RIDE UPDATE and FIRST IMPRESSIONS!: I left Canyon at 2:45 Wednesday afternoon on my ST1300 for its final trip under my care. Temps were low 90s, but in the dry Panhandle it felt cool and dry. Took the scenic route thru Caprock Canyon, eventually hooking up with US 287 at Estelline. Once I came down off the Caprock, the temperature got hot, quickly! Dash read 98-100 and on the ST, it felt every bit of it. The ST was just as it had been over the previous nine years...a slight buzz thru the bars that made me flex my hands every so often to get the circulation back. Airhawk seat totally erased the seating issue I'd had in the past. Great bike, solid in every way but I was ready for something new and different. Rode to Hillsboro for the night, then left yesterday morning for Austin. Got to the dealership (Woods Fun Center) at 11:45, looked over the 2012 Super Ten I was about to pick up and finished the deal. Swapped everything over from the 1300 to the Super Ten and was on the road by 1:15. 492 miles and 8 hours later, I rolled into my driveway (and a total of 614 miles for the day between the two bikes).
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
SIZE: The Super Ten is noticably lighter than the ST, both at stop as well as at speed. It is tall (see below), but moves easily once under way. And I didn't have any difficulty paddling my way out of parking spaces Maybe some of this is due to the larger diameter wheels? Regardless, it felt much lighter than its 500+ lbs, while the ST always felt every bit of its 750+ lbs. Also, you sit atop the Super Ten and while the impression is one of height, you don't feel like you are astride a tremendously large machine, other than the fact that your arms are splayed out wide in dirt-bike style.
HEIGHT: The Super Tenere is a TALL bike. I'm 6-1 with a 34" inseam and if you are the type that is hung up on flat-footing both feet while at a stop, forget it. It is a dirt-bike on steroids-type feel. Granted, I put the seat in the higher of two positions and used my Airhawk seat for the ride home, which adds maybe an inch, but it is still a tall bike. I experimented for about 30 miles with the seat in the lower position, but my knees prefer the taller of the two positions. I can see where this would be an easy bike to drop at low speed in a parking lot.
ERGONOMICS: Aside from the physical height, the Super Ten felt natural to me. The bars are very wide and give great leverage when turning. Controls fall readily to my hands. Both levers are adjustable. Very comfortable bike to ride. Rather than the 'tucked-in' feel I had on the ST, the Super Ten is more of a dirtbike style. You are hanging out there in the breeze, to a point. But if feels natural and is very comfortable. I did NOT make any of the ride without the Airhawk, so can't comment on the long-term use of the seat at this time.
ENGINE: This thing flat stomps! I'd read negative comments regarding the engines lack of 'oomph' in Touring mode, as well as a lack of 'sound'. Those folks obviously hadn't come from an ST1300 background. The engine has a wonderful, deep growl upon startup, and when starting from a standing stop it reminded me of a cross between a Big Twin (which it essentially is, just not a 'V') and a big 4-stroke dirt bike. in fact, it reminded me very much of the sound my old Ducati 900 made after I put a Micron canister on it. Not a V-Twin cadence, but a nice throaty roar. You can literally move away by releasing the clutch without using throttle if you know what you are doing. I did not use the Sport mode on the trip home, as I was interested in fuel economy (one of the few times you'll hear me say that). With a strong crosswind over half the trip, and a tail wind the final 120 miles, I averaged 44.5 mpg for the ride home. I'd also read about 'surging' issues at various RPM, but couldn't find any fault with my machine. 77-80 mph fell right about 4200 RPM (as registered on GPS....the speedo is just as optimistic as what the ST's was). 77 mph was an indicated 85 mph. And being a twin with a fairly flat-plane crank, you can feel it 'shake', both at idle as well as upon acceleration. But it isn't a tooth-rattling, what-fastener-is-going-to-depart-now shake, just the feel that you have a powerful engine. And not a hint of the type of buzz that the ST1300 had. Over the 480 mile trip home, I didn't once have to let loose of the grip and flex my hand for circulation.
INSTRUMENTS: Easily legible....analog tach and digital speedo. multi-function display has two buttons, one of which toggle thru odometer and 2 trip odometers. Only issue I had on occasion was when trying to re-set the trip odometer following fuel stops, I would hold the button a tad too long and change the readout to Metric. Second button toggles ambient temperature, water temperature (but you won't know if unless you are familiar with the gauge, as there isn't an 'F' or anything referencing temp), fuel economy (trip and total mpg). There is a third, less prominent button located on the side of the instrument cluster which toggles the ABS settings. During the day, the cluster is a black digit on a neutral screen while at night, the cluster is dark grey/black digits with an orange backlight.
