Test ride challenge

[L3nny]

Originally Posted by Heorot

I had a test ride on the new VFR800 earlier this year. My gripe was that the ride at 30 - 40 mph on the roads leading out of Norwich was really uncomfortable. Jiggly and bouncy and I was not a happy bunny. On the dual carriageway, I found it hugely competent at silly speeds but there was no excitement. Competent, yes. Boring, also yes.

I wouldn't call it boring. Sat on a 100 bhp+ engine could never be described as boring, it's just not got a lot of character. However if I wanted a bike to commute and tour on, character wouldn't be at the top of my list.

[L3nny]

Originally Posted by Niall_farley

Just had a read thru. Very good read, thoroughly enjoyed it and Surprised by a few of your views on some of the bikes. I might have to do something like this myself.

Next read... Squirrels

Thanks mate, which views surprised you?

[Niall_farley]

The busa and the R1 iv never ridden either but I expected a lot more from both. I thought a modern R1 would of been a lot more manageable and I thought the busa would have lived up to the hype been the "ultimate" bike n all that

On the subject of test riding bikes I'll do a short hijack

2001 zx12r - 75miles-ish

RAPID!!!! BLISTERING!!!! WOW!!!!

That is all

This and Squirrel's posts have got me wanting to do the same thing!
But I'm 21. I have had my full licence for 3 years with a few different bikes, does anyone know if I can still do test rides? Most places I've found are 25 or older.
Very entertaining reviews

[Niall_farley]

I think usually it's a case of as long as you have had a licence for a year you will be okay? Could be wrong tho

[L3nny]

I was surprised with the Busa and R1 as well, I think the modern Busa is a bit better though so I will need to try that out.

Each dealer has their own insurance criteria so if you want to try a bike ring around and check you're elligible

Originally Posted by L3nny

Your SV must be a good one then. To me both this and the older version felt quicker than an SV all through the rev range

Hmm, maybe just a familiarity thing. It wasn't so much the amount of power (the VFR clearly being more powerful) but more the how immediately the power was delivered. I felt like I was waiting for quite some time before the VFR decided to get a move on where as the SV reacts pretty much immediately.

[Heorot]

If you see my post above where I complained of the low speed ride, part of that was the difficulty in finding the right gear to be in. I thought, being a V4, that there would be plenty of torque at low revs. The reality was that in 1st the bike felt too on/off and the bike didn't want to pull in 2nd at low speeds. Definitely not a comfortable ride around town.

[L3nny]

Test 17 - 2015 BMW 1200 GS 44 miles Total mileage 470

I have never really thought anything good about the GS, They are like the Range Rover of the bike world, big expensive and the off road pretentions ruin their on road capability. That was until I went for a ride with a mate of mine (who sometimes posts on here) who despite being in his mid 20s recently decided to buy a GS. Leading the rideout on my Fireblade I was expecting the GS to be a disappearing dot in my mirrors but no matter how hard I tired that twinkling LED headlight wasn't far behind. On all but the long straights he was more than keeping up.

When we stopped he started showing me all the fancy gadgets and gizmos, electronically adjustable suspension, dynamic traction control, keyless start, and a sat nav which wouldn't look out of place on a high end car. I had to head off before he finished explaining everything so I decided to get a demo and have a go myself.

First impressions standing next to the bike was that it is huge, I'm 5ft 8 and have a 30" inside leg and I was struggling to get both feet on the ground, thought I was going to have to abandon the test ride before I left the car park. The clutch felt a bit snatchy as well which didn’t help. In fact the whole thing felt a bit rough, more like an SV650 than a premium product. I suppose that's just the fact it's got 2 cylinders and I’m used to a silky smooth IL4. On my Blade doing slow maneuverers I don't need any throttle, just let the clutch out to biting point and move about that way. With the GS you have to give it quite a few revs to get it to move and with the snatchy clutch and the high seat height I was convinced I was going to drop it in the car park. There is a lower version of the bike which I was told about after the test ride which has a different subframe and I could flatfoot that with ease. It's a £190 option though!!

Fortunately, the large mass of the bike is disguised well, most of it is down low and the boxer pistons seem to help keep it upright and it stayed rubber side down.

Out on the open road, the weight and height are forgotten, the wide bars make turning effortless, the height gives you a great view and the low pegs and plush seat make it comfy.

