My Monster is my favorite bike and my go to ride 99% of the time. I rode a buddy's Aprilia Tuono 1100 V4 Factory a month ago and that thing is amazing. I could see myself upgrading to one of those one day. My only concern there would be passenger comfort. I use my Monster to 2 up.
Sneaky Suzuki putting defective brake masters hoping to sneak weak frame castings by that wont break unless subjected to Brembo master cylinder stopping power then deny any claims since the platform saw closed course use!!
I'll almost certainly be either changing the bar or figuring out a lower riser. First change will be the taller seat (~3/4" taller) because I don't have the reach the ground problem.
Picked it up from Moto Richmond this morning. Flew in last night, Uber'd over at exactly 10AM, paperwork done, a brief run-through on all the menu stuff, and keys in hand by 10:45. Chelsea, Erica, and Keith at Moto Richmond make me want to buy new motorcycles. Why can't every dealer be run like that one? I have no idea. Funny thing: the longest single ride I've ever done was 200 miles on a first gen GSXR in 1991 or so. From Baltimore to NJ. There was a young lady involved. Today was 340 miles from Richmond VA to Middletown, NJ. I was just clever enough to ride up 301 from VA to Delaware rather than slog it out on I95 the whole way. Added 45 minutes or so but completely worth it. I wasn't far from @SpeedWerks Racing at one point and even considered stopping by and asking for a quote for a "pipe and a tune" (he loves street guys who ask him that) but the extra hour on top of everything else was a bit too much. The only non-sportbike I've ever owned is my Husqvarna 701 Vitpilen, which is kind of a cafe bike, so it was quite something to learn that bikes can actually be comfortable. It was pretty reasonable for a 6hr ride. I went nearly 3hrs before my first stop. The bars are too high for me - I have some lower risers on order from AF1. They're for some obscure Aprilia and should be here in a brisk 6-8 weeks. The windscreen puts my helmet in turbulence at any height. I'm 6ft tall but with a 34" inseam so my torso is shorter, relatively speaking, putting me in the noise. It's tucked in the garage now, in the Italian-parking-only section. My Husky is briefly banished but I'll be moving something to a shared facility tomorrow.
Cool bike, think my friend got the first one of these the Charlotte Guzzi dealer had a couple years ago. He still has the Guzzi, which is amazing as this guy has a big stable of rotating bikes. Rarely keeping any bike more than a few months. Not the Guzzi, he likes it too much.
Honda has introduced the CB1000F for '26. Of course as far as I can see it's not coming to the US because, fuck you America.
I just looked at my wheels. Zero weights front or back. Perfectly balanced or did Antonio just not feel up to it that day?
Do you have any real stats on how many broke behind the steering head? I thought that was the K5/K6 model only? I have one or each, a K5 Liter now street only, and a K6 kliter- 3rd owner- Track only. Both have nbeen riddenwell and hardish, both wheelied some, and no problems on either. Both have upgraded front brakes. The K5 had the K9 mono blocks and K9 MC The K6 is all good Brembro calipers and MC.
I didn't mention that I put together a toolkit when I flew out, just in case. My friends thought it hysterical that I felt the need The car? Grigio Titanio.
Almost made it 700 miles. Coolant leak(s). That's the water pump housing. Tightened the nasty looking bolt about 1/8 turn but it's still leaking, it's just not leaking there. Consensus is that it's probably the thermostat housing, which is conveniently located under the gas tank. At least I don't have to remove the airbox and throttle bodies. I think. It's still under warranty, of course, but the nearest dealer is just over an hour away. I figure 3hrs of messing around to drop it off (at the beginning of the season - I'm sure they'll get right on it) then another 3hrs to get it back later. Might as well fix it myself.
