[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by highlander

overall a wonderful sports bike with comfortable ergos.

Yep, it is a comfortable sportsbike indeed!

Originally Posted by highlander

So how did the heart convince the head about the upcoming expenses... What do you expect the cost per KM to be ..... I am sure the upfront discount will take of the first desmo and probably more.

Big bikes are never a rational purchase, they are nothing but oversized toys (My opinion) so there is no question of head over heart here, it's all heart and of course how much you are willing to burden your wallet. With regards to the desmo service it all evens out, some bikes have a 6 month schedule which would end up more expensive by the time I'm ready for a 30000km service. So I tend to not think of these things because if I did, I'd be better off with a CT100B

[ranjitnair77]

That's a beautiful bike deepfreak15. Adventure bikes are perfect for the mixed roads that we tend to encounter. The overall price that you paid for the bike and the accessories is just fantastic. Wish you many years of blissful ownership.

Do keep the thread updated on service and accessory costs. That would really help prospective owners.

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

Thanks for your kind words. A birdie told me our man has set his sights on you, saying you need to let go of the Z . Now that you have admitted to liking the looks of the bike don't be surprised if he comes knocking on your door.

Lol! I was actually thinking of letting the Z go but then I got an opportunity to get it plasti-dipped recently so planning to keep it for some more time.

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

BTW for ppl congratulating me - i just showed the well to the thirsty fellow

But thirsty fellows can drink water from any well. We are congratulating you because the thirsty fellow drank white water from your favourite red well

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

Thank you very much ,already waiting for the next overknighter

Let's plan a ride then! I've never ridden with teambhp riders except Ethanhunt. Will pm you guys.

[mohansrides]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

..Thank you very much for your kind words. First off, in my opinion a big bike can never be a rational decision so best to stick with trying to find what excites or relaxes you. That said, in my very limited physical evaluation of a few bikes the two that completely caught me by surprise were the Triumph Speed Twin (Its a genuine sleeper hiding a locomotive engine and you can crank the engine and listen to that exhaust note all day. Looks gorgeous too) and the second was the Multistrada. Try them out. You might find what you are looking for

You are not the first one to talk to me about trying the Speed Twin, and you won't be the last. Unfortunately, I find myself getting less excited by the day with the whole retro movement. There was a time when the Bonnie line from Triumph excited me. That time is long gone. In some ways, I blame RE for jading me on retro bikes.

Anyway, bottom line, the Speed Twin is just another retro bike from Triumph and it does not excite me. Looks are very important to me. I will not apologize for that fact. Even subconsciously, I put form over function in many of my decisions. Sometimes, unwisely so. But, in this case where one is buying something entirely for pleasure, I think it is justified to buy the bike that first appeals to one's eyes.

Other than that, I hear what you are saying about the bike's qualities. But, that said, if I truly liked this type of bike, I would buy the Kawasaki Z900RS. That bike is sweet and I think it costs similar to the Speed Twin in India. I particularly like the Z's mono shock and single exhaust can. Also, that bike's design language hits all the right notes, I think. While it appears retro-inspired, it is immediately apparent that it is not a dead ringer of a bike from the 70s. The mono shock in the back, the USDs in the front, the head light mounts, and plenty of other small details bring the bike's design into the present day while reminding people of its roots. Great job by Kawasaki, I feel.

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

..All big bikes heat up in the city and there is no escaping that .It is part of the territory. If you can reconcile with that fact you might get away without being miserable. Do I feel it? Of course I do, but it doesn't bother me. That said if you ride with regular jeans you deserve to cook your body parts. When you are stuck in peak summer heat in traffic wearing all your riding gear you wont notice the engine heat because you will already be miserable being cooked from the inside from your boots to your head. So yup it heats up in the city like any big bike would. Now you know why I am a fair-weather rider.

