First off,I’m not knocking the bike,
I love/hate mine,(and the one before it).
Best bits,
Power,,,,yay
Suspension,brill( needs a tweak)
Handling excellent.
Let’s get to the nitty gritty.
Mostly,the bike is unchanged since 2008,even up to this years bike and the husky stable mate.
Yet,this years bike seems to be almost revered,like it is a new bike.
Having ridden Andres brand new bike(ta muchly)
Despite my thoughts about how hard the dealer bike felt in the showroom,A’s bike was more supple on the road.
The motor on the new bike was a bit faster once the revs were up,but I forgot about the electronic aids and was surprised when it didn’t want to lift the front wheel in the lower gears like my earlier bike.
Gearbox was noticeably better.again ,I forgot about the quick shifter,and wondered why the bike was blipping as I downshifted.
The fuel injection system is a lot better than the early bikes,but there’s no removing the fact it’s a big high comp single,with bugger all flywheel..
Back to the start.
Whilst I get the concept of the fuel tank centralised,having the filler at the rear is shit..end of.
If the tank was in the “ proper” place it would add some protection to the very expensive radiator.
And mebbs could have created a space for a few tools..
Bars too low.
Foot rests a bit high.
I was looking to fit a lowering link to the suspension,
On most other bikes you would stick a stand under the bashplate,
Not so on the 690( or later 701 etc)
The bash plate secures to the bottom of the footrest brackets,which need to come off to gain access to suspension linkage.
If the footrests had been mounted lower onto the frame it would be dead easy to support the bike while removing the rear suspension.
With the design we have,with the bash plate off the bottom of the engine does not lend itself to securing the bike to anything much.
I may have also mentioned before,shit steering lock.
All of these things are minor things,however after 13 years I’d have thought the bike would have evolved more.
Belatedly feeling your described pain.
Removed the shock to change the spring which necessitated dismantling the rear of the bike. Thought I’d grease the linkages while there which as you e pointed out, meant removing the foot rest assembly and the swing arm pivot pin. Now I’m struggling to get the pin back in while lining up the footrest assembly which is located on a rubber spigot with two not very accessible bolts either side. I gave up yesterday getting frustrated and it’s in bits in the shed
After all that…the spring had been upgraded already..
I hope it’s as good to ride as promised
