Have had the bike for a total of about a month or so, and finally took it out further than 10km from the house.
Big mistake. Had the day off so I’d figure I do my annual Mississauga - Fort Erie - Niagara - NOTL ride to get familiar with it on a nice and relaxing ride. The radar and weather app lied…got caught in a small drizzle and stopped at a motel to hide under their soffits.
As an idiot, and believing radar, I pushed on…holy hell. Drenched to the bone once I passed through Niagara Falls. At least the hand warmers work great!
Highway
No major issues with the bike there. Fairly comfortable and very stable up to (and possibly beyond HTA172 limits). Accelerates great, simple twist in 6th gear will pull nicely from 120-140kph with zero hesitation. I like. Oh the sound….that sweet sweet sound.
Only issue I had is the buffeting as there’s zero wind protection. Up to 115-120 it’s ok, anywhere above that…wants to rip your arms off there’s so much wind.
Good road manners everywhere, especially in the city and lower speeds. Niagara Parkway was great and due to light traffic I could putter along at 60-80 with no traffic except the work zone that’s for a good portion of it ripped up with horrible asphalt. Will be great once they’re done with the repairs. Bike seems to love this pace.
Brakes. Lil soft still so I’ll take up @Relax offer once we can find a time, as siding takes priority.
As I’m not a great rider I didn’t push it, and the wet pavement didn’t inspire confidence in me so I took it very easy (almost too easy). Not sure how it’ll corner compared to the X, but the X was great for my abilities.
Gas mileage was … ok. 170km on the odo and the fuel light comes on. I like that it has a range meter so I found a gas station with 30km to spare.
The noise…love the pops and gurgles as it lets off. Above 6k the tone changes very nicely.
Suspension, rather soft but it’s a large gripe among the community. Will try adjusting the preload and maybe that’ll help.
Tank panels aren’t metal so can’t use my existing tank bag. Will have to find one that straps on, or has magnets in the middle and not on the sides.
Seat…alright, but if I paid $500+ for a Mustang Seat I’d be pretty upset. I didn’t find it all that great, regardless of the rave reviews. May try out the stock seat or toss on my AirHawk to see how it feels. Best part is there’s a lot of real estate to change positions often while riding.
I didn’t bother with NOTL as I was cold, shivering, and tired from the wind blast. Stopped in St Catherine’s for gas, and booked it home.
Of course once I decided to stop chasing NOTL the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the temp rose. Got off on Eastgate (?) and saw the lift bridge moving for the first time in my life. The rest of the ride along Lakeshore was glorious. Nice pace, good feeling, and the bike was in its element.
Overall a garbage experience due to weather, but can’t fault the bike for that. I need a windscreen for sure, because the way the bike stands now…1hr on the highway max.
Need to get comfortable with it also to push corners further and faster, and slowly rebuild confidence as I rarely rode this season.
Hiding from the rain under a bridge between NF and NOTL:
And on the QEW at a motel:
Big mistake. Had the day off so I’d figure I do my annual Mississauga - Fort Erie - Niagara - NOTL ride to get familiar with it on a nice and relaxing ride. The radar and weather app lied…got caught in a small drizzle and stopped at a motel to hide under their soffits.
As an idiot, and believing radar, I pushed on…holy hell. Drenched to the bone once I passed through Niagara Falls. At least the hand warmers work great!
Highway
No major issues with the bike there. Fairly comfortable and very stable up to (and possibly beyond HTA172 limits). Accelerates great, simple twist in 6th gear will pull nicely from 120-140kph with zero hesitation. I like. Oh the sound….that sweet sweet sound.
Only issue I had is the buffeting as there’s zero wind protection. Up to 115-120 it’s ok, anywhere above that…wants to rip your arms off there’s so much wind.
Good road manners everywhere, especially in the city and lower speeds. Niagara Parkway was great and due to light traffic I could putter along at 60-80 with no traffic except the work zone that’s for a good portion of it ripped up with horrible asphalt. Will be great once they’re done with the repairs. Bike seems to love this pace.
Brakes. Lil soft still so I’ll take up @Relax offer once we can find a time, as siding takes priority.
As I’m not a great rider I didn’t push it, and the wet pavement didn’t inspire confidence in me so I took it very easy (almost too easy). Not sure how it’ll corner compared to the X, but the X was great for my abilities.
Gas mileage was … ok. 170km on the odo and the fuel light comes on. I like that it has a range meter so I found a gas station with 30km to spare.
The noise…love the pops and gurgles as it lets off. Above 6k the tone changes very nicely.
Suspension, rather soft but it’s a large gripe among the community. Will try adjusting the preload and maybe that’ll help.
Tank panels aren’t metal so can’t use my existing tank bag. Will have to find one that straps on, or has magnets in the middle and not on the sides.
Seat…alright, but if I paid $500+ for a Mustang Seat I’d be pretty upset. I didn’t find it all that great, regardless of the rave reviews. May try out the stock seat or toss on my AirHawk to see how it feels. Best part is there’s a lot of real estate to change positions often while riding.
I didn’t bother with NOTL as I was cold, shivering, and tired from the wind blast. Stopped in St Catherine’s for gas, and booked it home.
Of course once I decided to stop chasing NOTL the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the temp rose. Got off on Eastgate (?) and saw the lift bridge moving for the first time in my life. The rest of the ride along Lakeshore was glorious. Nice pace, good feeling, and the bike was in its element.
Overall a garbage experience due to weather, but can’t fault the bike for that. I need a windscreen for sure, because the way the bike stands now…1hr on the highway max.
Need to get comfortable with it also to push corners further and faster, and slowly rebuild confidence as I rarely rode this season.
Hiding from the rain under a bridge between NF and NOTL:
And on the QEW at a motel:
