S-Westerly Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 I've now had a bit of time with the bike and over 600 miles under my belt. This has been on a mixture of A and B roads plus motorways. I've still not been able to really thrash it as the revs are still limited. Its due its first service on 12th January after which it will be unleashed. So first impressions: its really nice to ride, got good brakes and handles / corners very well. For me it's more comfortable than my Multistrada and easier to handle at low speeds. The electronics are pretty good and I've more or less got the hang of the various bells and whistles - cruise control, heated grips and electric screen. The lights are really good. The Ohlins adaptive suspension is really good and I think contribute to the perceived stability. The aero wings might be a gimmick but they're cool! I get less vibration through the bars than with the Multistrada and more visibility through the mirrors. The panniers (expensive) are useful and can fit my helmet in the left hand one. Cornering ABS etc seems to work as per what it's supposed to. All in all I'm really pleased with it and I still think it looks gorgeous. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RideWithStyles Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Great! I hope it carries being a perfect bike! definitely a bucket list bike of mine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 I'm not a fan of the cylinder tops but other than that it's a bloody good looking bike Ps Is that cheddar gorge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 It is. I i personally would have preferred gunmetal or black but gold is the only option. At least I didn't get the gold wheels as that would have been too blingy if that's a word. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 (edited) So the bike has just had its first service and all's well there. Had a bit of fuss with the tyre pressures but not the bikes fault and all sorted for now. Today I rode the 297 miles from.my home in Gloucestershire to my dad's in Northumberland. This is its first long slog up the motorway but at this time of year I wasn't going to be dilly dallying along the way. The bike performed effortlessly. Compared to the Multistrada the biggest gain was the comfort of the seat. On the Mutley after 200 miles it wasn't so much a numb bum as a holy hand grenade of pain. On the V100 not even a hint of numb after the entire journey. A negative note was the fuel consumption- at legal speeds it is reasonable at about 45 mpg. At (ahem) somewhat faster speeds the petrol seemed to evaporate. Not that I persisted in this naughtiness. All in all the bike continues to please even if I do only have one pannier at the moment. Replacement one is crossing the Atlantic hopefully. Edited January 14 by S-Westerly 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 All sounds good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonio Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Saw one in the flesh yesterday, outside Norwich. Looked very smart. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickly Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 On 04/01/2024 at 19:55, S-Westerly said: I've now had a bit of time with the bike and over 600 miles under my belt. This has been on a mixture of A and B roads plus motorways. I've still not been able to really thrash it as the revs are still limited. Its due its first service on 12th January after which it will be unleashed. So first impressions: its really nice to ride, got good brakes and handles / corners very well. For me it's more comfortable than my Multistrada and easier to handle at low speeds. The electronics are pretty good and I've more or less got the hang of the various bells and whistles - cruise control, heated grips and electric screen. The lights are really good. The Ohlins adaptive suspension is really good and I think contribute to the perceived stability. The aero wings might be a gimmick but they're cool! I get less vibration through the bars than with the Multistrada and more visibility through the mirrors. The panniers (expensive) are useful and can fit my helmet in the left hand one. Cornering ABS etc seems to work as per what it's supposed to. All in all I'm really pleased with it and I still think it looks gorgeous. Kudos for testing the cornering ABS, took me all my bottle to test the Speedtriple’s basic ABS in a straight line, back brake was easy enough but I was sh*tting my self trying the front in case it locked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 (edited) The Multistrada had such an awkwardly located rear brake pedal I barely used it so got used to almost doing all my braking with the front brake. It didn't have cornering ABS but did have straight line ABS. A cornering / Braking training session at Mallory Park gave me confidence in braking in bends if necessary so getting a bike with cornering ABS meant it was quite easy to give it a test. Of course if it hadn't worked as advertised I may have been a bit less smug! Edited January 16 by S-Westerly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerontious Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Casting my mind back, I honestly cannot think of any occasion or circumstance where cornering ABS might have come into play. Normal ABS - definitely. 2 events stick in my memory and will likely stay with me for the rest of my life. But on a corner or bend? never. But, Ive always stuck with the old advice. on bends only go as fast as you can see. eyes always on the vanishing point. riding like that has definitely saved me a few times. Had I been going too fast for the bend then it might not have ended well. So is that the point of cornering ABS? it allows you to go much faster and not worry so much if you suddenly encounter something that might ruin your day? Its not something Ive ever really thought about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 I'm honestly not sure what the point is as I always work on the basis of going as fast as you can see to stop in - vanishing point etc. I think it's one of these things bike manufacturers do because they can. On my last bike which didn't have it the only time I could have used it was on a large roundabout where some loon jumped in from the left and cut across in front of me causing me to brake hard. So far I've never needed to use it in anger. I've played with it and it seems to work well enough but....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 It will come into play when it's needed and if it's not needed that's great, I can only remember the one time in my car history that a seatbelt was required to work, luckily it did, so did the hedge and the headrest which took a huge amount of compression as the roof flattened and that wasn't even it's main design brief, lots of safety stuff never ever gets used by the majority of people but as it's a numbers game it's used by some and will have saved many lives, not needed but available great. @S-Westerlyhope the right side pannier turns up 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 19 minutes ago, Bender said: It will come into play when it's needed and if it's not needed that's great, I can only remember the one time in my car history that a seatbelt was required to work, luckily it did, so did the hedge and the headrest which took a huge amount of compression as the roof flattened and that wasn't even it's main design brief, lots of safety stuff never ever gets used by the majority of people but as it's a numbers game it's used by some and will have saved many lives, not needed but available great. @S-Westerlyhope the right side pannier turns up According to the latest update from.my American source it is now in Coventry so I am expecting it in the next couple of days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 4 minutes ago, S-Westerly said: According to the latest update from.my American source it is now in Coventry so I am expecting it in the next couple of days. I got some parts from Texas, they were in the UK in under 24hrs from placing the order, took 2 days to get from trimdon to Sunderland, easy to spot where ups stopped and royal fail took over 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonio Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Getting through customs can take a week, even two. Had some stuff from fc moto the other day that took ages to come from Aachen or wherever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 4 hours ago, bonio said: Getting through customs can take a week, even two. Had some stuff from fc moto the other day that took ages to come from Aachen or wherever. I had something lost in a bonded warehouse, it took an entire year to turn up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RideWithStyles Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) On 17/01/2024 at 21:33, Bender said: It will come into play when it's needed and if it's not needed that's great, I can only remember the one time in my car history that a seatbelt was required to work, luckily it did, so did the hedge and the headrest which took a huge amount of compression as the roof flattened and that wasn't even it's main design brief, lots of safety stuff never ever gets used by the majority of people but as it's a numbers game it's used by some and will have saved many lives, not needed but available great. @S-Westerlyhope the right side pannier turns up I agree with Bender especially with new riders that have opportunities to buy this bike. Shiney side up is always best, unless its a car..., ive it happened to me too. but as ive been with and without assists with flipped bikes around on tech, the ones of non and with ABS (currently back to not with ABS again),others have had long time experiences of training not to have to tempt faint, but if your new is there harm for road use on what is essentially a true road or tourish baised bike like this one is? Especially if it's variable. Edited January 18 by RideWithStyles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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