Ok, I'm a fanboy. Not ashamed to say it. Reading all the positive feedback reviews set a high bar for expectations, and I'm excited to report that what I installed today (after USPS took their time getting to my house) is spectacular.
So here is the breakdown of my initial observations:
POSITIVES
1) shifting is vastly improved over stock, hands down this was the most important factor for me;
2) closing the throttle no longer causes the bike (and riders) to pitch forward, which was also a must-have feature;
3) engine braking is much more natural, like what I expected based on previous bikes I've owned/ridden;
4) WOT unleashes the torque this motor produces, and hitting triple digits (on a closed track of course) was much quicker than I anticipated;
5) more predictable power delivery when accelerating while leaned over in a curve/turn;
6) bike appeared to run one bar lower on the cooling gauge.
NEGATIVES
1) now I'm going to need to re-calibrate my hand-eye coordination to reduce the risk of HUGE tickets, as it's gonna be soooo tempting to just twist it... LOL
FINAL THOUGHTS
1) When others said that this was the best bang for the buck, I thought they may have been exaggerating but nope. Worth the money any day. Glad I sent it to FL this week since we've had constant rain here in Houston. I didn't miss any opptys to ride. Turn-around time was really quick. Thank you @Steve in sunny Fla !!!;
2) My second best investment were the 2" handlebar risers, as they greatly improve the riding position;
3) Third best investment was the BlackWidow slip-on, as it opens up the restrictions and reduces 25lbs of weight from the throttle side of the bike;
4) Next investment may be the BlackWidow header, but we'll take things a step at a time.
So here is the breakdown of my initial observations:
POSITIVES
1) shifting is vastly improved over stock, hands down this was the most important factor for me;
2) closing the throttle no longer causes the bike (and riders) to pitch forward, which was also a must-have feature;
3) engine braking is much more natural, like what I expected based on previous bikes I've owned/ridden;
4) WOT unleashes the torque this motor produces, and hitting triple digits (on a closed track of course) was much quicker than I anticipated;
5) more predictable power delivery when accelerating while leaned over in a curve/turn;
6) bike appeared to run one bar lower on the cooling gauge.
NEGATIVES
1) now I'm going to need to re-calibrate my hand-eye coordination to reduce the risk of HUGE tickets, as it's gonna be soooo tempting to just twist it... LOL
FINAL THOUGHTS
1) When others said that this was the best bang for the buck, I thought they may have been exaggerating but nope. Worth the money any day. Glad I sent it to FL this week since we've had constant rain here in Houston. I didn't miss any opptys to ride. Turn-around time was really quick. Thank you @Steve in sunny Fla !!!;
2) My second best investment were the 2" handlebar risers, as they greatly improve the riding position;
3) Third best investment was the BlackWidow slip-on, as it opens up the restrictions and reduces 25lbs of weight from the throttle side of the bike;
4) Next investment may be the BlackWidow header, but we'll take things a step at a time.