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More test riding impressions:
I’ve tried out a variety of bikes in the past few months I hadn’t ridden before. Here are my impressions for: Buell 1125CR, Suzuki SV1000, BMW K1300S, Aprilia Shiver 750, Ducati 848, and Harley-Davidson XR1200.
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Buell 1125CR – I liked this bike a lot. I tested the 1125R last year, and was fairly impressed. The only minuses were clonky shifting, high heat production, some minor NVH unpleasantness, and the fairing rapped my knuckles at full steering lock. I had sat on the 1125CR and liked the feel better but hadn’t ridden it yet. The 1125CR was quite good. Having no fairing solved the 1125R’s last problem, and Buell had done work to solve both the clonky shifting and the heat management, successfully in both cases.
Some ergonomic issues remained. I couldn’t adjust the mirrors high enough to get a proper view; they still pointed to the ground behind me. The seat was big and allowed movement, but was pretty much a plank. And the riding position gave me some lower back strain, although that might just be something that could be adapted to as the right muscles got trained to the new position.
Riding it was very cool. Big torquey twin, yet strong on top as well, good sharp handling, good balance, very fun ride. Would be pretty comfortable with a better seat. The suspension was well-sorted; handled bumps and potholes well, yet was well controlled and stable at speed, good on both sweepers and sharper corners.
The steering was very sharp; something to get used to. Buells use a very steep 21º fork angle; even race-rep Japanese sportbikes use about 24-25º. On hard deceleration, this steepens to a degree that feels pretty twitchy. Not dangerous-feeling, but noticeable. A BMW-style Telelever setup with natural anti-dive characteristics would make this bike REALLY a sweet ride.
I’m bummed Buell is no more. This bike had achieved a close second on my list of bikes I would buy if I was buying a bike. It seems a real shame that the plug got pulled just as they finally got a good engine and made some bikes that were genuinely desirable.
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Suzuki SV1000 – This bike belongs to my friend’s boyfriend, and it isn’t stock. It’s had several thousand bucks of upgrades, including improved suspension on both ends, and a bunch of engine work; it dynoes at over 130 rwhp. It’s a nice ride. Noticeably more stable than the Ducatis, but still handled well. Very nice shifting. Strong everywhere. Shows what you can do with an SV.
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BMW K1300S – I liked this a LOT better than the K1300GT I rode earlier this year. It was much smoother, shifted much better, handled very nicely (although clearly a heavy bike). Very powerful, feels and sounds like you’re strapped to a turbine engine. As with the K1200R I rode last year, the weight is low and well balanced, and the bike itself is low; I could flatfoot both sides. It was surprisingly nimble, and again I liked the Duo-Lever front end's separation of braking from suspension forces. I’m a fan of BMW’s alternative suspension technology.
It still has more gadgets than I think a bike ought to have, but they seem mostly well made and well thought-out. I still prefer bikes without fairings, but this gave me a better feel for what the K1300R would ride like, if they decide to import that.
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Aprilia Shiver 750 – I was interested particularly on how this compares to a Ducati Monster; it’s pretty much a direct competitor.
First thing to notice is that it’s considerably taller than the Monster. Tiptoe tall for me, whereas I can easily flatfoot the Monster. I don’t see this as a good thing, and don’t see why it should need to be so tall. Once moving, though, it’s plenty easy to handle. It has lots of punch for a 750. More than the 696 or my old 900, although not nearly as much as the Monster 1100. It has a nice sound as well; still a little rough, but much better than the older Aprilias. The shifting was very nice and smooth, although the clutch was kind of stiff.
Handling was good; predictable, flickable, smooth. Not as stable or planted as the new Monsters, but more so than the older ones. Brakes seemed a bit weak and wooden, though.
Overall, I think this is a good step forward for Aprilia. I like the new models quite a bit better than the old lineup with the 60º V-twin 1000. I still would take a new Monster over the Shiver, but it’s a lot closer. And if they come out with the rumored Shiver 1200, that will be a serious contender.
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Ducati 848 – This was fun.
The controls were all light and smooth. Ducati is getting really good at this part; makes the bikes a real joy to ride. It was also surprisingly comfortable for me, although I wasn’t all that far along before I could feel that warm seat effect from the undertail exhaust.
The speed is deceptive. It doesn’t *feel* that powerful, yet you’re really moving along quite fast without thinking too hard about it. Not much sense of speed, either. This probably means the fairing is effective and doing its job properly, but I like a goodly amount of wind and sensation. Got the usual eddy current that often bugs me on faired bikes – every time I hit about 100 mph, the wind would reach up and slam my helmet visor shut. (That’s a lot better than the BMW K1300GT that did it at 80 every time, but still kind of annoying.)
