Initial Riding Impressions

[slowerthan]

Initial impressions after my first 100 miles....

1) I Like it!

2) Perfect ride for an attention whore! Lot's of head turning, nods of admiration, thumbs ups, folks inquiring as to what it was, compliments galore, and even had an Aprilia rider pull up just to say "nice ride".

3) As I only have 100 miles on the Sport now, compared to around 9000 on my previous SV, I recognize that I'm still learning this new bike.

But I can already say that it feels like it is on rails at speed, as I've already hit speeds close to a hundred without even realizing it.

In the twisties, I really do think it requires more steering input than on the SV. It also doesn't flick over back and forth nearly as easily as the SV did, but I'm guessing I'm not as comfortable shifting my weight on this yet. I'm already approaching the speeds I was achieving with the SV, and yet I'm riding very cautiously. In other words, you can just tell there is still so much more potential in this bike. I just need to learn how to ride it.

There are gobs of torque. I can be very lazy with gear selection in the twisties, as there is plenty of power through out an impressively wide RPM range.

4) Did I say it already? I like it!

[scooter]

Slowerthan, good to see you finally have your new baby. Seems you're enjoying it too.

If you're like a lot of us, your enjoyment will grow as the miles add up. Have fun and ride safely!

[YellowDuck]

Same bike here, and my impressions are pretty much the same. It really is so much more torquey than my 750 SS - I had to wring that thing's neck and keep the revs up to have any kind of thrust out of the corners. With the sport I just twist the handle and it leaps ahead.

It is really obvious that it needs a gearing change though. I generally ride up to 80 mph or so, and I have yet to find a use for fifth or sixth gear. I am still in break-in, but have nonetheless done a few full-thottle accelerations in first gear up to 8500 rpm or so, and the front wheel lofts just nicely and very controllably, which indicates to me that a 14-T front isn't exactly going to put me in danger of looping it.

[bongoboyla]

I put a 14T on the front of mine (GT), and it helps a lot. It's really peppy down low and parking lot speeds are much more manageable.

Don't notice any real loss up top either... I'm still in the <5500rpm break-in stage and it's runs just fineat highway speeds (SoCal highway speeds -- 80-90mph).

[geospencer]

Originally Posted by bongoboyla

I put a 14T on the front of mine (GT), and it helps a lot. It's really peppy down low and parking lot speeds are much more manageable.

Don't notice any real loss up top either... I'm still in the <5500rpm break-in stage and it's runs just fineat highway speeds (SoCal highway speeds -- 80-90mph).

I second that suggestion.

[DrD]

Originally Posted by YellowDuck

...and the front wheel lofts just nicely and very controllably, which indicates to me that a 14-T front isn't exactly going to put me in danger of looping it.

I saw a trials rider loop out the SpeedyMoto Sport1000 at Ducati Northwest this year. It was his first time on a big bike. He'd been riding trials demos doing some amazing things on his trials bike much of the day. He hopped on the SpeedyMoto bike to play around in a "slow" race. After one of the runs in the slow race he was going to show off with a wheelie like he had been on his trials bike. I felt sick when I saw the tail piece and custom made pipes on the SpeedyMoto bike hit the ground. You could tell that the rider felt really bad about it too.

Soooo, the point of this post is that these bikes can put the unsuspecting rider at risk of looping out once you start making gearing changes and such.

[MrStinky]

Slowerthan, i have a sv650 as well and it it definitely takes more bar input to get the bike to flick/fall in, but once its over it absolutely rails. I think alot of it has to do w/ the weight of tubes and wheels, as well as the profile of the tires. I raised my forks up 15mm in the triples and it helped turn in quite a bit. On the sv its easier to use your body weight, where on SC the seat holds you in more, so push/pull on the bars and it turn quicker. Its an adaption period and you'll adjust fine, just don't be afraid to give the bars a good push.

[slowerthan]

Originally Posted by MrStinky

Slowerthan, i have a sv650 as well and it it definitely takes more bar input to get the bike to flick/fall in, but once its over it absolutely rails. I think alot of it has to do w/ the weight of tubes and wheels, as well as the profile of the tires. I raised my forks up 15mm in the triples and it helped turn in quite a bit. On the sv its easier to use your body weight, where on SC the seat holds you in more, so push/pull on the bars and it turn quicker. Its an adaption period and you'll adjust fine, just don't be afraid to give the bars a good push.

Awesome. Thanks for the feedback!

[goldwing70]

I raced a highly modified SV last year and now just had my Paul Smart out for some track testing. In race trim, I thought both bikes flicked in about the same. The PS was very stable in the turns but I was also very careful since I was on a new bike at an unfamiliar track. I had to watch the tach a little more since I was more accustomed to getting power on the SV around 8-10K rpm vs the 5-8K on the PS. Probably not a big deal for street, but my brake mods on the PS are much better than stock

[drewogatory]

I've found the Sport to be very sensitive/responsive to tire selection. Judging by the mags and blogs, most new sport bikes share the same characteristic. Personally, I think this is the coolest thing maybe ever. Faster steering? Higher crown. More progessive steering? rounder profile. So damn cool. i've switched to the Pilot Powers with good results. granted, my main irritant is those @#$%^&**&^%$ x 1000 RAIN GROOVES. I hate them with an all consuming passion unknowable(i hope) to mankind in general.