DWJ Honda
I once had a Gold Wing
Finally had a chance to take out a used '05 919 for about 30 minutes. Had a great ride and was very impressed. I'm the guy with the ST1300 who was trying to decide on getting either a 599 or 919 instead, and not sure what to do. Here are my impressions, and a few concerns/questions:
+ the bike was very flickable
+ confortable ergos
+ nice compact feeling
+ huge and accessible power
+ over-all quite smooth and refined impression for a "naked" bike
+ rode at 80 mph for about 10 minutes, and was not bothered by wind blast or buffeting (a bit of it might have been present, but I was very comfortable, at least for a ride of that short length)
And here are the concerns and/or questions:
- mirrors only gave a mediocre view of what was behind me. the left one in particular seemed useless.
- with knees tucked in and touching tank, gas tank vibration was distracting and uncomfortable. was told it had a full tank of gas, but did not check to confirm.
- hand grips (with stock grips and handle bar) had a very slight vibration, barely noticeable at first, but as ride progressed hands got a little numb.
- slightly tighter and less comfortable ergos than the ST1300 (which is a pretty darn comfortable bike). legs felt slightly more cramped, and had to lean a tad more for grips. not a HUGE difference, but a difference.
When back on the ST, riding over the exact same roads, the ST felt super refined and luxurious, almost reminding me of smoothness and comfort of a Gold Wing. Still felt a ton of power, and believe it or not, there was slightly MORE wind noise with electric shield in full down position. And of course engine heat from ST (it was 85 degrees out) was way more noticeable, and I plan to do some mods to help with that. Both rides were a BLAST.
I'm still undecided on what to do, and appreciative of any thoughts.
Dennis
+ the bike was very flickable
+ confortable ergos
+ nice compact feeling
+ huge and accessible power
+ over-all quite smooth and refined impression for a "naked" bike
+ rode at 80 mph for about 10 minutes, and was not bothered by wind blast or buffeting (a bit of it might have been present, but I was very comfortable, at least for a ride of that short length)
And here are the concerns and/or questions:
- mirrors only gave a mediocre view of what was behind me. the left one in particular seemed useless.
- with knees tucked in and touching tank, gas tank vibration was distracting and uncomfortable. was told it had a full tank of gas, but did not check to confirm.
- hand grips (with stock grips and handle bar) had a very slight vibration, barely noticeable at first, but as ride progressed hands got a little numb.
- slightly tighter and less comfortable ergos than the ST1300 (which is a pretty darn comfortable bike). legs felt slightly more cramped, and had to lean a tad more for grips. not a HUGE difference, but a difference.
When back on the ST, riding over the exact same roads, the ST felt super refined and luxurious, almost reminding me of smoothness and comfort of a Gold Wing. Still felt a ton of power, and believe it or not, there was slightly MORE wind noise with electric shield in full down position. And of course engine heat from ST (it was 85 degrees out) was way more noticeable, and I plan to do some mods to help with that. Both rides were a BLAST.
I'm still undecided on what to do, and appreciative of any thoughts.
Dennis