The brakes are stellar. Outstanding. Suspension is very good, sharp and precise, good control, yet compliant and handled bumps and potholes well. You really could make some good time on this bike.
The fairing mashes my knuckles at full lock. The mirrors suck.
Overall, this bike is very sharp. Yet somehow it doesn’t have that laser-focused feel that the old 748 had. It’s clearly a faster and more capable bike, but I’d probably buy the old one, just because it *feels* sportier (and is even prettier). Plus, last time I was there, Pro Italia had a nice-looking 748 for $4K. Very tempting.
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Harley-Davidson XR1200 – There’s a lot to like about this bike.
Harley also does controls well. The levers in particular were thick and smooth and comfortable to use. The shifting was nice and low-effort; a bit of a clonk, but it’s a big heavy twin, so that comes with the territory. Seat was good, big and flat and lots of room to move around. Riding position was very comfy at lower speeds, but a bit too upright for above 80 mph. If it was mine, I’d get lower and narrower handlebars. It was a little on the tall side, but not too bad. Not as tall as the Aprilia.
The engine was surprisingly good. Very torquey, of course. Nice sound; they got that right on this one. It didn’t seem to run out of revs right away like some Harleys do. It had a really good feel on the throttle, gets up and runs. Part throttle, though, was kind of rough. Just hanging with traffic on the freeway, it felt kind of dissatisfied, not good for touring or trips.
It’s clearly heavy, and the handling was imprecise, kind of wallowy. It split lanes well enough, but felt a bit unsettled on sweepers and S-curve transitions.
The brakes were undistinguished, neither good nor bad.
It was fun, but definitely doesn’t make the short list.
=====
So out of these, the only change to my list was that the Buell jumped back into second place, before being discontinued.
My current short list, of everything I’ve ridden, if I was to get a new bike, is:
1) Ducati HyperMotard 1100S
2) Moto Guzzi 8V Griso
3) Ducati StreetFighter
4) BMW K1300R (if they import it)
Next up: I have an agreement with a friend with a Triumph 1050 Speed Triple to take a good ride and swap bikes. And the Cycle World bike show is in Long Beach on 05-06Dec; I’ll see what I can get a ride on there.
PhilB
I’ve tried out a variety of bikes in the past few months I hadn’t ridden before. Here are my impressions for: Buell 1125CR, Suzuki SV1000, BMW K1300S, Aprilia Shiver 750, Ducati 848, and Harley-Davidson XR1200.
=====
Buell 1125CR – I liked this bike a lot. I tested the 1125R last year, and was fairly impressed. The only minuses were clonky shifting, high heat production, some minor NVH unpleasantness, and the fairing rapped my knuckles at full steering lock. I had sat on the 1125CR and liked the feel better but hadn’t ridden it yet. The 1125CR was quite good. Having no fairing solved the 1125R’s last problem, and Buell had done work to solve both the clonky shifting and the heat management, successfully in both cases.
Some ergonomic issues remained. I couldn’t adjust the mirrors high enough to get a proper view; they still pointed to the ground behind me. The seat was big and allowed movement, but was pretty much a plank. And the riding position gave me some lower back strain, although that might just be something that could be adapted to as the right muscles got trained to the new position.
Riding it was very cool. Big torquey twin, yet strong on top as well, good sharp handling, good balance, very fun ride. Would be pretty comfortable with a better seat. The suspension was well-sorted; handled bumps and potholes well, yet was well controlled and stable at speed, good on both sweepers and sharper corners.
The steering was very sharp; something to get used to. Buells use a very steep 21º fork angle; even race-rep Japanese sportbikes use about 24-25º. On hard deceleration, this steepens to a degree that feels pretty twitchy. Not dangerous-feeling, but noticeable. A BMW-style Telelever setup with natural anti-dive characteristics would make this bike REALLY a sweet ride.
I’m bummed Buell is no more. This bike had achieved a close second on my list of bikes I would buy if I was buying a bike. It seems a real shame that the plug got pulled just as they finally got a good engine and made some bikes that were genuinely desirable.
=====
Suzuki SV1000 – This bike belongs to my friend’s boyfriend, and it isn’t stock. It’s had several thousand bucks of upgrades, including improved suspension on both ends, and a bunch of engine work; it dynoes at over 130 rwhp. It’s a nice ride. Noticeably more stable than the Ducatis, but still handled well. Very nice shifting. Strong everywhere. Shows what you can do with an SV.