HEADLIGHTS AND TURN SIGNALS: I rode about 150 miles after dark and the headlight is one of the best I've had in some time. It casts a bright, broad beam across the road, with a definite cut-off point at the top. The high beam does away with the cut-off point, but both beams illuminate the darkness. I don't see any pressing need for auxilliary lighting at this time. Its nice to have turn signals that you can see operate (why? Not sure, but its nice). Also, the on-dash indicator are two large, green, indicator lighs on the left and right hand side of the instrument cluster. Very noticable during daylight use.
MIRRORS: High and wide and offer a very clear view of whats behind. No buzzing or blurring.
BRAKES: Very strong initial bite. I tried to induce some fading by applying hard during the heat of the day from high speed. Absolutely none. Linked in a different manner from what the ST's were, and you can also use the rear brake on its own by not applying any front lever (such as when maneuvering in parking lots). Very convenient.
WEATHER PROTECTION-WIND FLOW: While the Super Ten is not a fully faired bike, it does have kind of a half fairing which juts out a bit. The airflow would hit my lower leg, but not from the thigh up. Also, despite reading negative comments regarding buffeting from the small, stock windscreen, I found it to be quite adequate. It was already placed in the upper of two settings (you change settings with tools) The airflow hit my helmet just above the faceshield (I wore a full face helmet). From what I've gathered, the buffeting issue is a result of high speeds with an ADV-style helmet which has a bill or peak. Doesn't take much to figure out a bill is going to catch any airflow, even on an unfaired bike. I'd thought a Wonderlich Tobinnator was going on my short list of must-have farkles, but after yesterday's state-wide romp, I think I will hold off for a bit. Also, the stock hand guards to a great job of keeping the wind off your hands. I noticed that after the sun went down I wasn't getting chilly fingers, either. Heated grips a no longer one of the first farkles I am concidering.
HANDLING: My only knowledge to report thus far is on pavement - Slow speed handling was good. You are aware of your height off the pavement, but having the ability to drag the rear brake without having the front end tuck is a great relief. At speed, the bike goes where you want it to. The suspension works great. I wasn't aware of any oversprung-underdamped issues, nor was I able to properly set the bike up for 'me' before starting my journey home. I had the rear preload 2 cranks above 'normal' but have now idea how the front preload and damping was set. I'll work on this over the weekend. Other than when going thru the 30 mph zones of the smaller Texas towns most of this ride was conducted between 70 and 80 mph, with numerous curves thru the Hill Country and Big Country. Simply put, you lever the bar in the direction you want to go (countersteer) and the Super Ten tracks true. No bobbling, wavering, wanting to stand up mid-corner. Just go. And if you have to brake a bit before or during the turn, you get a wonderfully throaty roar when you get back on the gas! My bike was wearing a fresh set of Avon Distanzia's, and I'm sure they had a lot to do with the handling on pavement. Were it to have TKC-80's, I'm sure I'd be reporting a bit more squirming in corners.
OTHER STUFF: REFUELING. What's with the 'basket' thats stuck in the filler neck of the tank? Its tough to get a fuel nozzle down into the tank and when you do, the gas burbles up and cuts off the auto flow. And if you try to hold the nozzle up a bit, like I did on the ST1300, and peer in to see what kind of progress you are making, it sloshes fuel all over the place. I'm sure there is a good reason for this thing, but its a PITA.
LUGGAGE. While many choose options other than stock, the Yamaha side cases are big and deep. Won't hold a helmet, but will hold tons of stuff (more than what the ST1300 will hold). They open with a separate key from the ignition (Cycle World did a report stating the latch would get sticky and they feared breaking the ignition key. This isn't the case as its a separate key). Lids hinge in front and pivot upward. Very easy to load. I plan to get some inner bags to make it even easier. I have NOT attempted to remove the bags from the bike, yet. There is a red plastic latch which pops out to remove the bags, but I haven't attempted yet. In keeping with the overall height of the bike, mounting and dismounting with the luggage in place requires very long legs. I had the heel of my boot contact the RH bag on just about every attempt to get off the bike. As opposed to the ST's side cases, these bags are noticably large. I will be taking them off when not actually using them.
ACCESSORY PLUG. The bike comes equiped as stock with a 12v outlet located just to the right of the ignition switch. Rather than a Powerlet style plug, it is the standard auto-style cigarette lighter style. So all my Powerlet stuff which I used on my ST will now need converted to the standard style. Fortunately, my GPS has both style plugs. This outlet is a 'switched' outlet, meaning that I cannot plug my battery tender into it to keep the battery charged, so will need to add this to my list of farkles.
Overall first impressions...what a bike! No remorse on this purchase, at least not yet. I do plan to install crash bars soon, and a bash plate at some point (the oil filter is fully exposed, but I don't plan to do any riding much more offroad than a dirt road at in the foreseeable future. I just plan to ride and enjoy!
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