4Q2 Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Would it make bike companies actually sell decent kit in the first place. Not read any bike tests for years, but having owned several bikes that were praised for their instant response or forgiving handling. What they mean that is the fi is so sudden it's scary or the suspension is so bad you have to ride slowly. As an example, the gen 2 Fazer 1000 fuelling was dreadful, so bad in fact that at the 2007 bike product awards the dynojet rep actually thanked Lyn Jarvis for making so much money for them! Fast forward 20 years, and Yamaha are still making fi bikes that don't fuel properly! I understand the need to pass emissions/noise tests messes with the fuelling, but why put a fuelling map so sharp that hitting a bump results in uncontrollable acceleration......on a retro bike. Or is it simply that you criticize a bike and they pull the advertising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonio Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I reckon you're right: the cash advertising is enough to make all bikes sparkle by the time the review has passed the editor and the CFO. But I've noticed the information is still there, only it's given in what's missed out. If they don't say "silky-smooth fuelling", they mean it's snatchy for sure. Even faint praise is a warning sign: if all they can write is "fuelling is good", it means it's fairly shite. "The suspension comfortably soaks up all the bumps we found in Britain's roads" means it's soft as cheese and wallows in the corners. The reviews I enjoy most are the ones where they get 3 or 4 people out on 3 or 4 bikes, swap them over during the day, and collect everyone's opinions. It's the comparison that's interesting - this bike is better than than one on the open road, but the other one was more comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mississippi Bullfrog Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Why expect bike journalists to be any different from everything else? The only reviews worth looking at are those from people who actually spent their own hard earned cash on something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 4 hours ago, 4Q2 said: the gen 2 Fazer 1000 fuelling was dreadful, so bad in fact that at the 2007 bike product awards the dynojet rep actually thanked Lyn Jarvis for making so much money for them! Bit out of order that! They should be thanking Suzuki for making the TL1000s which led to the production of the power commander in the first place That thing had fuelling issues from day 1 and was never rectified Although the journos never held back about the abrupt throttle response although they all just described it as a beast of a bike! and a wheelie machine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 My icle fz6 is supposed to be snatchy, have a crap clutch and be terrifying for normal riders if you pin it, I've not had or thought any of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulCa Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I bought a brand new car, a brand new model, first release. It was one of the biggest hyped releases. I bought in because of the inherent character and ethos of the car. Toyota GT86. The auto journalists kept repeating the same anecdotes about it. Like "It has rubbish Prius tyres you want to replace on day one." When you look into this, no, the Prius does not come as standard with Micheline Primacy HPs. In fact the only Prius to come with with Primacy HPs was the Jap only SPORT model with 190bhp combined output and then only as an option. Also the OEM Primacy HP fitted to the GT86 was comissions with modification as an OEM bespoke version. The reason they choose that tyre to start with was the hard compound and the 30,000 durability. That made the GT86's grip limit VERY accessible and the chances of your burning out a set of rears in the first week less likely. But so many people slapped PS4s on the car from day one and have never, ever experienced the true LOL-Steer of owning a GT86. It comes loose quick, but it's an absoultely pleasure to drive sideways. The car doesn't even really "change" under your as your transition into a power slide, it's just so damn graceful. Put PS4s on it and it will grip the road like a limpet and you have to be extremely aggressive to get it loose. Completely negating the point of the car. Then, once they have put sticky rubber on it, they see it is comparable to some "competition" so they compare it against that competitions where it under performs. "It needs more power!", the second most incorrectly stated journo BS. So the competition comes first, their sticky GT86 comes second and the guy with stock tyres arrives last, power sliding on every corner exit and is the one with the biggest grin by far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulCa Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I'm looking for new tyres. Nobody will sell me tyres with less grip, for some reason tyre manufacturers don't aim for that market. So I'm going to have to go for PS4s, but go down in width from 215 to 205 and hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerontious Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 You are not going to get a completely honest appraisal from a journo who has had an all expenses paid trip to some far flung beauty spot for a launch/test ride on some new bike for risk of never being invited again. They will always gloss over or ignore completely any little problem, that’s if they notice - bear in mind the bikes used will have had much extra care in the setting up department before being shipped out. They definitely will not be just random bikes destined for various dealers as test bikes. They will be rather special. Tested and tweaked to the nth degree. Perfect to make an impression!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldgrump Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Lots of bikes have bad fueling low down, my Sv1000 is crap in town, but I bloody love it, it fires out of corners, my mates DL1000 is fine, and a totally different bike to ride altogether, yet they use the same engine!! If you have a spare hour to waste, read the article in this link, very interesting www.boosterplug.com/shop/cms-fuel_injection_book_ok.html, and yes have one fitted to the Sv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mississippi Bullfrog Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 10 hours ago, oldgrump said: Lots of bikes have bad fueling low down, my Sv1000 is crap in town, but I bloody love it, it fires out of corners, my mates DL1000 is fine, and a totally different bike to ride altogether, yet they use the same engine!! If you have a spare hour to waste, read the article in this link, very interesting www.boosterplug.com/shop/cms-fuel_injection_book_ok.html, and yes have one fitted to the Sv. I also have a Booster ug. Makes a huge difference at low speeds. The nice thing is it's totally removable if you want to go back to stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geofferz Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 I don't see much of this in automotive journalism myself. I see the opposite in fact - they complain about the smallest things like 'it's a bit old', and 'the suspension is a bit stiff' (on a race bike!) but usually say at the end that they are all amazing, buy whichever you like (thinking about 44 teeth Isle of man 2021 superbike shootout). No one makes bad bikes these days do they? Obviously they can't only say that, or you have no content which I get. They also seem to have no problem always rating aprilia the best - everyone does - so unless aprilia has everyone in their back pockets which I doubt, it probably means that no one has them in there, which is good. Journos can't win either way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuRavary Posted November 8, 2021 Share Posted November 8, 2021 Something to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Q2 Posted November 8, 2021 Author Share Posted November 8, 2021 Many moons ago, iirc, TBM had the temerity to mention that the WR400f they had been testing was a bit hard to start (truth be told it was a complete pig). Yamaha pulled all their advertising and banned them from all future press bikes! Yamaha quickly replaced the 400 with the 426 as well! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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