My friend picked up a new Tuono and promptly installed a carbon fiber Arrow exhaust before rolling it out of the showroom. So he comes over totally stoked and asks me if I want to ride it. It took me approximately 0.2 seconds to say hell yeah :laugh:
I geared up and hopped on. Started her up and was greeted by a nice smooth rumble. "This really has the V4?" I ask. "Yup." He responds. The sound was great but with how much people rave about it I think it fell short of the hype.
This is probably the strangest bike I've ever sat on. Not strange in a bad way either. It felt like I was sitting on a moped or a bicycle. It was incredibly comfortable. I felt like I could ride across country on this thing no problem. It was even more comfortable than the GS500.
I slowly let out the clutch and it gets going. The throttle was certainly not anywhere near as smooth and linear as the s1000 which felt telepathic by comparison. The immediate response of the engine in the low end with even small throttle inputs was so abrupt and forceful that you got the sense that this bike was too potent for the street. That's where the paradox sets in. The bike itself is extremely comfortable and maneuverable on the street. It's perfect. I could see myself riding it everyday. But that power, ohh that power. It is too much. I could not shake the feeling that this bike would either get you into A TON of trouble out on the streets or that it would catch you out. The low end on the bike was tantamount to teleportation. Getting onto the freeway I did a full head sweep to check for law enforcement or traffic, all was clear. Just a little squirt I thought. I roll on the throttle in second gear and as the rpms climb the pull becomes wayyyy to strong for the street. So I back it off. Cruising along I get over into the fast lane. I feel like I'm doing maybe 75. I look down at the speedometer and nearly mess myself. I am doing ONE HUNDRED AND TEN MILES PER HOUR.
I immediately slow down, exit the freeway and head back. "This thing is awesome, but it's trouble" I say to myself. The steering just didn't feel up to par. I'm sure it would be great if the bike had 80hp but with 180hp on tap it felt too numb and imprecise. The sport touring riding position of the bike does not work well with the power, you need that supersport riding position to control it well. Brakes were great, good feel. I get back to my house and say how it blew my mind how comfortable and how mental the power could be at the same time and tell him to be very careful. I don't want to see him and the bike on the news :icon_confused:
I think my main take away from this experience is that I absolutely adored the power of the liter bike on the track. However, on the street it just felt like a liability.
Here's a picture he took of it the other day when he bought it.
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l169/jakeoster/C3011BDF-0DAA-476D-8B97-3DFBDC75DF3C_zpsqmqhf535.jpg) (http://s96.photobucket.com/user/jakeoster/media/C3011BDF-0DAA-476D-8B97-3DFBDC75DF3C_zpsqmqhf535.jpg.html)
Great review. particularly the "Awesome but Trouble" comment. My son-in-law used to have a Shiver, which is only a 750 V-twin, but that was much the same. Awesome, but difficult to control properly. And this from a guy who used to ride a Ducati 848!
And it looks magnificent too.
I always loved the look of the Shiver vs the Monster. I'd dig a shiver.
Someone I met recently who is an MSF instructor owns and rides a Tuono almost daily. He swears by it.
I think on the street the shiver would be a much better choice.
Unless you live in Germany lol