16-11-13, 01:35 PM
(This post was last modified: 16-11-13, 01:53 PM by nick crisp.)
If I'm being absolutely honest Noggy, then I find this one a hard one to answer. The thou is without doubt a great bike. But is it the right bike for you? Judging by the use you get from a bike, I'd have to say no. I would suggest that you ought to be looking for something a bit more sports oriented. The Tuono I think would be right up your street going by what it does. But as has been said, what of reliability, quality of finish, running costs? Have you considered the gen 2? Sounds to me like the best of both worlds.
If you did go for a gen 1, I think you'd be disappointed with the handling after the 6. It's a much heavier bike, and demands a bit more physical input from the rider, a bit more forward planning for tackling the twisties. That's standard anyway. With the right suspension mods? Well, I can't answer that yet. Next year, hopefully, I'll get the R1 forks and R6 rear shock done, and then I might have something further to say on the matter. But it'll still be disadvantaged weight-wise.
Otherwise, I don't think you'd be too unhappy if you found it was not right for you, because there's still a lot of fun to be had from them. But make sure you go for an Ivanised bike, or make it the first thing you do if you do buy a gen 1. The transformation is astounding, it's what the bike should be. Then perhaps the R6 or other quality rear shock to help the bike deal with the extra that the Ivans kit gives you.
On physical size, I'm 6' 2'' and I don't have problems with discomfort on the bike (occasionally a touch of cramp in my leg, but more due to other things).
Give it some thought over the winter, try to get test rides of all the bikes you would consider, make sure you jump for the right reasons. As a parting shot, I would reiterate that the gen 2 is probably more what you're looking for. An awesome bike in it's own right.
If you did go for a gen 1, I think you'd be disappointed with the handling after the 6. It's a much heavier bike, and demands a bit more physical input from the rider, a bit more forward planning for tackling the twisties. That's standard anyway. With the right suspension mods? Well, I can't answer that yet. Next year, hopefully, I'll get the R1 forks and R6 rear shock done, and then I might have something further to say on the matter. But it'll still be disadvantaged weight-wise.
Otherwise, I don't think you'd be too unhappy if you found it was not right for you, because there's still a lot of fun to be had from them. But make sure you go for an Ivanised bike, or make it the first thing you do if you do buy a gen 1. The transformation is astounding, it's what the bike should be. Then perhaps the R6 or other quality rear shock to help the bike deal with the extra that the Ivans kit gives you.
On physical size, I'm 6' 2'' and I don't have problems with discomfort on the bike (occasionally a touch of cramp in my leg, but more due to other things).
Give it some thought over the winter, try to get test rides of all the bikes you would consider, make sure you jump for the right reasons. As a parting shot, I would reiterate that the gen 2 is probably more what you're looking for. An awesome bike in it's own right.