Larry Gude
Strung Out
Ok, so, I had opportunity to test ride one this past weekend; 740 miles in 36 hours to Greensboro and back.
Did highway at speed, in traffic, dual line highways, back roads, hours on the BR parkway, in town, around town, 4 or 5 gas stops and one Biscuitville. Oh, and one law enforcement interaction.
So, it is an amazing machine. Very high quality is readily evident. Fantastic throttle response. Very good brakes (ABS). Has the rear independent of the front so you can drag rear at low speed in parking lots without having front brake hosing you up. Super smooth 6 speed gear box. Very quiet. Decent storage with side bags and top case. A pretty cool center stand that takes a little getting the hang of. Adequate stereo that, itsbob, I DID figure out how to adjust bass, treble, very nimble and responsive. Will absolutely #### 'n git when you want. No heat issues at all as both pipes head down under right after leaving the cylinder heads. Heated grips, heated seat, adjustable suspension that I did not play with. It was set for 2 up and with cases loaded with my crap and my fat ass, suspension was fabulous. Absorbs hard hits very nice and does not try to send you over the bars if you weren't paying attention. I even had my hands off the bars at one point, cruise control on, and had a sudden hit and very stable, induced not even a hint of panic. Rock solid. VERY good lights.
I ride a cruiser that I will go ALL day on and want more but it is totally bare bones with no more amenities than electric start so, the BMW had a LOT going for it accessories and extras. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
That said, when I got home Sunday night my ass was SORE. Also, my throttle hand has some arthritis and the BMW grip and angle made me VERY happy for the cruise control so I could get all the breaks from it I wanted. That said, twistie (full time hands on, laying in, rock and rolling) sections started to get very uncomfortable.
The riding position is good, up right, neutral as opposed to down and in on the Stra but there are no highway pegs to stretch out on the RT. That may have helped a LOT. In any event, while it was fresh on my mind and muscle memory, got squared away and then jumped on the Yami for a ride and while I did not want to do one more mile on the BMW I would have taken off on a longer ride on the Strat right then and there. It is just VERY comfortable for me. And the wide beach bar style hand bars, I like as well as my pegs. I have Ultimate saddle so, that is after market and the RT was stock so, dunno how much that has to do with it.
In any event, the Beemer is a fabulous machine and when I started out I presumed I was making a mistake and would never wanna get back on my Strat again. As nice as it was, as much as I want cruise and MUCH better suspension and a 6th gear, I'll still take my '08 Star Stratoliner.
Did highway at speed, in traffic, dual line highways, back roads, hours on the BR parkway, in town, around town, 4 or 5 gas stops and one Biscuitville. Oh, and one law enforcement interaction.
So, it is an amazing machine. Very high quality is readily evident. Fantastic throttle response. Very good brakes (ABS). Has the rear independent of the front so you can drag rear at low speed in parking lots without having front brake hosing you up. Super smooth 6 speed gear box. Very quiet. Decent storage with side bags and top case. A pretty cool center stand that takes a little getting the hang of. Adequate stereo that, itsbob, I DID figure out how to adjust bass, treble, very nimble and responsive. Will absolutely #### 'n git when you want. No heat issues at all as both pipes head down under right after leaving the cylinder heads. Heated grips, heated seat, adjustable suspension that I did not play with. It was set for 2 up and with cases loaded with my crap and my fat ass, suspension was fabulous. Absorbs hard hits very nice and does not try to send you over the bars if you weren't paying attention. I even had my hands off the bars at one point, cruise control on, and had a sudden hit and very stable, induced not even a hint of panic. Rock solid. VERY good lights.
I ride a cruiser that I will go ALL day on and want more but it is totally bare bones with no more amenities than electric start so, the BMW had a LOT going for it accessories and extras. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
That said, when I got home Sunday night my ass was SORE. Also, my throttle hand has some arthritis and the BMW grip and angle made me VERY happy for the cruise control so I could get all the breaks from it I wanted. That said, twistie (full time hands on, laying in, rock and rolling) sections started to get very uncomfortable.
The riding position is good, up right, neutral as opposed to down and in on the Stra but there are no highway pegs to stretch out on the RT. That may have helped a LOT. In any event, while it was fresh on my mind and muscle memory, got squared away and then jumped on the Yami for a ride and while I did not want to do one more mile on the BMW I would have taken off on a longer ride on the Strat right then and there. It is just VERY comfortable for me. And the wide beach bar style hand bars, I like as well as my pegs. I have Ultimate saddle so, that is after market and the RT was stock so, dunno how much that has to do with it.
In any event, the Beemer is a fabulous machine and when I started out I presumed I was making a mistake and would never wanna get back on my Strat again. As nice as it was, as much as I want cruise and MUCH better suspension and a 6th gear, I'll still take my '08 Star Stratoliner.
I cant speak for the Beemer folks, but in Vstrom land, one of the mandatory mods is different bars to change the stock wrist angles, which are pain inducing.
