1,200 Mile Review

[Adventure Jim]

   My riding skills:    Track 8/10     Street 9/10     Dirt 5/10

 

 

Well, after 1,200 miles of on and off road riding I still like this bike. For it's intended purpose, it's probably 8.5 - 9 out of 10. It is not a dirt bike, and it is not a touring bike, but it is a great mid-sized adventure bike. You can really hustle this thing around once you get the suspension dialed in, but like most bikes, it's a bit on the soft side, but not too bad. The engine makes way more low end torque than you would believe a 700 could, and the midrange punch is decent. It falls flat on it's face above 7K so no need to rev it unless you are trying to get past a car, or through a corner before shifting. Yamaha  could have given it just a bit more top end, but it will keep me from revving it excessively, as it does not produce any more power, just spins the engine faster. Gas mileage is ok for the way I ride it, but could probably get 50+ mpg if I rode it a little easier. Range is decent at about 170 the way I ride. Seat is grippy and comfy, but a weird shape that splays your inner thighs so it makes it tough for shorty's like me to touch the ground. Bars and controls are all good, maybe a smidgen below Honda quality, but only just. 

 

     Off road the bike works well, and may even be a bit over-powered as 70hp in the dirt is easy to get into trouble. The low-end is so strong, you have to be careful over bumps so you don't whiskey throttle. Hooks up nicely when pointed straight, and can throttle steer it almost as good as the DRZ. - has more power, but it's heavier. Feels balanced and easy to maneuver, except when going really slow, it gets a bit heavy/awkward.  You can cook along fire roads with ease even on the stock tires. It does not have as much compression braking, and weighs more than the DRZ, so going downhill requires more skill. Need to learn how to feather the rear brake with the front, with the ABS off, as it's useless on all but flat hard packed dirt roads.

 

    Plenty of room for luggage and a passenger, wife and I rode it to Carmel for lunch last weekend. Saturday was interesting, did an endo, had a HUGE front end slide, a good sized rear end slide, and lived through all of them. The front slide left a 30 foot skid crossing into the other lane. 90 degree right hander uphill up to an intersection, must have hit some oil, or debris while fully leaned over and the front end tucked. The front wheel stopped moving as the bike was leaned and bars were opposite lock. Once the front tire grabbed and I was upright, I had to brake with full ABS as I was headed for a T intersection in full pucker mode. I knew I was coming to a stop sign within 100 feet, so I wasn't hauling ass, still have no idea what caused it, but there were some dark black spots, so maybe it was fresh oil that started the slide, and the front tucked until it wiped the oil off, then gripped. Reminded me of off-roading on the DRZ in the Sierras during winter when I hit ice, and the front end went one way, and the rear went another.

 

All in all, a great bike with a great 70hp engine, and decent suspension for on and off road riding, as well as light-medium touring.

 

 

 

IMHO the few misses from Yamaha are:

 

Blinkers are the cheapest flimsiest I have ever seen on a bike

Seat shape is weird if you have large thighs, or thigh muscles

Gas cap comes off with key in it - prone to dropping while fueling up - SHOULD BE HINGED!

Slightly wider ratio transmission would be better - a bit lower 1st, and higher 5th and 6th

Slightly larger gas tank would be nice

Tubeless wheels would have been great!

 

 

Upgrades so far:

 

Seat Concepts Seat

Tusk Rear Side and Top Racks and Textile Panniers

Nelson Rigg Tail Bag

Nelson Rigg Tank Bag

Windshield adjuster brackets - to move it up and down 4"

Ultra Wide Pivot Pegs

Tusk Supermoto High Fender Kit

Acerbis Hand Guards

Oxford Heated Grips

Flip-up Gas Cap

Adventure Spec Aluminum Crash Bars

Tech Spec Tank Grippers

Headlight Protector - Headlight is only sold as a unit, and is over $500

Battery Tender Pigtail

 

 

Still to do:

 

Tail Tidy

LED Blinkers

 

 

 

Someday:

 

ECU Flash

Exhaust

Front and Rear Suspension

Edited August 6, 2021 by Adventure Jim
spelling

[wardog327]

