Yesterday at the Blue Ridge MoFest, me and Spkldoe had a first ride on an S10. Since it was a 2-up ride and I have not seen many such reports, I started a new thread. Hope this helps those who are wondering.
My impression…there is ample room for two and the factory panniers were not an issue for my pillion. At first, Spkldoe was sitting to the rear and the bike wanted to walk around, especially at slow walking speeds. She is accustomed to doing on the FJR fitted with a backrest and suspension dialed in. Mind you this was at 5:00 in afternoon in relatively heavy freeway traffic as we were leaving town and I was fighting to stablilize the machine and beginning to wonder IF I had made a huge mistake.
As soon as I convinced her move up and remain, all was right with the world (Gee, she’s stubborn sometimes, it took 3 tries to get her to stay scooted up. Guess she has forgotten our enduro days together). Stable, nimble and confident feel now.;D Hey, there’s a manhole cover coming up and we are leaning a bit, let’s see how things go (ok, really I target-fixated on the dang thing)…walked right over it with absolutely no complaints from neither pillion nor bike. Breaking free of freeway traffic and with both mine and Spkldoe’s confidence built up, we hit the on ramp twisty to the BRP with vigor and found no issues. The S10 handled a slow speed turn around to head back with ease. Ample power, not the arm pulling torque of an FJR, but very linear and you are NOT left wanting more juice. I did not notice any issues with the wind, though it was not my focus b/c I know that can be sorted out if needed. Bar position felt good, though I may want them rotated back a half inch or so and I noticed some vibes at mid-range though they were not intrusive and simply disappeared at speed.
I’m only left wondering one thing, is first gear a little too high for 2-up duty? IMHO, with a tweak or two of the suspension settings, and once accustomed to the tall gearing at take off, the S10 is definitely capable of 2-up duty…either at play or for extended distances.
Spkldoe’s initial impression…ample room , comfy pillion perch, panniers not an issue, I can see much better than on the FJR now I don’t have to guess when I should beat you in the back for going too fast but WHERE’S MY BACKREST! I did not push much about her impressions, mostly just listened. The S10 will be OUR bike and I wanted to let her experience soak in. Now that she has had a good night’s rest (still dead to the world as yesterday was a full day), I will ask her for more input.
From my perspective and with Spkldoe’s final go ahead pending, I am ready and willing to part with our FJR, it is just a matter of timing. My original plan was that the FJR would be history by now, but I will not cut Spkldoe out of a full riding season waiting to take delivery of a new bike, so I guess the FJR will stick around a while longer. The upside of waiting is that I just may be able to scrounge together sufficient buckage to allow keeping MY Versys!!
Truly enjoyed briefly meeting a few fellow forum members as well as talking bikes and more with Ride Marshall and forum member Dusty Bones and his partner and fellow S10 waiter whose name I did not catch. Gentleman, your crew has it going on! Thanks a bunch from me and Spkldoe.
As it is forecast to be a beautiful spring morning, I may well have to mount up the FJR and return to Roanoke tomorrow morning to give the Super Tenere a go 1-up along with the Triumph XC 800 just for fun. I'm not sure, but I think I could likely withstand an FJR run down VA 311 and back.
And Vincent, you simply must give ample billing to the Warlords of Norton so ALL the 1 %ers remain happy.
My impression…there is ample room for two and the factory panniers were not an issue for my pillion. At first, Spkldoe was sitting to the rear and the bike wanted to walk around, especially at slow walking speeds. She is accustomed to doing on the FJR fitted with a backrest and suspension dialed in. Mind you this was at 5:00 in afternoon in relatively heavy freeway traffic as we were leaving town and I was fighting to stablilize the machine and beginning to wonder IF I had made a huge mistake.
As soon as I convinced her move up and remain, all was right with the world (Gee, she’s stubborn sometimes, it took 3 tries to get her to stay scooted up. Guess she has forgotten our enduro days together). Stable, nimble and confident feel now.;D Hey, there’s a manhole cover coming up and we are leaning a bit, let’s see how things go (ok, really I target-fixated on the dang thing)…walked right over it with absolutely no complaints from neither pillion nor bike. Breaking free of freeway traffic and with both mine and Spkldoe’s confidence built up, we hit the on ramp twisty to the BRP with vigor and found no issues. The S10 handled a slow speed turn around to head back with ease. Ample power, not the arm pulling torque of an FJR, but very linear and you are NOT left wanting more juice. I did not notice any issues with the wind, though it was not my focus b/c I know that can be sorted out if needed. Bar position felt good, though I may want them rotated back a half inch or so and I noticed some vibes at mid-range though they were not intrusive and simply disappeared at speed.I’m only left wondering one thing, is first gear a little too high for 2-up duty? IMHO, with a tweak or two of the suspension settings, and once accustomed to the tall gearing at take off, the S10 is definitely capable of 2-up duty…either at play or for extended distances.
Spkldoe’s initial impression…ample room , comfy pillion perch, panniers not an issue, I can see much better than on the FJR now I don’t have to guess when I should beat you in the back for going too fast but WHERE’S MY BACKREST! I did not push much about her impressions, mostly just listened. The S10 will be OUR bike and I wanted to let her experience soak in. Now that she has had a good night’s rest (still dead to the world as yesterday was a full day), I will ask her for more input.
From my perspective and with Spkldoe’s final go ahead pending, I am ready and willing to part with our FJR, it is just a matter of timing. My original plan was that the FJR would be history by now, but I will not cut Spkldoe out of a full riding season waiting to take delivery of a new bike, so I guess the FJR will stick around a while longer. The upside of waiting is that I just may be able to scrounge together sufficient buckage to allow keeping MY Versys!!
Truly enjoyed briefly meeting a few fellow forum members as well as talking bikes and more with Ride Marshall and forum member Dusty Bones and his partner and fellow S10 waiter whose name I did not catch. Gentleman, your crew has it going on! Thanks a bunch from me and Spkldoe.
As it is forecast to be a beautiful spring morning, I may well have to mount up the FJR and return to Roanoke tomorrow morning to give the Super Tenere a go 1-up along with the Triumph XC 800 just for fun. I'm not sure, but I think I could likely withstand an FJR run down VA 311
and back.And Vincent, you simply must give ample billing to the Warlords of Norton so ALL the 1 %ers remain happy.
