800 miles - First Impressions

[joeR6]

Bought a New 2009 Hyper about a month ago. Previously owned/ridden muscle, sport, and sport touring bikes.

Add-ons/mods:
6.5 gal Ca Cycleworks tank
Speedymoto frame sliders
Sargent Low Seat
Garmin Zumo 550 GPS mounted
Fabbri windscreen
Removed evap canister (thanks PKM)

I have put 800 miles on the bike - here are my impressions/experiences thus far:

Initial Impressions:
This bike is beautiful! Main reason I bought it is b/c of its looks and I wanted to try something different, something Italian!
You sit ON this bike, not in it. The high perch gives you a commanding view of the traffic ahead.
Super lite - traded in my trusty mule (yamaha FJR) of 600+lbs when fully fueled. Hyper easily flicks from side to side.
Sounds awesome! - Previous 2 bikes were inline Jap fours so the 90 degree twin is welcome music - Can't wait to get termis.
Lots of torque in the mid-range and a twist of the wrist sure proves that.
Geared pretty tall. Even at 80mph I didn't even know I had a 6th gear to go to.
Factory Suspension settings pretty stiff. I'm 160 and it feels a little jarring on the highway.
Everyday when I wake up, when I get home from work, and before I go to bed I open up the garage to see my new girl- is this normal?
This bike is awesome!

Fabbri windscreen - first one cracked at the mounting screws (maybe I overtightend) so PJ parts was kind enough to send me a new one. The windscreen helps deflect most of the wind off my chest and will be helpful for the long interstate drones but I'm not too crazy about the looks - when you stand back and look at the hyper from the front its like its wearing a hat that is too big for it. Just my nitpicking

Sargent Seat Low - stock seat sucked so I got a Sargent. First one was a little crooked when installed so I got another one it it fits fine. Super comfy and the red striping compliments the bike well. The low version improves the reach to the ground by a tiny bit and seats you a bit futher back so the family jewels are not smushed up on the tank.

Ca Cycleworks Tank - 3.3 gal stock tank wasn't going to do it for me so I took the plunge and got the 6.5 gal tank installed. I'm averaging about 42mpg combined city/hwy with this setup and at 230 miles I still haven't seen the fuel light come on. *Note* - couple weeks ago when I was driving in bumper to bumper traffic in 90+degree heat I noticed smoke coming up from the engine. The hotter the bike got the more smoke I saw. Turns out the smoke was coming from the crankcase breather hose (the small filter connected to the tube that is attached the the crankcase behind the vertical cylinder.) New bike smoking had me freaked out. A quick call to my dealer and Chris at Ca Cycleworks was in order. Turns out that the smoke was evaporating water/oil and nothing to be worried about. Under the stock setup the evaporation would be recycled back into the airbox/exhaust so Chris and my dealer assured me everything was fine. This only happens when the engine temp was above 260 degrees (got up to 330 the other day in gawd awful traffic) and the most smoke to come out was the equivalent to a lit cigarette. Again this only happens when in bumper to bumper traffic for long periods of time and went away once I got moving again - and Chris at Ca Cycleworks assured me that this is not damaging to the bike. Hyper no like traffic. So be careful not to overfill on the oil I guess...


All-in-all I'm very happy with my new purchase and I plan to put a lot of miles on her.

[RichardU]

Thanks for that review. I just got a 796 and am still learning about this bike. Also just figured out I'm about 7 miles from Ducshop. Might go by and see those guys.

[parkcrf]

Get a lightweight flywheel, exhaust and velocity stacks. These will transform the bike.

[lelenb]

The light weight flywheel is an awesome improvement. You might also get one of the Fatduc's as the bike is a bit lean stock. The velocity stacks also really liven up the bike with the race ecu, but with the large tank you are limited to the small pods.

Not only is the bike sexy, it is also a social lubricant. I have met some really great people through this site. It is just hard to believe that somebody would sell their Hyper; obviously it has found a more deserving home.

[08hyper]

Wow! 330 degrees? I'd change the oil after that if I were you, oil can break down real fast in that kind of temp. You might think of switching to Redline 20w50, its a ester based oil that can take super high heat. Aloha Alex

[joeR6]

Originally Posted by 08hyper

Wow! 330 degrees? I'd change the oil after that if I were you, oil can break down real fast in that kind of temp. You might think of switching to Redline 20w50, its a ester based oil that can take super high heat. Aloha Alex

I actually hit 330 coming home from the 600 mile service (new oil in bike). I think at 340 is when the hot light starts flashing. It was like a sauna outside and I was stuck in gridlock traffic (no lane splitting in Chicago.) It took me an hour to go 5 miles; couldn't even fully engage 1st gear for more than a few seconds the traffic was that bad. Once I got going the engine temp immediately went down to the mid 200s. A little breeze is all she needs. With my FJR when it got to a certain temp the fans would kick on and the temp would go back down. I've got some leftover 20w50 that'll be certain to go in next year.

[HYPERR]

Originally Posted by joeR6

The windscreen helps deflect most of the wind off my chest and will be helpful for the long interstate drones but I'm not too crazy about the looks - when you stand back and look at the hyper from the front its like its wearing a hat that is too big for it. Just my nitpicking

Like these guys?

[joeR6]

Originally Posted by HYPERR

Like these guys?

Exactly! Hopefully the 2nd screen won't crack...