Largely, you are right. Most big bikes get hot; the operative word here being "most". I have heard sworn statements from some Kawasaki owners who say that their Versys and Z bikes are cool in traffic. Of course, I can't vouch for their statements. But, just intuitively, I can't help but feel that the engine heat issue is just another problem that a manufacturer can choose to solve at the design stage. It all depends on what they are willing to trade off to achieve that goal. Certainly, more cylinders allow more ways to play around with the firing order and compression ratio. Someone in motorcycle circles recently told me that the culprit is that almost everyone is trying to squeeze more and more power out of smaller engines leading to huge compression numbers and therefore lots of heat. By that logic, I tend to believe the Versys guys who say that their bikes remain cool; because the power figures on that engine have been kept at reasonable levels to help achieve a broader usage band for the bike.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

Largely, you are right. Most big bikes get hot; the operative word here being "most". I have heard sworn statements from some Kawasaki owners who say that their Versys and Z bikes are cool in traffic. Of course, I can't vouch for their statements. But, just intuitively, I can't help but feel that the engine heat issue is just another problem that a manufacturer can choose to solve at the design stage. It all depends on what they are willing to trade off to achieve that goal. Certainly, more cylinders allow more ways to play around with the firing order and compression ratio. Someone in motorcycle circles recently told me that the culprit is that almost everyone is trying to squeeze more and more power out of smaller engines leading to huge compression numbers and therefore lots of heat. By that logic, I tend to believe the Versys guys who say that their bikes remain cool; because the power figures on that engine have been kept at reasonable levels to help achieve a broader usage band for the bike.

I think you answered your own question. Any high performance motorcycle will generate heat - the only question is how unbearable will that be. These bikes are not designed to be used in bumper to bumper traffic - having said that - i know of a gentleman in Bangalore who uses his MTS950 in his daily office commute in peak Blr traffic so it can be done.

PS: Not sure what you mean by power at reasonable level to achieve broader usage

[Red Liner]

Compression ratio and exhaust routing matters. Versys is 10:1 and Duke 390 is 12:1

I like the power delivery on the 390 better. Trade off.

[mohansrides]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

PS: Not sure what you mean by power at reasonable level to achieve broader usage

The Versys puts out 67 bhp from a 649 CC engine using a compression ratio of 10.8. The ZX6R, on the other hand, puts out twice that much power from a slightly smaller displacement, but with a 12.9 compression number and by using 4 instead of 2 cylinders.

My point is that it could have been possible for Kawasaki to extract bigger power numbers from the Versys's engine displacement. But, they have admittedly chosen not to do so to allow the bike to be less intimidating and more pliable across different usage situations, including some off-road. And I think that it is this decision by Kawasaki that allowed a smaller compression number for the Versys, resulting in lots of its owners feeling that it engine heat is quite nominal.


@deepfreak and other Multi owners,

Is there any material out there that discusses why they made the 950 physically bigger than the 1260? Is it to counter the image of the 950 being the smaller engine?

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

@deepfreak and other Multi owners,

Is there any material out there that discusses why they made the 950 physically bigger than the 1260? Is it to counter the image of the 950 being the smaller engine?

1260 has 2 variants - road focussed 1260/1260S and the more offroad-focussed 1260 Enduro with a 21" wheel and bugger fuel tank.

950 kind of tries to straddle both with a 19" front wheel and enduro based chassis. Plus i think most of the bikes in this segment (Tiger, Tenere, 850GS) have the 19" front wheel as well.

[aghate]

Congratulations deepfreak15!!
You are indeed lucky to have this beast in your garage.

I am one of those few who really love the design of the Multistrada 950. In my opinion, it looks better than any other ADV Bike in that class. For me, if I ever have an opportunity to buy this bike it would be my last one for sure.

Enjoy and keep this thread lively with your adventures on this beast.

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

Largely, you are right. Most big bikes get hot; the operative word here being "most". I have heard sworn statements from some Kawasaki owners who say that their Versys and Z bikes are cool in traffic.

