Test ride challenge

[L3nny]

Test 30 - Suzuki GSXR 750

I haven't ridden a proper, modern, sports bike for over a year. I got rid of my Fireblade because it just wasn't suited to UK roads and it felt like such a waste having so much power that you can't use. In second gear you'd twist the throttle and you'd be in licence endangering territory before you'd even hit the throttle stop. It was awesome fun in a very few situations, but the majority of the time it was a pain to ride.

Everyone always says the 750 is the perfect balance between the 600 and the 1000, it has enough torque but isn't a beast. Well my first ride of a GSXR 750 confirms that. The engine is just so sweet, it begs you to rev it, there is a lovely induction roar as you hit 6000rpm and the thing just takes off.

Comfort wise it was awful, the seat is a plank, my knees were almost touching my wrists and I'm only 5 foot 8. All of this of course is to put your bodyweight where it needs to be to improve the handling. Handling wise it was very good, as you'd expect from a sports bike really, but not too firm.

Somehow though, even though every time I opened the throttle I couldn't help but grin, the GSXR just seemed a bit boring. I think this incarnation of the GSXR is 6 years old, and hasn't changed that much since 2006.
On a track it would be awesome but these days there are so many bikes available which are much better suited to the road.

The looks as well are just so meh

[L3nny]

Test 31 - Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa Z

See test 14

This is 10 years newer than the Busa I took out a few years ago, and while you may notice a few differences if you rode them back to back, for me it felt pretty much the same. It's still really heavy and doesn't get going until about 6000 rpm by which time, in second you're facing a ban.

Compared to modern sports tourers of which I'd include the V-Strom, it's a dinosaur.

[L3nny]

Test 32 - MV Augusta Dragster

Before reading by boring rambling just look at the picture. Now you're even less interested in what I've written because all you want to do is look at it.

Until now I've never understood why anyone would want to buy something Italian and exotic. Japanese bikes are cheaper to buy and run, more reliable, there are more dealers, parts are easy to get hold of, they have been built in huge factories by robots and people who start the day by singing the company song and doing light aerobics. Italian bikes on the other hand are built in a shed by a bloke who's probably had half a bottle of wine at lunch, by a company who is always teetering on bankruptcy.
When at the Suzuki even last week, I kept noticing how all the bikes shared so many parts, it seems like Suzuki design bikes that are well engineered, go and handle properly and then just fit a load of parts they have lying around on them, all the little details like exhausts and headlights just seem like an afterthought.

The MV on the other hand looks like it was done the other way around. It looks like the whole bike was designed around that triple exhaust, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the only reason they fitted a 3 cylinder engine. Everything else looks like it was designed bespoke to that bike. It's more a work of art than a mode of transport.

Technologically the MV seems pretty advanced as well, it's fitted with 8 stage traction control, ABS, and 4 rider modes, one of which you can customise. The suspension parts are really high quality as well.

On the road however it's a bit less impressive, the best way you can describe the handling is twitchy. It bounces around over bumps in the road and the front wheel is for ever trying to make a break for the sky. I hate to admit it but I was actually a bit scared.
I was really impressed however with the fuelling, the ride by wire throttle was very smooth without having the boring smoothness of Triumph triples. You could probably change this to your liking however with the custom modes.

Overall this is an awesome machine, you'd have to be dead not to get excited by this bike, technically bikes such as the GSX1000S I rode last week are better but this has so much character. For me though, with the miles I do, it's faults would get on my nerves quickly.

If you're the type of ride who does 1000 miles a year and spends most of the time going to your local meet less than 20 miles away and stand around with your mates looking at each other's bikes then this bike is hard to beat. I'd love to buy it as a second bike.

MV do 4 different incarnations of this bike, the Brutale, the Rivale and the Stradale being the others, I'd love to ride all of them and see if they are more usable.




For a bit of extra porn I'm posting a picture of the RR version, which is IMO the nicest looking bike on the market today.

[shiftin_gear98]

Now that is dirty - saved as screen saver.

After an invite back to the dealer I've now test ridden three Kawasaki's. The first bike I rode was a Z1000sx, the second a versys 650 (parallel twin) then a naked Z800. One common feature was the digital speedo display was too small on all three to check your speed with a quick glance.

Z1000sx - I felt comfortable (excellent seat) and confident on this bike straight away. I was throwing it around like the SV from the off which in all truth was inappropriate as with 140bhp from 1040cc warp speed comes to mind. Fantastic monoblock brakes, the mirrors were absolutely perfect as well, almost nothing bad to say about this bike, I would want one if they did it with a sub 100bhp engine configuration.

Versys 650 - I got off to a bad start with this one, possibly due to being poorly setup with a lot of throttle play, I was jerky pulling away and not helped by the unfamiliar riding position, then I hit neutral after pulling out of a junction. I enjoyed the engine noise as it went up through the revs although the engine felt jerky until warmed through. Even with adjusting the mirrors I don't think I'd ever see anything out of them and I think what I could see was blurry due to the engine vibrations. It felt slower than the SV (although same 70bhp power output) however the speedo would suggest that it may not actually be any slower. My knees liked not being quite so bent but I didn't really like being bolt upright as every shock went straight up through my spine, however my knees did not like being cooked from the hot air coming out of the radiator although this is probably very pleasant in the winter!!! Sliding caliper brakes a bit meh but fairly matched to the engine.

