Initial thoughts on the T7, first 500 miles

[mpb1]

My bike finally came in.  500 miles on it in 5 days.  Here are the high-points from my experience

 

-The bike is better than I expected.  I have a few thousand miles on a well-sorted KLR this year, and the difference is about 1980 pickup truck to 2011 Raptor.  It isn't a 2019 Raptor, still more "Manual" than the fancy-screen KTMs.  It feels "just right".

 

-It is better off-road than I thought it would be.  My first ride had me going places I've only taken my YZ250FX and would never feel good on my KLR.  It feels about 1/2 way between them weight-wise.  I'm not sure how, must be the frame geometry and suspension, but my KLR is pretty well sorted.

 

    

 

-I am not used to ABS.  I didn't realize how much I slide the rear off-road, or how close I must get to locking the front in rocky downhill sections.  The ABS is not like a car where it stutters, it more vibrates with a higher frequency buzz of the brakes.  The wheel continues turning more than I thought it would.  It might save you on pavement, but it felt like it could cause unexpected instability off-road.

 

-It will roll all the way over its windshield sideways without sustaining serious damage.  I went too slow around a high downhill berm, and it tipped, then flipped all the way around to the right, over the top, and ended on the left.  It was on a very remote rocky mountain trail, and the bike is completely fine.  Two plastic panels one little panel bracket, and 5 decals are already on order.  Everything else, including the tank, is untouched.  My ego took a little hit, but no more than the $499 for the parts from Rocky Mountain ATV.

 

-The bike is very easy to put miles on.  I'm 5'-10" 177lbs (178cm, 80kilo), and the bike feels just right.  I have an average leg/torso ratio, and I can't quite put my feet flat.  It is taller than my KLR, but shorter than my YZ.  It has plenty of pop at 80mph.  I do get wind noise over 60mph, but I usually wear ear plugs if going more than just a half hour to work.  I can stand up fine, maybe with 15mm bar risers I won't have to lean a little forward to be "just right" when standing.

 

-The tank is small, I'm used to my IMS 6.6 gal, and feeling like I should get gas at 180 miles seems brief.  I like the 300 mile range of my KLR, but I get it, weight and size.

 

-Most of the complaints I'd read about on this and other forums melt away after a few miles.  The wiggly display, the wheezy sound, the hard seat, the loud engine cover, all seem a little nit-picky after really riding it.

 

I do think this will replace the KLR in the world of ADV riding.  It is just too good and too cheap not to.  I thought I'd keep my KLR for more remote riding where I am more likely to dump it, but after what this thing has already been though, the KLR is getting re-homed.

[Cruizin]

50 minutes ago, mpb1 said:

My bike finally came in.  500 miles on it in 5 days.  Here are the high-points from my experience

 

-The bike is better than I expected.  I have a few thousand miles on a well-sorted KLR this year, and the difference is about 1980 pickup truck to 2011 Raptor.  It isn't a 2019 Raptor, still more "Manual" than the fancy-screen KTMs.  It feels "just right".

 

-It is better off-road than I thought it would be.  My first ride had me going places I've only taken my YZ250FX and would never feel good on my KLR.  It feels about 1/2 way between them weight-wise.  I'm not sure how, must be the frame geometry and suspension, but my KLR is pretty well sorted.

 

    

 

-I am not used to ABS.  I didn't realize how much I slide the rear off-road, or how close I must get to locking the front in rocky downhill sections.  The ABS is not like a car where it stutters, it more vibrates with a higher frequency buzz of the brakes.  The wheel continues turning more than I thought it would.  It might save you on pavement, but it felt like it could cause unexpected instability off-road.

 

-It will roll all the way over its windshield sideways without sustaining serious damage.  I went too slow around a high downhill berm, and it tipped, then flipped all the way around to the right, over the top, and ended on the left.  It was on a very remote rocky mountain trail, and the bike is completely fine.  Two plastic panels one little panel bracket, and 5 decals are already on order.  Everything else, including the tank, is untouched.  My ego took a little hit, but no more than the $499 for the parts from Rocky Mountain ATV.

 

-The bike is very easy to put miles on.  I'm 5'-10" 177lbs (178cm, 80kilo), and the bike feels just right.  I have an average leg/torso ratio, and I can't quite put my feet flat.  It is taller than my KLR, but shorter than my YZ.  It has plenty of pop at 80mph.  I do get wind noise over 60mph, but I usually wear ear plugs if going more than just a half hour to work.  I can stand up fine, maybe with 15mm bar risers I won't have to lean a little forward to be "just right" when standing.

 

-The tank is small, I'm used to my IMS 6.6 gal, and feeling like I should get gas at 180 miles seems brief.  I like the 300 mile range of my KLR, but I get it, weight and size.

 

-Most of the complaints I'd read about on this and other forums melt away after a few miles.  The wiggly display, the wheezy sound, the hard seat, the loud engine cover, all seem a little nit-picky after really riding it.

 

I do think this will replace the KLR in the world of ADV riding.  It is just too good and too cheap not to.  I thought I'd keep my KLR for more remote riding where I am more likely to dump it, but after what this thing has already been though, the KLR is getting re-homed.

Welcome!

 

Question, how did your post end up looking like that? Did you post it somewhere else? The pics too? Some of the pics didnt come thru. You can upload pics here directly, or if posting imgur pics be sure to post the right share code. 

[johnnygolucky]

Thats weird I can see all the pics and writing. 

[Cruizin]

3 minutes ago, johnnygolucky said:

Thats weird I can see all the pics and writing. 

 the writing has a black background, for some reason and there are two broken pic links. 

[mpb1]

Yes it was posted on another forum and i just hit edit, then copy-pasted.  The background somehow came over.  The broken picture links are the same pictures just linked wrong, youre not missing anything.

[Simmons1]

@cruizin  After seeing this, are you still sure you don't want upper crash bars? 

[mpb1]

34 minutes ago, Simmons1 said:

@cruizin  After seeing this, are you still sure you don't want upper crash bars? 

I ordered my bike with a Touring pack from yamaha.  The crash bars just havent shipped yet.

 

I guess its a race now between the crash bars and the plastics from Yamaha.

[Simmons1]

15 minutes ago, mpb1 said:

I ordered my bike with a Touring pack from yamaha.  The crash bars just havent shipped yet.

 

I guess its a race now between the crash bars and the plastics from Yamaha.

I have the Adventure Spec ones on Order.  Wasn't going to buy any but the AS one's are fairly light. 

 

Loved your comparsion to the KLR. I have a very well set up KLR that I have been riding for 15 years and 53K miles. Fuel range has been on my mind as well compared the 300+ mile range my  KLR has. My KLR is ready to have the top end refreshed, and is generally pretty tired. I'll ride the T7 and KLR back to back for a while and then either sell my KLR or freshen it up and leave it at my buddies house in NY to tide when I visit there.

[Cruizin]

11 hours ago, mpb1 said:

Yes it was posted on another forum and i just hit edit, then copy-pasted.  The background somehow came over.  The broken picture links are the same pictures just linked wrong, youre not missing anything.

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure our software wasn't going crazy.

[DT675]

Are their any solutions to the wheezy sound (such a good description) and the wiggly display? Or are they just ok the way that they are? 

[Matth]

You can sort the wiggly display with a set of bobble head bars from Camel ADV, much better for navigation mount as well