Maiden voyage on the R1.....

[Particle Man]

congrats on the ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 1

[marko138]

What are some impressions after the first couple hundred miles?

[neebelung]

Originally Posted by marko138

What are some impressions after the first couple hundred miles?

Just as enthusiastic as the first 25 miles. I put over 370 miles on her this weekend.

The thing that impresses me is that no matter what gear I'm in, when I want the power, it's there, with no delay. In particular, 2nd gear will take your ass out from under you if you're not ready for it.

Case in point: I'm in 2nd gear, merging into traffic on the way home from work last week, and had a choice of either being stuck behind a semi that was kicking up rocks at me, or giving her a good twist and getting over in front of a Suburban in the fast lane and getting the hell outta dodge. I chose that route. Chris had warned me the front end can get light, esp if your weight isn't down over the front wheel, so I hunkered down and twisted - and she went off like a rocket.

This is what drove home the point that liter bikes aren't beginner bikes (for anyone who hadn't quite grasped that concept ). I told Chris had I been on this bike and done that two years ago? It would have scared the shit out of me. Seriously. Just the immediacy of the response would have startled me to no end. (What's that saying -- a 600cc bike can kill you, but a 1000cc bike WANTS to kill you? ).

I did spend a good portion of the ride yesterday dropped back a bit from the group, so I could try out the response in different gears -- just rolling on from a good clip to see where the power lies.

She is a very warm natured bike (esp compared to the Kawi, which was very cold natured). Saturday earlier in the ride, when it was 80+ degrees out, my rear and legs were plenty toasty, but in colder weather, she hovers down around 165 degrees.

Surprisingly, in spite of the # of miles I put on this weekend, it was overall very very comfortable. I wouldn't mind adding some weighted bar ends eventually, just to cut down on the little bit of vibration (it's not THAT bad, but I wouldn't mind cutting it down a bit). And adjustable rearsets might not be a bad idea either (by the time I got home from Saturday's ride, my right knee was pretty cramped).