Hiya guys...I was out in the garage the other night,removing(and painting black)some bolts on my bike's frame.I noticed something pretty interesting(to me anyway).There are a bunch of things on the frame..brackets,clamps,stuff like that that have been modified from the earlier models.It doesn't sound like much really,but I thought it was quite interesting.One thing I noticed right away...when I removed the muffler hangar bolts,and got the hanger in my hand...I realized.."this deal here is WAY lighter than the 07 I had".That was just one little thing.The mounting brackets,like on the footpegs,same deal.VERY LIGHT.Almost like plastic.But it IS some sort of alloy.I got to looking around on there.They changed several things that a guy probably wouldn't even notice.
The frame itself.It is a LOT lighter material(s).Almost like plastic...but not.Even the fastening bolts feel lighter.The throttle cable holders...the black metal ones at the switch housing there...now...abs plastic.Not metal.MUCH easier to work with.Just thought I'd share that with ya.I think it's very cool...what they've done here.They most definitely switched their production methods in regards to the way they're creating the metals and such.I actually thought for a minute that those muffler hangars WERE plastic.That's how light they are.This bike has for sure gone through some serious modifications to be what it is.It'd be interesting to see how 'heavy' the new frame is compared to the earlier bikes.I do know the handling is a lot more responsive.
Again,on my last ride..and this probably sounds juvenile,but when I u-turned in a one lane driveway deal,she stayed completely vertical...no trying to lean one way or the other like my 07.Never felt like I had to get my feet out there to stabilize the bike during the turn...at about 3 mph.She just came right around and felt really good.Silly thing I know...but on the highway,I used to really not like u-turning at all....sometimes,my 07 wouldn't even 'make' the u-turn in one shot.I'd have to stop,backup just a bit,then turn some more.Or go off slightly into the shoulder...gravel...that stuff..NOT COOL.No prob with my new one.She just whips right around.
When I was approaching the curves...80,90 mph...I noticed right off that the feeling of responsiveness was very good.I fact,compared to my 07,this bird just flicked in,caught the line,and stayed right there leaned in.No wandering at all.No wanting to ride to the outside.Or dipping either.Nothing.Just steady and planted.Hitting some 'dips' in the road while leaned in had no effect on the chassis at all.She remained completely settled.I could tell that my learned actions from my 07 were gonna need to be changed some.I'm extremely impressed with the low speed handling here.And her higher speed behavior...very nice.Different.
* Last updated by: Grn14 on 1/1/2012 @ 1:04 PM *