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mcn first ride

14K views 47 replies 20 participants last post by  Don.B 
#1 ·
#3 ·
i didn't read it as disappointing. it's only disappointing if you were expecting perfection, but no first model year bike is ever perfect from the factory. many bikes aren't perfect several model years later.

he said the engine's great and that it handles and brakes well. so the bike gets the fundamentals right, it just needs some fi and suspension tweaking, which most bikes do.

too bad the details are only in the print version of mcn.
 
#5 ·
I wouldn't be too worried. Remember that this is only one guy's review and it's not even a full review. I'm really curious to read more than just one reviewer's perspective. He said he doesn't like the tall front end but it isn't that much taller than the FZ8. I think Yamaha took some motard qualities and tried to partially impart them on this bike. We'll see how people like it. My 2nd bike is a 950 Adv and its tall as shit in the front but I don't get a "vague" feel from it. I think it all depends on what you normally ride.
 
#6 ·
MCN Quote.....

But, the ride-by-wire throttle isn't perfect. I'm having to constantly toggle between the three modes to get a smooth response around town and enough power on the open road. The throttle is far too aggressive most of the time.


I certainly will take that statement with a grain of salt! The DorsoDuro that I had, when it was in sport mode, was extremely sensitive to the touch on the throttle, which I am completely OK with. If you learn to smooth on the brakes and throttle, it becomes a non-issue! Now, if it is a fueling problem, most Times that can be corrected with either a factory correction re-flash or a Power Commander. I will certainly be taking one for a test ride before signing any papers.
 
#8 ·
MCN Quote.....

But, the ride-by-wire throttle isn't perfect. I'm having to constantly toggle between the three modes to get a smooth response around town and enough power on the open road. The throttle is far too aggressive most of the time.


I certainly will take that statement with a grain of salt! The DorsoDuro that I had, when it was in sport mode, was extremely sensitive to the touch on the throttle, which I am completely OK with. If you learn to smooth on the brakes and throttle, it becomes a non-issue! Now, if it is a fueling problem, most Times that can be corrected with either a factory correction re-flash or a Power Commander. I will certainly be taking one for a test ride before signing any papers.
Unfortunately none of the dealers around me will let you test ride the bike before you buy which sucks. Im definitely going to be watching closely and reading as much as I can in the coming months.
 
#10 ·
Not a lot you can do about height without affecting the bike's geometry.....raising the fork tubes in the triple clamp. Hard, is a different matter. Softer springs will be available if you run out of adjustment while softening the preload.
 
#11 ·
I'm wondering if her even played with the adjustable suspension. Either way, I'm not convinced I won't enjoy the bike. This guy is the pro road tester, I'm sure his benchmark for satisfaction is way higher than mine. Firm suspension, rapid throttle, dropped bars, and I think I'll be just fine.
 
#12 ·
A flash of the ECU might fix any issues but is this guy seriously complaining of too responsive of a throttle? I can't see why that is an issue. Just learn to manage it. Every bike is different.
 
#13 ·
"But, the ride-by-wire throttle isn't perfect. I'm having to constantly toggle between the three modes to get a smooth response around town and enough power on the open road. The throttle is far too aggressive most of the time."

Bear with me for a second on the Modes:

If I’m not mistaken, each Mode is set up to achieve a different purpose. [That is why it was important for me to understand “how” the Modes “actually’ performed from the professional rider’s observations and experiences.] So, it may possibly be the interpretation that, the Modes did indeed perform “exactly” as they should have. Here is my very respectful and humble interpretation thus far:

If the rider was adjusting the Modes to compensate for mild to moderate congested traffic, then he probably was in the “B” Mode (aka “Rain” Mode). Therefore, he would not have gained the full benefits of power “up top” as quickly as he may have initially thought. If (and I say that with total consideration for his professional experience – which I do not have – and highly respect) then that is something which should have ordinarily been expected. In that respect the “B” Mode did what it was supposed to do.

If the rider was adjusting the Modes to compensate for pulling quickly around traffic and consistently maintaining high speeds, then he probably was in the “A” Mode (aka “Track” Mode). So if he was departing a high speed road or area, and expected a “lesser aggressive” throttle response -- then he would not have found the “smoothness” of said “lesser aggressive” throttle response changing from spirited riding or high speed riding. This is fine, because, the “A” Mode is not purposed towards yielding what I now call “commuter response.” It would probably be better to adjust the Modes for any descent period of time you wish to ride at normal speeds in populated or lower speed areas. In that respect the “A” Mode did what it was supposed to do.

If the rider was adjusting the Modes to compensate for everyday riding then he probably was in the “Standard” Mode (aka “All Purpose” Mode). So if he had good “usable” power for every situational environment and road condition during the short time he has had the opportunity to test the bike so far - and expected different “up top” or “down below” power - then that occurrence would not seem likely to happen. If he had consistent power all the way through the rev-range, with no gaps or lags, then I would venture to say that the “Standard” Mode did what it was supposed to do.

Now Gentlemen (and Ladies, if there be any) --- These are just my humble opinions and thoughts after reading a very limited – first day – one rider test. Please know that I tremendously appreciate any and all reviews from the professional test riders. I enjoy reading their observations and I’m waiting to hear, read, and learn more.

OK…I Hear The Comments Coming! Let’s Have Fun!! Write Away!!!:)
 
#17 ·
"But, the ride-by-wire throttle isn't perfect. I'm having to constantly toggle between the three modes to get a smooth response around town and enough power on the open road. The throttle is far too aggressive most of the time."