On 8/6/2021 at 12:55 AM, Adventure Jim said:

   My riding skills:    Track 8/10     Street 9/10     Dirt 5/10

 

 

Well, after 1,200 miles of on and off road riding I still like this bike. For it's intended purpose, it's probably 8.5 - 9 out of 10. It is not a dirt bike, and it is not a touring bike, but it is a great mid-sized adventure bike. You can really hustle this thing around once you get the suspension dialed in, but like most bikes, it's a bit on the soft side, but not too bad. The engine makes way more low end torque than you would believe a 700 could, and the midrange punch is decent. It falls flat on it's face above 7K so no need to rev it unless you are trying to get past a car, or through a corner before shifting. Yamaha  could have given it just a bit more top end, but it will keep me from revving it excessively, as it does not produce any more power, just spins the engine faster. Gas mileage is ok for the way I ride it, but could probably get 50+ mpg if I rode it a little easier. Range is decent at about 170 the way I ride. Seat is grippy and comfy, but a weird shape that splays your inner thighs so it makes it tough for shorty's like me to touch the ground. Bars and controls are all good, maybe a smidgen below Honda quality, but only just. 

 

     Off road the bike works well, and may even be a bit over-powered as 70hp in the dirt is easy to get into trouble. The low-end is so strong, you have to be careful over bumps so you don't whiskey throttle. Hooks up nicely when pointed straight, and can throttle steer it almost as good as the DRZ. - has more power, but it's heavier. Feels balanced and easy to maneuver, except when going really slow, it gets a bit heavy/awkward.  You can cook along fire roads with ease even on the stock tires. It does not have as much compression braking, and weighs more than the DRZ, so going downhill requires more skill. Need to learn how to feather the rear brake with the front, with the ABS off, as it's useless on all but flat hard packed dirt roads.

 

    Plenty of room for luggage and a passenger, wife and I rode it to Carmel for lunch last weekend. Saturday was interesting, did an endo, had a HUGE front end slide, a good sized rear end slide, and lived through all of them. The front slide left a 30 foot skid crossing into the other lane. 90 degree right hander uphill up to an intersection, must have hit some oil, or debris while fully leaned over and the front end tucked. The front wheel stopped moving as the bike was leaned and bars were opposite lock. Once the front tire grabbed and I was upright, I had to brake with full ABS as I was headed for a T intersection in full pucker mode. I knew I was coming to a stop sign within 100 feet, so I wasn't hauling ass, still have no idea what caused it, but there were some dark black spots, so maybe it was fresh oil that started the slide, and the front tucked until it wiped the oil off, then gripped. Reminded me of off-roading on the DRZ in the Sierras during winter when I hit ice, and the front end went one way, and the rear went another.

 

All in all, a great bike with a great 70hp engine, and decent suspension for on and off road riding, as well as light-medium touring.

 

 

 

IMHO the few misses from Yamaha are:

 

Blinkers are the cheapest flimsiest I have ever seen on a bike

Seat shape is weird if you have large thighs, or thigh muscles

Gas cap comes off with key in it - prone to dropping while fueling up - SHOULD BE HINGED!

Slightly wider ratio transmission would be better - a bit lower 1st, and higher 5th and 6th

Slightly larger gas tank would be nice

Tubeless wheels would have been great!

 

 

Upgrades so far:

 

Seat Concepts Seat

Tusk Rear Side and Top Racks and Textile Panniers

Nelson Rigg Tail Bag

Nelson Rigg Tank Bag

Windshield adjuster brackets - to move it up and down 4"

Ultra Wide Pivot Pegs

Tusk Supermoto High Fender Kit

Acerbis Hand Guards

Oxford Heated Grips

Flip-up Gas Cap

Adventure Spec Aluminum Crash Bars

Tech Spec Tank Grippers

Headlight Protector - Headlight is only sold as a unit, and is over $500

Battery Tender Pigtail

 

 

Still to do:

 

Tail Tidy

LED Blinkers

 

 

 

Someday:

 

ECU Flash

Exhaust

Front and Rear Suspension

Nice setup..