Just went past 1K on the odo, took forever with this Houston rain. Here are my observations.
Overall - this bike is a huge winner.
From a Yamaha V-twin 1300
To a long missle of a bike.
Engine - Powerful, very powerful. Have left plenty of HD boys and other V's behind from the green light. Solo and with the wife. Smooth efficient power.
Tranny - Very smooth shifting. Did not like the shifter peg position where I had to nose dive my toe to engage the peg with my boot tip. A set of Kuryakyn 7564 boards solved this. I have recently blown several 1st to 2nd shifts with the bike going to neutral and the eventual wanhhhh of an engine rev while in neutral and the embarrassed look at the vehicle next to me. Don't know if it is me blowing the shift or the tranny. I will bet it is the operator. The clutch is smooth except it has a dual personality. In the morning before the bike has had a chance to warm the clutch grabs quicker than a Vegas stickman grabs chips on an easy 8. But after she warms up there is a noticeable change in the the clutch engagement release point. I do find this issue aggravating but not enough to kick my dog.
Driveability and tires - This bike is nimble. More nimble than my Yamaha. My Yamaha kind of had to be coaxed into a turn where the F6B just does it by thought almost. I had a very close call to an accident and this bike should get a lot of credit to avoiding that accident. Scraped my first peg this past weekend and I never had a fear that the bike was ever uncomfortable being leaned that far. A big credit to the tires, they work beyond what the driver can press them to.
Displays and controls - Love all of the controls. They are big buttons and one would think they could be made a bit smaller, but when wearing gloves you need bigger buttons. Would like to see a singular multifuction push knob for the center INFO/DIMMER/SETUP/TEMP buttons to save a bit of space. Displays are good, but would love to see a bit of tunability such as colors and formats or layouts of information. Love the old school dial needle indicators for RPM, SPEED and ENGINE INFO. A white or silver background would be more pleasant to the eye. Totally disappointed in the backlit info lamps for OD/CRUISE as they are barely visible during daytime. The dimmer does not help. Grip Puppies for the narrow grips help immensely.
Storage - I had none and now I am in heaven. Have not made any overnight trips but with the stock storage rack behind the seat I can't think I would be disappointed. Would like a factory electronic release for the bag doors and a manual for dead battery.
Seating - Big azz thumbs up from me and the wifey. Seat is very comfortable. Exception being the low butt chock backrest that comes with the F6B Deluxe. It is a bit low to exude total confidence to the wife. The addition of Steve's 4" extension raised her confidence level. Wife loves the position of the hand grabs.
Leg and foot position - Was a bit worried that it would be a bit crampy from my Yamaha, it is not. It is a very enjoyable ride and I do not see me adding highway pegs. My longest trip was 4 hours and I had no issues.
Music - Love the ability to play radio and media storage devices. Sound system is quite adequate for highway riding. The amount of wind noise at 70mph will most likely keep me from upgrading the speakers. Upgraded speakers would be most beneficial at rallies and other non-moving events.
Paint and appearance - No brainer, this bike looks awesome in every color I have seen it in. This bike gets lots of looks.
The F6B is a 5 star winner in my humble opinion. Now on to the next 1000 miles.
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Originally Posted by edgeman55