Now Gentlemen (and Ladies, if there be any) --- These are just my humble opinions and thoughts after reading a very limited – first day – one rider test. Please know that I tremendously appreciate any and all reviews from the professional test riders. I enjoy reading their observations and I’m waiting to hear, read, and learn more.

OK…I Hear The Comments Coming! Let’s Have Fun!! Write Away!!!:)
I am surprised that he wanted to "constantly toggle". . Constant toggling seems to be attempting to find from the engine the best of all worlds at all times, which could be fruitless. Surely, you are given a mode choice with such bikes for the circumstances of your ride rather than to force particular bike performance from one moment to the next? But I had thought that I might want to soften the throttle sometimes for a start from stationary. I do not like aggressive throttles at such times. As to suspension "high", I do not yet understand that. The seat is 815mm which is only 10mm higher than my MT-03 and is not a high seat. High in my opinion starts over 825mm. Not sure what he did with the preload. All will be revealed next week, presumably. Must remember that Neeves is a sports bike fan and racer, and there'll be no substitute for carrying out our own test.
 
#16 ·
A-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y Agree!! I don't think you can really go wrong this bike. Once I sit on it, and hopefully demo it, the next thing I'll be saying is, "...and how long did you say it takes to get the license plate?"
 
#15 ·
I am nervous about putting down a deposit on a bike sight unseen but Yamaha has always been my most trusted brand. Also I very much foresee a price increase for the next model year if these sell out, which I am sure they will.
 
#18 ·
As I stated in my previous post..........take One writer's opinion with a grain of salt. There is absolutely NO substitution for being smooth with your throttle inputs AND, if you are going to ride the bike in the "A" mode, then either deal with it or learn better throttle control. It's that simple! Oh...BTW....this comment is NOT directed at you Smokehouse......it's directly at the test rider that wrote the article.
 
#31 · (Edited)
There is absolutely NO substitution for being smooth with your throttle inputs
sometimes there's only so much you can do because you're at the mercy of the electronics. for example, back in the early years of motorcycle fuel injection, it was fairly common for bikes to have very snatchy response in the off/on throttle transition. it didn't matter how smooth you were rolling on the throttle, the power just wouldn't come back on smoothly. this wasn't a throttle control issue, it was a fuelling issue. the only solution was to mess around with the fuel maps. you can still find glitchy fi today, even on premium bikes that you'd expect to be perfect (mv agusta).

in this case when the mcn road tester said that he had to constantly switch between maps, i took it to mean that 'b' mode was smooth, 'a' mode was too aggressive, and 'std' mode - instead of being a good middle ground between the two - was also too aggressive.
 
#19 ·
Robodene..........Thanks for the input. That explains a few things about the tester. If he is hardcore in the sport bike arena and is a racer, he is slanted to the forward biased racer position and would certainly feel a little "out of shape" with the upright riding position of the MT/FZ. I would certainly think that if he test rode the bike that he would have tried to make some adjustments on the preload settings if he thought that it was too harsh. Of course, the bike doesn't have an adjustment for compression damping, so he obviously cannot do anything about that on a borrowed test bike. Lighter weigh fork oil could possibly cut down on some of the harshness, but again, it's going to be a personal thing/choice on what you feel when you ride the bike. Personally, I gotten quite accustomed to a fairly harsh suspension from spending so much time on my track bike......compliant, but firm!
 
#23 ·
This will be my first bike with injection, ‘puterized throttle or multiple maps. My idea of sport/track mode is that if you whack the throttle open the bike will give you the full HP and RPM increase as is possible for the beginning RPM etc.

But even if you are on a dry race track you want small throttle changes to give a subtle and predictable response, like coming out of an increasing radius turn and you want to feed in more HP while still leaned over. Maybe the reviewer means that subtly isn’t there? No doubt he has plenty of experience with 100+ HP bikes with sport mode.

We’re trying to read a full review into a First Look, let’s give the guy a chance lol. See what he says in his full review, what others say.



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#24 ·
We’re trying to read a full review into a First Look, let’s give the guy a chance lol. See what he says in his full review, what others say.
Well that's just way too reasonable. We want perfect scores right now or the reviewer's head! :laughing6:
 
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#25 ·
I always set the sag first to determine if I need another spring. I figured the forks would need oil height adjustment to compensate for the lack of compression adjustment. I run tons of preload anyway. My CBR954RR had a terrible throttle transition which I totally cured with a Power Commander. I see a Graves pipe and a Bazzaz controller in my future. I am not worried at all. I can assure you that I will put it in sport mode and leave it there unless I am on a long highway stint.
 
#27 ·
Wow are you guys serious? I mean this guy is only from Britain, what did you expect, oh and yamaha had tree cylinder engines probably before the triumph, maybe not in the bike, but it could be triumph copying yamaha?
 
#28 ·
Folks:

I grateful to all of you who are parsing this review. I am looking for a motorcycle that has the character of my car -- a Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works. In other words, nimble, iven quick, full of character, and yet reasonably practical (for my purposes). Given those requirements, only the suspension raises red flags for me. But those of you with much more expertise have offered a variety of possible remedies IF the suspension of the FZ-09 really isn't up to snuff.
 
#32 ·
Bobby...that's why I mentioned earlier that if it is in fact a fueling issue, it may have to be corrected with a fuel management controller.....Power Commander..Badazz....etc.
 
#39 ·
Michael Neeves has british/euro bike favoritism (just like pretty much all mcn testers) he regularly derides anything not of the aforementioned ilk; so I'll take his biased comments for what they are worth...not damn thing to me. I'll wait for a less biased comment on the new bike, thank you very much.
 
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