Well after 1500miles on my Roadster in 4 weeks I thought I’d post some comments, after my last 500 miles to Skye and back last weekend. Hope it's not too long.
No regrets! It’s brilliant. The handling is better than I expected, and I have almost ground away the hero blobs and they produce lots of sparks too! The footrests fold so you have a few more degrees of lean available once they do ground. Just need to practice the Rossi style a bit more! Hang off and countersteer and you'll surprise (and entertain) anyone trying to keep up - well until the first blind sharp bend anyway. Once it grounds you either run wide or get your body weight shifted seriously quickly and hope no-one's coming the other way. But hey, it's a cruiser, right!
Brakes are superb although the ABS stops working at speeds below 20mph. (It’s meant to)
The engine is loosening off nicely, third gear is the one that seems most punchy, but that’s fine as it will take you from 20mph to over the ton pretty fast, so 4th and 5th are more for cruising. There’s a slight vibration through the footrests about 2100rpm but above or below this its dead smooth. My Sprint ST is the same. A definite surge over 4300rpm keeps pulling hard to 6000 too, in 3rd.
I was checking the oil, doing it before a run, only to find the oil well below the “low” mark. Topping up to the mark with half a litre, I went for a run and after 30miles checked it again – well over the “full” mark. Oil must drain into the sump when standing and it needs a short run to pump everything back into the tank. The book does say to check the oil AFTER a ride, so my fault and back the half litre went to its bottle.
Comfort’s good but the seat’s a bit firm and the rear shocks a bit harsh. I’m 80kg and even with them set on the softest it’s harsh. I think it’s the damping, not the spring rate, that’s too hard, but that’s not adjustable so I’ll need to see what other dampers are out there. (any suggestions welcome). My wife likes the tall sissy bar but not hitting bumps!
Fuel consumption so far is about 35-40mpg (UK) but the gauge shows empty with still almost 5 litres left. The two trip meters are good, so you can keep one for tank range and the other for mileage on a run.
I’ve used both the standard cans and the “accessory” ones about equally. Two up cruising I put the standard ones on for quietness but out on my own for a blast, on go the tors and the earplugs!.
The small flyscreen looks good but is not much use deflecting wind over 80. I’m looking for an iridium coated one, Airblade make one for twin headlight bikes that could fit but I haven’t measured up yet.
It’s pig to clean too, I’ve never has a bike with so many nooks and crannies. Cleaning the wheels is a pain as they’re so hard to get at.(I don’t use a pressure washer just a hose and brush for the sake of the bearings and electrics.) so eventually some powder coat is going to happen there!
So far - bonkers bike but brill fun!