Z800 - Rock hard seat, mirrors pointless, horrible digital tacho, possibly a limited turning circle as the bars hit the lock stops when I left the car park and I had to dab a foot to stay upright (whoops). Again crazy fast with 120bhp from 800cc. A handful of throttle for 1 or 2 seconds and the wind was pushing my helmet into my face and I was hanging on for dear life, I had to concentrate on holding on more than actually riding the thing. Sliding caliper brakes seriously underpowered compared to the engine, the bike sounded absolutely awesome, popping beautifully on the overrun. The salesman felt the tyres for heat when I returned and said 'you enjoyed that didn't you?!'.

I rode two more bikes today:

A Triumph Sprint ST1050, which I think is probably going to be the next bike for me with more knee room than the SV. I took it out over some of the most challenging roads around me for around half an hour. A beautiful bike to ride, it's size is hidden once moving and was easy to place and corner for a large bike. A great noise from the triple engine and further up the rev range with more throttle it really shifts (although not in the same league as the 800 & 1000 Kawasaki's I rode previously), somehow at low speeds it managed to shrug off the size and weight and felt like a low power training bike. Although cornering was fine the suspension was notably soft over compressions and crests in the road that unweighted the bike but that is a tradeoff for comfort I guess. Longer term I can foresee the need to get the damping under control.

http://www.totaltriumph.co.uk/pages/...d9d92d1f52.htm

Then a Tiger 1050, a much shorter ride over much less challenging roads hampered by traffic, I much preferred this to the Versys ridden previously, the damping was much better controlled and the brakes were excellent. Gearbox was notchy from cold although got better as it warmed through. This particular bike is overpriced, I found another from Triumph Stratford for the same price with 5k miles Vs 19K ridden.

http://www.totaltriumph.co.uk/pages/...0890ad2f03.htm

The dealer warned of the triumph £600-700 12k major service on both bikes, the main part of which was valve clearance and swingarm bearing lubrication. The swingarm bearing seemingly more important overall and I've read warnings of this elsewhere.

[L3nny]

Test 33 Harley Davidson V-Rod 160 Miles

Not sure what year it is, I think it's a 2008 but I don't think they have changed since about 1846 so don't think it makes any difference.

I went on a trip to Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, 4 of us had bike licenses so we thought it would be ride not to hire Harleys and head out into the desert.

First impressions sat on the bike is it is very well made, it is really solid and everything looks like it has been designed especially for the model to look good.

Sitting on the bike and pulling away, the first thing that hits you is the riding position. It's just not right at all. Your feet are way in front of you and your arms up high. This is neither comfortable nor does it allow proper control of the bike. My short legs couldn't reach the pegs properly so I had to sit as far forward as I could on the seat. The hire place didn't supply boots either and I was terrified of my trainer clad feet falling off the pegs and hitting the tarmac.

Another thing that hits you is the weight of the thing, handlebar inputs are met with great reluctance for the bike to do anything. This didn't matter much as I started off with 30 miles of freeway riding.
This has to be my single worst experience on a bike.
The p155pot helmet I'd been given didn't fit properly. Anything over 50 and the stupid peak would hit the wind and try and rip my head off. My feet kept slipping off the pegs and on to the scorching exhaust which was also doing a good job of cooking my testicles.

I was being overtaken by lorries that were longer than some trains, one of them was covered with plaster which peppered my face as he passed. Why anyone would choose to wear an open faced helmet is beyond me.

After 45 mins of this I pulled over at a truck stop and as we were heading into the wilderness, and I'd already used quarter of a tank! Cost, about £3! The filler cap is under the seat which meant spilling fuel everywhere and having it soak into my jeans.

After eating the largest piece of gammon I've ever seen which was on the menu as Ham and Eggs I set off along the Valley of Fire state park road. The speed limit on this road was 25mph and I tried to keep it under 40.

It's a shame the handling is so bad as the engine is lovely, it has oodles of torque and while it doesn't rev very high it doesn't need to, silky smooth grunt is delivered in any gear at any revs. There were no vibes like I expected, it was even smoother than my V-Strom.
That's the only thing it has going for it though, it handles like a dog and all the ergonomics are terrible. Suspension wasn't exactly plush either, going over a bump was greeted with a huge clank of half ton of pig iron bottoming out.
Controls were bad too. The right indicator switch is on the right handlebar, which means you have to come off the throttle to press it, they were supposed to self cancel but never did. The key is on the side of the bike, you have to unlock the ignition switch, then turn it to run and press the starter, meaning you are likely to both lose the key while riding and forget to lock it and have the bike knicked.

The mirrors were terrible too. Only good thing was the horn, it's a proper car horn and very loud.

All of the faults were forgotten once I left the park and headed out onto the lake mead north highway, this was a beautiful ride with beautiful scenery and the beds were all wide sweepers meaning they could be took at the leisurely pace the bike enjoyed. I'd even got used to the stupid helmet and was managing to keep up speeds of around 80 without feeling like I was going to be beheaded. This was proper cruising and the scenery was stunning. For a nearly an hour I almost started to like the bike. Then I hit the town and began to hate it again.

Overall a decent engine on a terrible bike but a great experience none the less.

[carelesschucca]

Remember L£nny the engine on that thing isn't Harley Davidson. it was designed by Porsche

[L3nny]

Originally Posted by carelesschucca

Remember L£nny the engine on that thing isn't Harley Davidson. it was designed by Porsche

That explains a lot!

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by Heorot

I also test rode a NC750 and I agree with everything you say. I can't tell you how disappointed I was with it. The salesman said that Honda had messed with the engine internals to give more torque low down. What torque? there wasn't any. I cut short the test as couldn't wait to get off it.

Fitted into the NC750 is the engine from a Honda Jazz car that has been sawn in half, that is why it is a low revving lump with pretty low power output. In the test I saw they praised it for storage space and mpg. I get over 70 mpg from my AL7 but it doesn't have much storage space.