Of the three bikes that I have either owned or driven extensively, the V-Strom runs the coolest. Followed by the Bonneville A3 and then the Tiger. The Tiger runs roughly twice as hot as the Wee. All of this by seat-of-the-pants feel, wearing jeans. A bike running cool in most conditions is an underrated quality.

In dense but moving Traffic:
V-Strom: Cool.
Bonnie: Cool.
Tiger: Warm.

In very heavy stop-go.
V-Strom: Warm.
Bonnie: Hot
Tiger: Very hot.

[haneeshN]

Congrats @deepfreak15 on the lovely machine. I am also thinking about getting an adventure tourer and Multistrada is an option.

I did a test ride last week and loved the engine response and the power surge. The gear shifts were not smooth and hit false neutral multiple times. Also, finding neutral was an impossible task. Ducati representative said that this is mainly because the TD bike has some issues. How is your experience so far with gear shifts? It would be good to know if it gets better with usage.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

That's a beautiful bike deepfreak15. . Wish you many years of blissful ownership
Do keep the thread updated on service and accessory costs.

Thank you for your kind words, I intend to maintain this thread.

Originally Posted by anshumandun

Let's plan a ride then! I've never ridden with teambhp riders except Ethanhunt. Will pm you guys.

Would love that!

Originally Posted by mohansrides

I would buy the Kawasaki Z900RS. That bike is sweet and I think it costs similar to the Speed Twin in India.

If I'm not mistaken the Z900RS is 8 lakhs more than the Speed twin.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I like the power delivery on the 390 better. Trade off.

That makes two of us.

Originally Posted by mohansrides

Is there any material out there that discusses why they made the 950 physically bigger than the 1260? Is it to counter the image of the 950 being the smaller engine?

As already mentioned by Ethanhunt123 the 950 is based of the Enduro frame that's taller and has a narrower wheel base

Originally Posted by aghate

Congratulations deepfreak15!!
You are indeed lucky to have this beast in your garage.
Enjoy and keep this thread lively with your adventures on this beast.

Thank you so much for your wishes!

Originally Posted by haneeshN

The gear shifts were not smooth and hit false neutral multiple times. Also, finding neutral was an impossible task. Ducati representative said that this is mainly because the TD bike has some issues. ….

Before taking the plunge I searched forums online for common issues and a couple that stood out
-Engine stalling: Usually happens during cold starts, if you have the habit of starting the engine and then wearing your ear plugs, helmet liner, helmet and then gloves you negate this issue. You can hear the rpms settling by then.
-False neutrals: Most people complain that it happens when shifting from 5th to 6th and to negate this to put a little more effort into it. Yes I did face one false neutral in my test ride and one more during my 1000kms of ownership so far. You do make a conscious effort and then it becomes muscle memory.
So in short , I'd take whatever a sales person says with a pinch of salt especially when its defending the product. Finding neutral does take some finesse after you come to standstill but you get the hang of it pretty quick.

[Paavan Shetty]

Congratulations deepfreak15 on your awesome ride. One of the most desirable bikes in the market indeed!

Answering your question about why the front wheel has the air filling valve angled and the rear one straight, it seems to me a straight forward logic that the front disc is too big compared to rear and so there will be no space to place your palm properly on the valve while filling air and thus put adequate pressure on it to avoid leakage. Where as the rear disc being quite smaller there is ample room to easily fill air.

I don't know how much cost is saved between a straight valve and a bent valve. Maybe any bhpian having component costing related knowledge will answer it better.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by Paavan Shetty

Congratulations deepfreak15 on your awesome ride. One of the most desirable bikes in the market indeed!

Answering your question about why the front wheel has the air filling valve angled and the rear one straight........

Thank you very much for your wishes and THANK YOU for honoring this thread with your first post on this forum. Welcome to this lovely community.
Yup that anomaly was explained by someone else also earlier in the thread.

[Paavan Shetty]

Thank you for welcoming me onboard. The honor is mine to be a part of this enthusiast forum! I'm usually twice anxious to post something because of the immense experience most of the guys have here. Always dreamt of having such hot discussions with similarly passionate people!