podman wrote: ↑Tue May 01, 2018 2:20 pm
Looked at chopping it in..
Had a demo ride on an MT10 , still not a massive fan of some areas of the bike but I do love the overall aggressive look of the thing, suits its character and who cares when your riding it, was a riot, demo bike was decatted and sounded epic even with the std can.
Only real area I thought might be better was the brakes, didnt have much in the way of initial bite I thought(even over the Storm...)
Out of balance and curiosity, ive a S1000 R test ride booked in on Friday, ive discounted the Triumph on price and poke but IMHO its the best looking of the super nakeds, ridden my friends GSX1000-S which is also a stonking bike but doesnt have the fun factor of the MT that's for sure.
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Finally managed to take a S1000 R Sport out today for an hour-ish.
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I was pretty much convinced I was going for the Yamaha but after today I think the "better" bike is *maybe* the BMW.
Was a few weeks ago I rode the MT but by chance, the BMW dealer had a secondhand MT in stock to make a comparison with.
The S1000 felt lighter, handled better(lighter steering and a quicker turn in, felt more a sportsbike ) and had way better initial bite and feel from the brakes.
The engine felt buzzy and vibey at 80-90ish but super smooth elsewhere, the throttle wasnt as snatchy as the MT and it felt quite a bit faster, maybe it just has more of revvy, top end feel and doesnt really make any more HP(MT 160 claimed Vs the BMWs 165) but it seemed more vivid acceleration wise.
Looks are subjective, some areas of the BMW look better than the MT and Vs versa, ill call that a draw.
I thought the BMW Sport was better value(£12,000) when you look at the electrical wizardry it has compared to the base MT10 and equaling ( I think?) the SP at what, £13,500-£14,000? I was also offered a stonking deal on the BMW and the local Yamaha dealer is, well, a bit of a miserable b'std to be honest.
Character is a hard thing to define and I can see why some people criticise the BMW over the MT for that as its "another IL4" but is a snatchy throttle Vs a smooth one annoying or "character"?
Apart from the awesome noise and instant wheelies of the MT, it has no advantage, the BMW offers no lack of fun, it drives hard from very low RPM in any gear and with both the up/down quickshifter, made some great noises whilst working...
The MT is slighly more upright with a little more leg room but the BMW certainly wasnt uncomfortable.
Mmmm....in a bit of a dilema now aint I........! The other curve ball is a like my luggage nowadays and the Sport doesnt seem to cater so well for the traveler, MT10 touring could be more suitable for my needs! Aggghhhhh!