New Toy

alpinerider

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So having had three adventure bikes in row I thought I should have a change and add something else to the stable.
New to me a couple of weeks ago , 1290 Superduke Gt. 67 plate with 2250 miles.
Picked it up from just south of Sheffield and took a couple of detours through chesterfield and then Lincoln on way home so a good 200 miles
First thing I noticed having only sat on and not ridden one was just how compact it was compared to for example my 1190. Finding the gear selector in Adventure boots was a struggle at first but once I had got a few miles down the road and onto some nice roads I was just beaming. The tiniest of input almost made it feel telepathic when wanting to change direction. Despite what I had read regards agricultural feel the engine seems buttery smooth more so than the 1190 I own and indeed he 1290 Adventure which I recently sold.
Although it has the quickshifter I still prefer to use the clutch , might well just be me but I just feel its a slicker change.
I wont harp on about the engine etc as everyone knows just what a beast this is and they are not wrong,
Last 120 miles home cold and wet from Lincoln and to be honest I had pain across my shoulders and down my back for a good few days afterwards as a result of the slight cant forward riding position. I had thought about moving the bars back but subsequent 200 mile day out was no problem so obviously just some muscles not used before.
Couple of 180 mile days out since then and have to say that on the roads I ride most frequently the 1190 would be much more comfortable, suspension on the Gt is very firm even in street mode in comparison. Might look at getting the latest software upgrade which is said to greatly improve this.
At 6ft and 32" inseam there is plenty of room for knees under the tank but it is surprising how much of a difference it makes depending on wearing an adventure or race style boot makes here.
If I was to go on tour on the bike though I might well consider the 23mm peg lowering kit as for me as got cramp on the full days out and I am known to put in the odd 800 + mile day :thumb
I don't have the luggage and To be honest for me my 1190 makes much more sense as a tourer but I knew that before I brought it so whether or not it gets put into touring duties only time will tell.
 

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Had I known about peg lowering kit I may of bought one when they had £5k off a few years back, found legs cramped and knees would not fit under tank....

..Maybe next time they are giving them away ;-)
 
It is a great bike but i just could not get on with mine

I think the suspension was the real problem for me it was either too hard at the front and numb so little feel or too soft at the back and wallowy and impossible to get right what with the tricky suspension

I am still not convinced that mine was not in some way faulty.

Engine is just superb though with so much grunt

One of those bikes that i cannot fault other than it just was not a fit for me
 
nice bike, hope you have lots of great times on it,
i have a 2017 GT too, i dont have a problem with peg height (32 inside leg) but i didnt like the aluminium footpegs at all,,felt slippery when wet, so replaced them with the ruberized versions of the 390 duke, fits straight on and only about a tenner each, also had the heated grips switched off completely when i was having the suspension software upgrade done, i hated the hard plasticky feel of the originals, so with them switched off i removed them and fitted some softer grips, (pro grip 714) the other cheap (ish) mod was to fit a throttle spacer to remove the loose sloppy feel on the throttle grip, i have done lots of other mods too, but these three were the cheapest and prob the most usefull (to me)
enjoy :thumb:thumb
 

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I love my R. Best bike I’ve ever ridden.

Nothing I want to swap it for, which for me is very strange.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
nice bike, hope you have lots of great times on it,
i have a 2017 GT too, i dont have a problem with peg height (32 inside leg) but i didnt like the aluminium footpegs at all,,felt slippery when wet, so replaced them with the ruberized versions of the 390 duke, fits straight on and only about a tenner each, also had the heated grips switched off completely when i was having the suspension software upgrade done, i hated the hard plasticky feel of the originals, so with them switched off i removed them and fitted some softer grips, (pro grip 714) the other cheap (ish) mod was to fit a throttle spacer to remove the loose sloppy feel on the throttle grip, i have done lots of other mods too, but these three were the cheapest and prob the most usefull (to me)
enjoy :thumb:thumb

I don't think I have a problem with peg height its just a little alien after the last few bikes I have been riding.
Like I said to friends when deciding to have one I only sat on one in showrooms to see if there would be room, however sitting on one in jeans and trainers is not same as in Adventure boots and Knee armour.
Definitely a constant theme regarding the suspension on these and bike is easily unsettled on uneven B road . More than once I have already had the arse up out of the seat. It is not a concern as I expected before I brought it but wanted to scratch an itch I had to own this bike.
I am working away at present but once home I will try repositioning the bars one increment back toward me and look into the peg lowering kit .
In the 500 or so miles I covered I was also unable to get the screen just where I wanted to reduce buffeting and that would need to be addressed if doing any distance on it.
Did I mention I dropped the bike on the day before coming away to work doing a u turn in the road:blast !!, Initial inspection showed I got away with it.
Bike has some kind of Eazygrip protection film so that looked like it saved the right fairing, I have 2 x tiny marks on the Titanium Akra though and although very small I know they are there so might have to look at getting polished out ?
Bar end and will need a new Lever as slightly bent so all in all lucky. ( Lever advice )?
Have been looking into luggage options should I use it for a tour and what you have there is pretty much how ( Oxford 35L )I roll so that's sorted. ;)
Strange you have a Airhawk on top of the PP comfort seat ?
 
hi
bar end weights i replaced with evotech heavy weight ones, cant say i noticed they made any diffrence though and didnt suffer with bar vibes before , just thought i would give them a try ,
the powerparts comfort seat is a vast improvement on the standard seat, but i still get a numb bumb after 4/5 hours riding so thats why the airhawk, with that on aswell i can do an easy 6-8 hour day riding,
cant really comment on levers as mine are standard,, but whatever you do dont buy chinese ones ,,
:beerjug:
 
hi
cant really comment on levers as mine are standard,, but whatever you do dont buy chinese ones ,,
:beerjug:

Why not, they have a great mechanical ABS system, where if you squeeze to hard they snap off so you don't lock up ;-)
 
You sound as if you’re the same height as me and once I’d got used to the bike I found long days with short duration fuel stops weren’t an issue. Tank range is good which means if your route transits countries where fuel is expensive you can just go straight through without having your wallet emptied :thumb2

I really liked mine but felt it was time for a change of direction to a lightweight bike for doing the TET and other similar trips so only kept it 2 years.
 


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