My dealer called me up for a test ride as I have a deposit down and they recently acquired a demo. The odometer showed 1033km when I took it out and I put on about 40km, riding through traffic, a winding country road, and on the highway. In that time I ran it through the gears and took up to 96kph and just shy of 8000rpm.
The first thing that stuck out for me was how light the clutch is. It's requires so little effort compared to anything else I've ridden and even compared to a recently sold Moto Guzzi V7II which I thought at the time had an especially light clutch.
I would say that 1st gear could be a bit more useful but it's okay. I could see it being handy to crawl through a traffic jam although it seemed a bit late to engage. Initially I experienced the neutral shifting issue (easier from 2 to N, than from 1 to N) but by the end of the test ride I didn't have any problem going from 1 to N.
The size and weight of the bike are about perfect for me at 5'8". I can totally flat foot both feet at a stop and the handlebar set up was just right. It's a very upright position which is my preference. It's also extremely responsive and handles much like my Vespa GT 200 which is only about 30 lb. lighter.
I observed that you can't be afraid to wind up the rpms which gets me to the main point of this post. Vibration. It's not an issue at 5000rpm and below but I found between 6000-7000 there was a lot of high frequency vibration particularly in the left handlebar grip and in the clutch and brake levers. At the same time there was quite a bit of similar vibration emanating through the sides of the gas tank which was quite noticeable when hanging on to the tank with your legs. I ride with a very light grip, but at the end of the 30 or so minute ride my left hand was a bit numb from the vibration.
I realize that a single is prone to vibration issues but I'm wondering what the experience of people who have put some miles/kms on theirs has been as far as vibration is concerned? Has it smoothed out with milage or has anyone installed heavier bar ends? Thanks!
The first thing that stuck out for me was how light the clutch is. It's requires so little effort compared to anything else I've ridden and even compared to a recently sold Moto Guzzi V7II which I thought at the time had an especially light clutch.
I would say that 1st gear could be a bit more useful but it's okay. I could see it being handy to crawl through a traffic jam although it seemed a bit late to engage. Initially I experienced the neutral shifting issue (easier from 2 to N, than from 1 to N) but by the end of the test ride I didn't have any problem going from 1 to N.
The size and weight of the bike are about perfect for me at 5'8". I can totally flat foot both feet at a stop and the handlebar set up was just right. It's a very upright position which is my preference. It's also extremely responsive and handles much like my Vespa GT 200 which is only about 30 lb. lighter.
I observed that you can't be afraid to wind up the rpms which gets me to the main point of this post. Vibration. It's not an issue at 5000rpm and below but I found between 6000-7000 there was a lot of high frequency vibration particularly in the left handlebar grip and in the clutch and brake levers. At the same time there was quite a bit of similar vibration emanating through the sides of the gas tank which was quite noticeable when hanging on to the tank with your legs. I ride with a very light grip, but at the end of the 30 or so minute ride my left hand was a bit numb from the vibration.
I realize that a single is prone to vibration issues but I'm wondering what the experience of people who have put some miles/kms on theirs has been as far as vibration is concerned? Has it smoothed out with milage or has anyone installed heavier bar ends? Thanks!
