New subscriber! Love your sense of humor. I own an 04' in Cerulean Silver for a little over 10 years. I have put over 20,000 trouble free miles on her on many multi-state tours. Like you, I can't find anything wrong with it 😁😎 Best sport touring machine ever produced!
Shout out from KC Mo, like your review on the 2023, I got the 2009, I would want the 6th gear and cruise control, but satisfied with the 2009 for now, safe riding my friend
This bike was the only alternative I considered to the 1250RT I bought. I love its slimness - for filtering, its performance and durability. But in Europe it has been discontinued due (I think) to pollution regs. Also, funny policy about replacement keys, and as you say the lack of satnav. But I agree with you that it's a great bike.
I have a 2019 and love it. The adjustable side panels in the faring are actually intended to channel the engine heat towards you or away from you (or so the manual claims). In winter a bit of heat is welcome although I can't honestly say I've noticed a huge difference. There is a taller windscreen available which does keep you in the bubble of calm. As you say it is very planted and it will cruise effortlessly all day at any speed you want to go at. My only complaint is the seat is not that great for all day riding and I have the "comfort" seat. I have a Zumo XT mounted on mine - there is a bracket you can buy that fits between the handlebars. It is very easy to ride at low speed.
I looked at them in 2022. Funny thing, I wanted that colour but Yamaha only had black. I went with the Tracer 9 GT. Both nice bikes for commuting and some weekend touring. That was is a 2023? Bummer, that was the colour I wanted or the silver.
I owned one of these and it's the bike I despised the most despite its 150+ hp. The high center of gravity, the multiple failing gadget, difficulty to reach the engine for simple maintenance. Lack of stability at high speed. It feels the bike is too heavy for the frame. The worst was, the super hard clutch, literal pain in the neck due to the sport position and the constant distraction cause by the gadgets. It's also hot like an air cooled V Twin in town. My M109R is much cooler at red lights. I was also annoyed by the unstable idle. The sound and tuning of the engine is not cool at all. The wind shield is efficient but the c9nstwnt squeeking at low speed is embarassing. I traded it swiftly for a brand new M109R. My 760 lbs M109R feels much lighter.
Yamaha calls this bike a "sports TOURING." but it has no room to mount any accessories needed for touring (gps, cup holder, floorboards, etc.) Japanese bikes all have the same problem....nothing changes. That was the problem with the Kawasaki Concourse, which led to its demise.
