn't know Moto Guzzi mades bikes like that. Very nice." Not that I care what an HD guy thinks, but the bike is really handsome.
A few photos to come...