Or should the title be "Appeasing the midlife crisis"?. A quick bit of back story. In July of 1990, a month after graduating from high school, I broke my neck (crushed C5) while body surfing. I haven't ridden a motorcycle in the 23 years since. Last spring, spurred on by what I can only assume was my midlife crisis, I got the sudden urge to get a bike.
My only technical requirement was that the bike have ABS. Due to my fused neck (C4-C5-C6 fused together) I needed an upright riding position. I also knew I would have a low tolerance for buffeting so having an adjustable windscreen or third party windscreen options was also important.
When I set out looking I quickly gravitated to the adventure touring class of bikes (with a brief detour to Victory Cross Country land). These bikes simply fit my personality and sense of style (no tassels, buckles, studded leather, skulls, flames or chrome here) . Each provided the much needed upright riding position, ABS and most had windscreen options.
I considered them all but it was the Super T that "spoke to me" and had the best value proposition of the bikes greater than 650cc.
I trailer-ed home my new 2012 "Super T" (as stated on the title) this past Friday.
My initial farkles include:
In the four days since I've put the first 168 miles on it. Here are my initial impressions (doing my best to separate the thrill of riding from impressions of the bike) in no particular order:
Paraphrasing the term "All Mountain" from the Mt Bike realm, I consider the Super T my "All Roads" bike.
My only technical requirement was that the bike have ABS. Due to my fused neck (C4-C5-C6 fused together) I needed an upright riding position. I also knew I would have a low tolerance for buffeting so having an adjustable windscreen or third party windscreen options was also important.
When I set out looking I quickly gravitated to the adventure touring class of bikes (with a brief detour to Victory Cross Country land). These bikes simply fit my personality and sense of style (no tassels, buckles, studded leather, skulls, flames or chrome here) . Each provided the much needed upright riding position, ABS and most had windscreen options.
I considered them all but it was the Super T that "spoke to me" and had the best value proposition of the bikes greater than 650cc.
I trailer-ed home my new 2012 "Super T" (as stated on the title) this past Friday.
My initial farkles include:
- Yamaha Winglets
- VStream sport touring windscreen
- Yamaha headlight protector
- Tech Spec tank grips
In the four days since I've put the first 168 miles on it. Here are my initial impressions (doing my best to separate the thrill of riding from impressions of the bike) in no particular order:
- Louder with a deeper tone than I anticipated, never even heard one run in person prior to buying
- Slightly more vibes than I expected
- Handles great
- Stops great
- Plenty of power without being scary fast
- Levers are too long, I will need shorter, two finger, clutch and front brake levers
- Stock seat with the bumper mod applied is good but I can see a custom or third party seat in my future
- Shifting is clunky at times, this is something I will be keeping an eye on as my break in progresses. The clutch may need adjustment.
- Clutch switch mod has improved that "lugging it" feeling in lower revs, but I can see a potential ECU re-flash in my future
- Love standing up on this bike. Going 50 mph and just popup. The bars are maybe a smigg low so a 30mm riser may be in my future
- The rear rack, when placed in the lower position, interferes with the grab handles, really Yamaha , really???
- The winglets and VStream sport touring windscreen are working well together but there is touch of turbulent air, at highway speeds . I'm considering the touratech or madstad windscreen brackets for some angular adjustment.
- This thing is a beast to push around. I park it in my workshop which (while there is snow on the ground) requires a 90 turn. I'm getting better with practice.
- Easy to put on the center stand. I can do it virtually hands free.
- With one prolonged ride of about 2 hours there was zero signs of neck, upper back or shoulder pain, discomfort or fatigue. I anticipated the bars being an issue but so far I would so far as to say I actually like them.
Paraphrasing the term "All Mountain" from the Mt Bike realm, I consider the Super T my "All Roads" bike.
Mid-life crisis...nah. Just a fun hobby/passion.
