bigjoeva68
Road Bike
Finally got to do a break-in ride with the new V. :motonoises:
I think my first impressions were wrong, but I am sure y'all aren't surprised. The ride I took was about 140 miles with most styles of riding involved including semi-urban, suburbs, very mild twisties and slab.
My first impressions weren't great, if you may recall...after THIS ride, I am warming up to her a lot. In town, she is much easier to handle than the Connie was, and the added height makes seeing ahead even nicer. Although she may sound like a lawn mower, she can get up and move pretty quick and I had to consciously slow down many times, especially in 6th/OD because when in her comfort zone, she is exceeding the speed limit substantially. At 75 I am turning 4000rpm, which is 5mph faster than my C10 was. I thought the 2-banger would lead to MORE vibration, but it is substantially less, I didn't have numb hands the whole trip and I only stopped for water once. It also seems like she will pull from 3000 up no matter what, but at the lower range she does sound like a friggin' lawn mower...
On the mild twisties she is very predictable, but I didn't hot-dog much trying to keep the revs under 4500 as the manual suggests for the first 500 miles. I did that...mostly. ;D
Slabbing wasn't as uncomfortable as I expected. There is a LOT of wind without the faring and full windscreen, that is a given; but except for the wind noise, it actually kept me pretty cool. I haven't adjusted the windscreen (what little there is) yet, I am waiting for the bracket I got from Murph to arrive (side note: When changing addresses on retailer websites, make sure you change both the billing address AND the SHIPPING address...that shipment is taking a vacation in FREER... :
:-[) This bracket should give me more adjustment without tools, so I figure I will just wait for that. But even with it low, the turbulence wasn't horrible, just loud. Even with foamy MP3 ear plugs it was starting to grate on me by the end. Also with the taller OD gear, she is very comfortable in the 75-80MPH range that all the NASCAR Georgians prefer around here...
I think I will find that when I can get to the upper RPM range, she will fly even more gracefully. She may not be as fast as the Connie, but I think I will be happy anyway.
As for creature comforts, the position is very comfortable for the most part. Seat has plenty of space to move around, although it was starting to get hard at the end. But I haven't ridden in months, either. I think the bars are a bit too far back for me, I almost feel like my elbows are too close to my body, especially in slow tight turning. I may be able to adjust them forward or find a bar with a more forward rake. Looks like the bar on this is much easier to replace than the bars on the Connie at any rate.
I thought the hand guard would make my hands sweat, but didn't notice it even when it hit mid 90s, so I will leave them on for now.
Mirrors...totally useless, unless you want to check out your shoulders. I can literally only see using the outer half of the mirror, and directly behind me is totally blind. I may explore ways to move them out a bit. I now see why the C10 is know as having some of the best mirrors.
The cargo platform on the back is awesome, with smart tie down spots built into the hand rail. I think playing with custom mounting solutions for a case or bigger platform will be super easy.
So, overall...me likey.
I think my first impressions were wrong, but I am sure y'all aren't surprised. The ride I took was about 140 miles with most styles of riding involved including semi-urban, suburbs, very mild twisties and slab.
My first impressions weren't great, if you may recall...after THIS ride, I am warming up to her a lot. In town, she is much easier to handle than the Connie was, and the added height makes seeing ahead even nicer. Although she may sound like a lawn mower, she can get up and move pretty quick and I had to consciously slow down many times, especially in 6th/OD because when in her comfort zone, she is exceeding the speed limit substantially. At 75 I am turning 4000rpm, which is 5mph faster than my C10 was. I thought the 2-banger would lead to MORE vibration, but it is substantially less, I didn't have numb hands the whole trip and I only stopped for water once. It also seems like she will pull from 3000 up no matter what, but at the lower range she does sound like a friggin' lawn mower...
On the mild twisties she is very predictable, but I didn't hot-dog much trying to keep the revs under 4500 as the manual suggests for the first 500 miles. I did that...mostly. ;D
Slabbing wasn't as uncomfortable as I expected. There is a LOT of wind without the faring and full windscreen, that is a given; but except for the wind noise, it actually kept me pretty cool. I haven't adjusted the windscreen (what little there is) yet, I am waiting for the bracket I got from Murph to arrive (side note: When changing addresses on retailer websites, make sure you change both the billing address AND the SHIPPING address...that shipment is taking a vacation in FREER... :
:-[) This bracket should give me more adjustment without tools, so I figure I will just wait for that. But even with it low, the turbulence wasn't horrible, just loud. Even with foamy MP3 ear plugs it was starting to grate on me by the end. Also with the taller OD gear, she is very comfortable in the 75-80MPH range that all the NASCAR Georgians prefer around here...I think I will find that when I can get to the upper RPM range, she will fly even more gracefully. She may not be as fast as the Connie, but I think I will be happy anyway.
As for creature comforts, the position is very comfortable for the most part. Seat has plenty of space to move around, although it was starting to get hard at the end. But I haven't ridden in months, either. I think the bars are a bit too far back for me, I almost feel like my elbows are too close to my body, especially in slow tight turning. I may be able to adjust them forward or find a bar with a more forward rake. Looks like the bar on this is much easier to replace than the bars on the Connie at any rate.
I thought the hand guard would make my hands sweat, but didn't notice it even when it hit mid 90s, so I will leave them on for now.
Mirrors...totally useless, unless you want to check out your shoulders. I can literally only see using the outer half of the mirror, and directly behind me is totally blind. I may explore ways to move them out a bit. I now see why the C10 is know as having some of the best mirrors.
The cargo platform on the back is awesome, with smart tie down spots built into the hand rail. I think playing with custom mounting solutions for a case or bigger platform will be super easy.
So, overall...me likey.
