The new Panigale is growing on me. But my experience with it is as follows. Great engine, I wish it had different styling.
The last bit is an unpopular opinion. lul. That’s me though.
This norton on the otherhand is all me. I could do with less chrome. But the shape otherwise. Only thing I would want to change is the exhaust since I have a thing for undertail exhausts.
Let me guess, you like the 2007-2008 R1, my colleague has one of those, swears by it. He’s not happy about the crossplane.
I love them too, but next bike will probably be a zx10
I like the 09 for sure when it comes to R1’s. The norton’s got me much more so though. the 08’s not crossplane? I thought they were. I thought the 08 and 09 was just a redesign for looks. My r1 knowledge is lacking.
I don’t think I’m going back to a superbike, next one will probably be a naked.
09 was the first year of the crossplane.
Ive been looking at zx10r’s. I want to get another zx6r since I never took my last to track. Having the heavy vfr I almost want to just get a zx10r instead of the 6 (also since I’ve had the 6 on the street for a year.) But, I want to actually get decent at track riding if I am going to do that.
Either that, Ill get a cheap af bobber project going. Pick up a shadow like the VTX1800 I been working on. Probably both seeing as the bobber project is cheapaf.
I love my mt/fz 09. It could use a better seat but its got the power for dumb shit and the electronics to make it a bit safer.
If I was going to track a bike Id almost want to go back down to a ninja 300/r3
I’m a bit of a purist and kinda like to keep those to a minimum.
ABS would probably have saved my skin tho.
Have you made use of the electronics? I’ve never actually used them before. I’ve ridden a handful of bikes with them, but never long enough to actually have them engage. Whatcha think?
Also on the topic of 300’s that’s also not a bad idea. tbf I never rode one for any length of time. I started on a zx6r (Learned on a 300 MSF ect). It was perfectly fine for me, but of.c I never took it to track. I should also just stop being lazy and weld that crash cage on the VFR so I can start motogymkhana for the price of tires instead of anything track like not lazy me wanted to do.
Same.
The 300cc bikes are amazing starter bikes though, so lightweight and nimble.
Everyone should start on those.
The TCS can be disabled. ABS not so much. The rider modes are a bit useless. A mode is fucking pointless, you get 100% of the bike at like 60% of the throttle. B mode is only down 10hp and makes the throttle unpredictable. STD is the only mode that makes any sense.
I went from an R3 to this so I wanted something that could tame my wrists initially. The R3 taught me this bad habit of WOT everywhere you go because you totally can on that bike. Not so much on the fz09. TBH I spent 3 years on the R3 which was probably too long but it definitely helped me to understand and appreciate what I have.
On to the FZ
This thing makes power like a 600 but torque like a 1000.
TCS on mode 2 wont let you wheelie, which isnt a terrible idea on the street since its short wheel base and high torque means 1st and 2nd are a handful to manage.
TCS on mode 1 lets the front end up but makes sure the back doesnt come out from under you.
I ride in 2 99% of the time, but if I were to track it 1 seems like it would be ideal.
Of course it can be turned off completely.
ABS is a life saver. The back brakes stock feel mushy and dont give feedback, I engage the ABS more often that I’d like to admit. Front ABS I’ve never hit and I dont know if I can really. I think the bike would just flip unless I was on gravel.
I never touch the mode as I said. On this particular bike, its useless. Though they can be remapped during a tune which I might consider because this thing could be a handful in the rain.
Yea, I would agree on that. I dont regret starting on a 636 considering the circumstances, but a 300 would have been better. Would be curious to ride 400’s too. Might be a bit more reasonable for someone doing distance more. One of the reasons I opted for a 600. Commuting 2 hours with traffic moving 90mph, while more then doable on a 300, there is a better bike for the job. Theres a reason touring bikes are large.
I hit 110 once on my R3… going downhill with a tailwind.
ABS is definitely a curiosity to me. I’ve never been in a position where it could have saved me. I have a front lock up once when an overzealous evo cut me off and shortened my braking from 70 to 0 (Backed up exit on highway) But that was incredibly brief, I felt the rear end lift up on the vfr and eased just as it locked letting spin freely again. Ended up being fine, just your typical emergency braking that was completely unnecessary without that evo. And the rears on the vfr are linked so if Im hard on the front it usually sends more pressure then I tend to feed it anyways.
for track use my understanding it that it really limits trail braking, which is only done to a certain extent on the street. I dont think I’ve ever done it enough that ABS would trigger. I would like traction control, but at the same time, not having that aid (and knowing so) it part of what keeps me in check. lul. “Cant take this corner fast, havent scouted for gravel in a few days.”
I really want to see ducati slide control working. That is the kind of thing with the new bikes that really interests me.
The one “feature” of the FZ I dont like is the slipper clutch. It seems great on paper but it leaves the clutch feeling weird. I stall this bike almost as much as I did my 300 just because the clutch is unpredictable.
So first service done on the Seat, all fluids are checked and filled.
And the mechanic did some extended inspections underneath the car.
There was no rust to be find underneath which is good.
The only thing 2 things that came out of the inspection that need some attention,
Right rear shock is leaking and needs replacing, so next month i will replace both sids at the rear.
For the rest everything looks to be in a really good condition. 
A functioning car is a good car. Even if it is a bit slow.
