Praying that it was a dog......

Well, I had my first play on a 5th Gen today.

Silver, 32k (km) on the clock. Chf 4600 (about the same in $)

Have to say....... I'm pretty gutted. I think it's been standing for about a year though (Swiss winter makes it difficult to get out every day). Rear brake didn't work at all (think it was air in the line somewhere, but touching it didn't do anything to the front as I was expecting).

Have to say, it really wasn't as torquey as I was expecting. At about 5 to 6 k it was time to hold on, listen to the roar and pray that there are no speed cameras lurking anywhere, but before that it felt a bit gutless.

Cornering was amazing. My current bike (Cagiva Elefant) has never let me experience anything like that before. Good, it's a totally different style of bike, but the Viffer was amazing.

I'm not too sure what the stock bike looks like up close with regards to the steering. This one looked like the bars had been raised, but I'm praying that they weren't. Reason being is that it was REALLY difficult on the arms after as little distance as 10km.

Since I saw the advert, I've done quite a lot of research into bikes and, due primarially to the great stying, and lots of highly positive reviews I was really hoping that I was going to love it. The one I rode just didn't feel like it deserved the many high accolades it was being lauded with.

The only other sport tourer that I've ridden was the Suzuki GSX1250 FA. Far more comfortable seating position, and felt like more of a rocket than the Viffer. Trouble is that, being new, it's over 10k more expensive than the average VFR.

Loving the cornering, but seeing as a lot of the time I'm going to be sitting on the motorway (e.g the 8 hours between here and the UK), I'm not too sure that its the right one for me......

Looking at a few more in the area in the coming days. Really hope that this was just a one off.....

 

Well I can tell you that going from a bike with a very upright seating position that moving to a more sport oriented mount can be very difficult at first. Don't get me wrong, I want heli-bars and a sargent seat(the stock one slopes forward too much, pushing you onto the bars) but you have to adjust your technique a little. You will have to grip the bike more with your legs and use your core to support yourself. I had serious wrist issues at first on mine, It was part poor technique, part me being terrified and getting a death grip on the most expensive thing I've ever purchased. You might want to make a couple small mods alot of guys, myself included, like to do. First is to get a slip-on for better V4 music, and a PAIR(pulse air injection reduction) removal kit for the exhaust. I got mine from TPO parts and it makes the bike smoother at lower rpm's and eliminated backfiring on decel. That being said, it is a sub-1000cc four cylinder, and will like some revs. Mines happiest above 3500 rpm. You can also bump up 2 teeth on the rear sprocket as I just have (43-45 tooth) and I really like it, makes the bike better for real world speeds. Just thought I'd throw in my several cents, good luck with the new ride.