=====
BMW K1300S – I liked this a LOT better than the K1300GT I rode earlier this year. It was much smoother, shifted much better, handled very nicely (although clearly a heavy bike). Very powerful, feels and sounds like you’re strapped to a turbine engine. As with the K1200R I rode last year, the weight is low and well balanced, and the bike itself is low; I could flatfoot both sides. It was surprisingly nimble, and again I liked the Duo-Lever front end's separation of braking from suspension forces. I’m a fan of BMW’s alternative suspension technology.
It still has more gadgets than I think a bike ought to have, but they seem mostly well made and well thought-out. I still prefer bikes without fairings, but this gave me a better feel for what the K1300R would ride like, if they decide to import that.
=====
Aprilia Shiver 750 – I was interested particularly on how this compares to a Ducati Monster; it’s pretty much a direct competitor.
First thing to notice is that it’s considerably taller than the Monster. Tiptoe tall for me, whereas I can easily flatfoot the Monster. I don’t see this as a good thing, and don’t see why it should need to be so tall. Once moving, though, it’s plenty easy to handle. It has lots of punch for a 750. More than the 696 or my old 900, although not nearly as much as the Monster 1100. It has a nice sound as well; still a little rough, but much better than the older Aprilias. The shifting was very nice and smooth, although the clutch was kind of stiff.
Handling was good; predictable, flickable, smooth. Not as stable or planted as the new Monsters, but more so than the older ones. Brakes seemed a bit weak and wooden, though.
Overall, I think this is a good step forward for Aprilia. I like the new models quite a bit better than the old lineup with the 60º V-twin 1000. I still would take a new Monster over the Shiver, but it’s a lot closer. And if they come out with the rumored Shiver 1200, that will be a serious contender.
=====
Ducati 848 – This was fun.
The controls were all light and smooth. Ducati is getting really good at this part; makes the bikes a real joy to ride. It was also surprisingly comfortable for me, although I wasn’t all that far along before I could feel that warm seat effect from the undertail exhaust.
The speed is deceptive. It doesn’t *feel* that powerful, yet you’re really moving along quite fast without thinking too hard about it. Not much sense of speed, either. This probably means the fairing is effective and doing its job properly, but I like a goodly amount of wind and sensation. Got the usual eddy current that often bugs me on faired bikes – every time I hit about 100 mph, the wind would reach up and slam my helmet visor shut. (That’s a lot better than the BMW K1300GT that did it at 80 every time, but still kind of annoying.)
The brakes are stellar. Outstanding. Suspension is very good, sharp and precise, good control, yet compliant and handled bumps and potholes well. You really could make some good time on this bike.
The fairing mashes my knuckles at full lock. The mirrors suck.
Overall, this bike is very sharp. Yet somehow it doesn’t have that laser-focused feel that the old 748 had. It’s clearly a faster and more capable bike, but I’d probably buy the old one, just because it *feels* sportier (and is even prettier). Plus, last time I was there, Pro Italia had a nice-looking 748 for $4K. Very tempting.
=====
Harley-Davidson XR1200 – There’s a lot to like about this bike.
Harley also does controls well. The levers in particular were thick and smooth and comfortable to use. The shifting was nice and low-effort; a bit of a clonk, but it’s a big heavy twin, so that comes with the territory. Seat was good, big and flat and lots of room to move around. Riding position was very comfy at lower speeds, but a bit too upright for above 80 mph. If it was mine, I’d get lower and narrower handlebars. It was a little on the tall side, but not too bad. Not as tall as the Aprilia.
The engine was surprisingly good. Very torquey, of course. Nice sound; they got that right on this one. It didn’t seem to run out of revs right away like some Harleys do. It had a really good feel on the throttle, gets up and runs. Part throttle, though, was kind of rough. Just hanging with traffic on the freeway, it felt kind of dissatisfied, not good for touring or trips.
It’s clearly heavy, and the handling was imprecise, kind of wallowy. It split lanes well enough, but felt a bit unsettled on sweepers and S-curve transitions.
The brakes were undistinguished, neither good nor bad.
It was fun, but definitely doesn’t make the short list.
=====
So out of these, the only change to my list was that the Buell jumped back into second place, before being discontinued.
My current short list, of everything I’ve ridden, if I was to get a new bike, is:
1) Ducati HyperMotard 1100S
2) Moto Guzzi 8V Griso
3) Ducati StreetFighter
4) BMW K1300R (if they import it)
Next up: I have an agreement with a friend with a Triumph 1050 Speed Triple to take a good ride and swap bikes. And the Cycle World bike show is in Long Beach on 05-06Dec; I’ll see what I can get a ride on there.
PhilB