Open the throttle and straight away the power kicks in, it's the complete opposite of an IL4 and the power comes in low down then levels off at the top of the rev range. It's quicker than I thought it would be and pulls hard up to around 110mph, more than that it starts to struggle but for a bike its size that's impressive. You have to work the gearbox a bit more than on a big IL4 bit it has "gearshift assist" so you don't need to use the clutch when going up or down, although I couldn't get downshifts to work for some reason and still had to use the clutch. With regards to speed I found it pretty hard to gauge how fast I was going, the huge screen does a great job of shielding you from the windblast and the writing on the speedo is so small I struggled to read it. The lack of a big electronic speed readout is a serious issue, fortunately you can look at the speed on the satnav but if you're also using it to navigate it's again pretty small and if you're over the limit it turns red making is even harder to see, which is less than helpful.

Handling wise I was amazed, the suspension is soft enough to be comfortable and soaks up bumps on crappy English roads with ease. The most amazing part of it is how much confidence it gives you, my Fireblade gets upset with the slightest bump or bit of loose surface and as such I lack confidence to chuck it into bends at the speeds I know it can handle, the hunched up riding position also makes observations difficult and I am reluctant to head into a bend at high speed until I can see what's going on around it. With the GS the high position and the wide bars makes cornering a lot easier and the dynamic traction control gives you the confidence to pin the throttle mid corner. Which is good because if it started to slide the weight of the thing would make it difficult to bring inline. I tried all of the suspension settings but they all felt the same to me.

The GS is an amazing bike, it's definitely going to be faster on UK B roads for most riders than a sports bike and it's much more practical. All the electronic gizmos seem a bit of a waste of time though, the dynamic traction control is nice to have but I gave it a thrashing and on a dry road it didn't kick in once. The adjustable suspension is a good idea but I didn't notice it, maybe 2 up with luggage it would be more noticeable. The fancy electronic satnav and all the info it gives you seems a bit of a gimmick, I can't see you using it after a few weeks and if you want a sat nav, there are plenty of 3rd party options. The problem with all of the gadgets are the buttons take up real estate on the bars making them small and close together. This makes it hard to find the right button and I was constantly looking down trying to find the indicators. You'd likely get used to where the buttons are though.

The main issue with the GS though is the price, they have a bit of a deal on at the moment but with luggage, heated grips, sat nav and gear assist checked in but it's still over £15 grand and the quality of some of the parts just doesn't justify that price. It's a bit like a BMW car, you are paying for the "Brand" which a lot of people think that's worth paying for but in reality you can get a similar product from a lesser name manufacturer for a lot less money.

[L3nny]

Test 18 - 2014 Suzuki DL-1000 Vstrom 30 Miles – Total Mileage 500

On the way back from the BMW dealer I went past a Suzuki dealer and needed a wee so popped in. Sitting proudly in the middle of the showroom was the V-Strom desert edition. It looked a lot like the GS, same seating position, also came with heated grips, sat nav, abs, traction control but with chain drive instead of shaft, it's also a lot cheaper at 10.5k The salesman came over and I explained I had just taken a GS out so he was keen for me to take it out and compare.

First impressions were the Vstrom is just a cheap copy, the satnav and heated grips were just extras added by the dealer rather than designed to be there from the factory. When I was taken out to the bike I'd actually be riding it turned out to be a second hand bike they were selling which was the base model with 5000 miles on and without the sat nav so I couldn't compare the GS satnav with it. The bike I rode still had the same abs and TC system though.

On starting the bike and leaving the car park I had the same trouble touching the floor but Suzuki offer a lowered seat FOR FREE! First impressions were how can this be so much less than the GS, the clutch and gearbox were much smoother than the BMW making slow manovers a lot easier.

Out on the dual carriageway the Vstrom felt faster than the GS, you get the same instant torque kick but the power lasts longer meaning you don't have to change gear as much. The engine is derived from the SV1000 but it has apparantly been worked over a lot and it has a smaller silencer so sounds great from standard.

The suspension is a lot less complicated on the VStrom than the GS, it's better than the SV but it didn't soak up bends as well as the GS, hitting bumps while accelerating would send the front wheel in the air making steering a little tricky. It still had the same planted feel as the GS in the corners though and the seating position is similar giving the same clear view.

Wind protection on the Vstrom isn't great, with the screen in all 3 positions I was getting buffeting pretty badly over 70mph and it was giving me neck ache, the dealer said there are much better screens available through but they're not cheap.

While I was amazed by the GS, I was amazed even more by the Vstrom, not because it's better than the GS but because it's almost as good and two thirds the price.

I have been very impressed by both of these bikes and the number of friends I have moving from sports bikes to them is growing.

I love my Fireblade and thought I would keep it for ever but I can see why people buy these bikes they are so much more capable on the road, in my hands anyway.

Here is a picture of the deset edition, I really hope it's not only available in this colour!



Here's some pics of the actual bike. Much nicer colour