1st Ride report

[phplemel]

Ok not quite the 1st ride, but the first with any distance. Rode over 450km today so bikes total is just 600km
I;ve been a lifelong occaisionl rider, who only really discovered adventure touring 4 yrs ago. Sold all my BMW's (K100, K1100, R100) to get a Buell Ulysses. Put 30,000km in 2 years. Delivered it to it's new owner 2 weeks befor S10 showed uo. So now I'm hooked. I'm 50+ 5'8'' 29'inseam slightly Ooverweight :exclaim:
Stock w/s was on the bike only one day. then switched to MRA vario. Great addition. No buffeting at any speed and no need for for an angle adjuster for me. With seat on low setting I am quite comfortable to be on the balls of my feet.
I'm not sure how Yamaha weighs it's bikes, but this is the lightest 575lbs I've ever felt :exclaim: !st time in a decade that I've been able to back up any of my bikes as I'm parking. This thing is incredibly well balanced and carry's it wgt very well.
It handles easily as good as my Buell which is very high praise. I got a chance to test the ABS brakes on the South Canol road today (I'm here writing this so they WORK).
Seat works for me, but is annoyingly tilted forward which I only noticed after 2+ hrs of riding. May need to invest in a radr detector though. t doesn'y feel fast O but several times I was cruising along bear watching(grizzlys) & I looked down to see 165km :exclaim:. No excitment at all just fast. This is an adventure touring bike )
Transmission is slightly glightchy, but need more km's to see if it's a problem. Brakes are strong, handling is predictable & solid on loose stuff. Defualt suspension setting seem a little stiff, Tires (Bridgestones) seem fine even on loose & damp gravel . Haven't tried WET dirt yet only WET pavement. Bike is amazingly dry :exclaim: MRA windscreen helped a lot
I rode a combination of Alaska Highway pavement, side road chipseal, gravel road, quad track (to a fishing lake) and about a 100km on the South Canol road. This is an awesome adventure ride :exclaim: This road is narrow, gravel, hardpack,mud, dusty, soft, rocky VERY twisty and thats only in the 1st 50km :exclaim: Had to test the ABS capablitys (GREAT) Bike is WAY more capable than me. It makes up for many of my riding faults )
I think I'm i love. Bring your S10 north to the Yukon next July & ride

 

[GrahamD]

Thanks for that, 8)

Now is there anyone out there that hates the thing.

This is getting tedious

 

[digitalmoto]

Thanks for that, 8)

Now is there anyone out there that hates the thing.

This is getting tedious

It doesn't corner as fast as my SuperDuke. That count?

 

[GrahamD]

It doesn't corner as fast as my SuperDuke. That count?

That will do for now ;D

 

[digitalmoto]

That will do for now ;D

Maybe I need me seat time to give me a bit more confidence with the metzlers... That could be the problem. I've done track days on the KTM so I know how far I can push it. I don't have that comfort level yet with the XT1200Z.

That's got to be it. It couldn't be a problem with the bike. Right?

 

[Twitch]

Thanks phplemel. Good report. Much the same here.

 

[warnabrother]

I did a track day on the stock tyres (Bridgestones) and was regularly scraping the pegs.. if your not scraping the pegs on the stock tyres, you're not going quick enough > >

 

[colorider]

Now is there anyone out there that hates the thing.

Not I - but I've only ridden mine home from the dealer!!!

 

[Yamaguy55]

I did a track day on the stock tyres (Bridgestones) and was regularly scraping the pegs.. if your not scraping the pegs on the stock tyres, you're not going quick enough > >

It does corner very well for a beast. We have some very serious local roads here, riders come to see how they are from quite a ways away. Sort of a dragon light. Really light. I was on those roads this past weekend, and I was certainly cornering hard for a non sportbike. Continues to impress.

 

[warnabrother]

yep.. my road riding mates are all quick veteran road riders..
I dont have much trouble keeping up with them in the twisty sections.. they do pull a few lengths on me.. but not miles..

 

[doctorj]

As for the seat, I think it was Devin (Speedstar) that has a mod on the forum removing the 4 "bumpers" at the back of the seat's underside and replaced with shorter bumper to allow the rear of the seat to lay down more and thus decrease that lean you mentioned. I will probably do that DIY mod to mine when I get it.

doctorj

 

[3putt]

Good RR, thanks. I agree on the seat pushing you forward slightly and over 200+ miles the LD shorts start to ride up.

I have been into some pretty good twisties and still have 1/2" left on the rear tire. It handles very good. You have to lead it a little earlier than the Duc, but it corners pretty well. Course next time I get on the Duc I will probably pull it in the ditch, it is quick! Very different tire profiles on the two bikes tho, and rake.

I also agree on the suspension is tad stiff. These fork springs must be up around .9kg/mm or more, just guessing. I have not set the sag yet, been too busy riding, gonna tackle that today.

Would love to head out to the Yukon and ride with ya, and do some bear watching!