Sunday Ride Report -- V Due and YB 11 Part I

[dnovo]

First real 'riding' weekend here: No ice on road, warm enough not to 1) need to ride the BMW with heated grips, seat, windshield and bundled up to the point where you can barely move an 2) warm enough that the tires will warm on the pavement and you can push the corners.

First out for the weekend is the V-due, a squirt of starter fluid into each intake in the nose of the fairing since is hasn't been started for a while and it cranks right over, after a tap with a screwdriver frees up the sticking carb float in the upper carb (vee of the engine is forward and the carbs are in the middle with the V, facing each other.)

Loud, classic two stroke sound. (The Hammer is riding with Dad today, and says at full chat, he could here it from his - temporary as he was on the Triumph Bonneville, our comfort bike--position about 50 yards ahead of me through his helmet.) Warms up very fast, but temps stay well managed even in moderate traffic once underway. It will idle happily once fully warmed.

Now the dreaded V-due 'issues. FI gremlins. This one has a pair of big Dellorotos. Other than the sticking float, which is a two second issue and one I will address by cleaning out what is no doubt a big of gunk in a needle, the bike runs clean and crisp up to the point where the shift flash hits. (I am breaking it in, and that only happened once as I was passing a slower vehicle. I am using a limit of 8,000 rpms for the first couple hundred kms.)

No powerband? The bike will pull cleanly, albeit without much urge, from about 4200 rpm. It prefers to be throttled up from about 5800 and 'comes on' starting about 7200 and then pulls like a beserk RGV 250 -- but on steriods -- to the redline. A nice, meaty 3300 rpm power band and very very usable and managable. The bike at the 7200 to 7500 sweat spot damn near pulls you off the back end, the power is fierce!!!!!

Part throttle? It will run in traffice at part throttle, a bit buzzy and not thrilled with it, but it didn't load up or buck, you could just tell it wants to get out and run.

Okay, so they have dealt with the V-due maladies quite well. So how is it to ride. INFRIGGINCREDIBLE. The YB11 I rode a few hours later felt like a cement truck by comparison, and I was keeping up with, and likewise nursing a new (10mi) engine and using about 8500 as the shift points on that) behind the Kawabusa II, a tuned Hyabusa engine in a ZRX1200 chassis, so the YB is no slouch, but Good God, the V-due is instant response and light speed fast.

Handling? That was never an issue even on the original bikes. I agree with Cathcart's belief that this is the best handling Bimota ever built. Precise, no bad habits, and fast responses with absolute feel of control. With the engine providing smooth and instant power responses, the ultimate corner carver with wonderful braking going in, and comes out like an antimissle missle leaving the pad.

Ride? Very very smooth and tracks on all kinds of surfaces well. Great feedback from the bars, firm ride without any harshness, and yes, the seat is very comfortable, and not at all what it looks to be.

Final note: The stock mirrors are very usable as well. I could see those behind me and to the sides coming up without ducking down or weaving in the saddle. That WAS a surprise.

To say the least, very impressed. Dave