MacBayne
Active member
Two- Month review-
Decided to share my experience and opinion after 3600 km (2200 miles) on my FTR-R. I never knew the FTR existed until May 2022, btw.
Rider background- Canadian enlisted Paratrooper, Afghanistan vet, later commissioned an Air Force pilot, Medically retired at 35 y/o… childless hooligan, that actually teaches the equivalent of the American MSF in summers… Has had a race license for nigh-on a decade, but only shows up to a couple events per-year due to injuries in said service. Rode Japanese machines for 25 years, then went and bought a few European bikes, before getting the FTR-R.
Aesthetic Design- Fuck me, I’m in love. My only complaint is that when some people see it, they want to talk to me about it. I’m a little anti-social… I just wanna ride bikes and take naps. I have never experienced the phenomenon of looking good… lol
Wrenching- Not quite as convenient as KTM machines, but WAAAY easier than most manufacturers. I must say, though, holy hell… the fasteners are fucking junk, particularly the heads. I have done minimal wrenching on my FTR, with only doing track-prep and mounting luggage racks and windshield, but I’m seeing a 25% failure rate on the heads of the fasteners with one removal and reinstallation. I don’t use Snap-On (but a lot of my tools are pro-quality), but I also don’t use Harbor Freight tools. I use the same tools as I have on my dozens of other bikes, but Indian fasteners are absolute junk.
Build Quality- Out-of-the-box? Flawless, but I swear to raptorjesus, the fasteners seem to be “one-time use, only.”
Engine Performance- I’m a sport bike guy… so this bike tickles me pink off the line. I must say, though when doing cruising speeds and then wanting acceleration, the torque flat spot between 4k and 6k RPM is annoying as frig. I am almost certain it is put there on purpose to mitigate power wheelies/loss-of-traction (and therefore; crashes) on the ham-fisted, for safety, but goddammit… I am sometimes ham-fisted on purpose to make wheelies. Gimme the same “rip-your-arms-off-torque” you give me off of idle. FFS!
The cruise control is also annoying upon undulating or downward ground. The simply binary on/off fueling is annoying.
WTF is with the unwanted surging on deceleration? The surging should simply just not exist. I swear, interns wrote the code for the fueling… lol.
I know a flash will fix the engine issues, and I will be doing that over the winter.
Chassis Performance- Absolutely great. A big reason for me to get this bike was the suspension. Not only is it just good, but I have to tools to service it. I love Ohlins and WP. It’s not aftermarket, but it’s better than any other OEM offer, including WP/KTM.
I need new springs because I am fat and presently, the OEM springs are preloaded too much and thus, top-out. It’s not necessarily a strike against Polaris, but a general strike against most manufacturers… 175 lb riders don’t exist… lol. Spring your bikes for the 200-lb-plus actual buyers of your machines!
The wheelbase, rake, and trail are not exactly sport, but they are exactly what I wanted… more “grown up,” but still more aggressive than steering a container ship.
She turns well, given her limits. What I mean is that the FTR runs-out-of-lean before the chassis gets challenged. Parts will drag/self-clearance before the geometry, and especially suspension (properly set) become any sort of issue. Like stated before, I’m a racer… the FTR’s limit of 43 degrees of lean is the performance limit.
Brakes- Sweet. Awesome. Shortly after buying the machine, my boots unscrewed the rear brake reservoir and I lost the seal and cap, (the cap was in the parking lot at work) and so I bled the brakes, personally after receiving the warrantied parts. From the factory, the brake response is “okay.” After a good bleed, the brake response is super. The MC, lines, calipers, and pads are a great street combo. I admit that I will be replacing the pads for a compound with more bite, the OEM pads performed well enough at “expert” pace, on-track, but a more aggressive compound is just a comfort mod… but only after the OEM need replacing.
Aftermarket support, or should I say “Add-on availability”- pretty darned good from the OEM, but third-party is absolute shite compared to Japanese machines. After more lurking and investigation, I am sure that I will find compatibility, like I found with rearsets, recently.
The R Carbon is damned-near-perfect WRT parts and ergonomics, for me, so aftermarket isn’t so great of a hurdle.
Conclusion- When I bought the machine, I was floored by the low-end torque and loved it. I was pleased and satisfied with the chassis, suspension, ergonomics and brakes.
As time has passed, I have found that the chassis, suspension, ergonomics, and brakes are still great.
The engine mapping is junk.
The excitement I have for winter is that I can flash my ECU…
Polaris hit a Home Run with this machine. They missed the Grand Slam with simple code.
Decided to share my experience and opinion after 3600 km (2200 miles) on my FTR-R. I never knew the FTR existed until May 2022, btw.
Rider background- Canadian enlisted Paratrooper, Afghanistan vet, later commissioned an Air Force pilot, Medically retired at 35 y/o… childless hooligan, that actually teaches the equivalent of the American MSF in summers… Has had a race license for nigh-on a decade, but only shows up to a couple events per-year due to injuries in said service. Rode Japanese machines for 25 years, then went and bought a few European bikes, before getting the FTR-R.
Aesthetic Design- Fuck me, I’m in love. My only complaint is that when some people see it, they want to talk to me about it. I’m a little anti-social… I just wanna ride bikes and take naps. I have never experienced the phenomenon of looking good… lol
Wrenching- Not quite as convenient as KTM machines, but WAAAY easier than most manufacturers. I must say, though, holy hell… the fasteners are fucking junk, particularly the heads. I have done minimal wrenching on my FTR, with only doing track-prep and mounting luggage racks and windshield, but I’m seeing a 25% failure rate on the heads of the fasteners with one removal and reinstallation. I don’t use Snap-On (but a lot of my tools are pro-quality), but I also don’t use Harbor Freight tools. I use the same tools as I have on my dozens of other bikes, but Indian fasteners are absolute junk.
Build Quality- Out-of-the-box? Flawless, but I swear to raptorjesus, the fasteners seem to be “one-time use, only.”
Engine Performance- I’m a sport bike guy… so this bike tickles me pink off the line. I must say, though when doing cruising speeds and then wanting acceleration, the torque flat spot between 4k and 6k RPM is annoying as frig. I am almost certain it is put there on purpose to mitigate power wheelies/loss-of-traction (and therefore; crashes) on the ham-fisted, for safety, but goddammit… I am sometimes ham-fisted on purpose to make wheelies. Gimme the same “rip-your-arms-off-torque” you give me off of idle. FFS!
The cruise control is also annoying upon undulating or downward ground. The simply binary on/off fueling is annoying.
WTF is with the unwanted surging on deceleration? The surging should simply just not exist. I swear, interns wrote the code for the fueling… lol.
I know a flash will fix the engine issues, and I will be doing that over the winter.
Chassis Performance- Absolutely great. A big reason for me to get this bike was the suspension. Not only is it just good, but I have to tools to service it. I love Ohlins and WP. It’s not aftermarket, but it’s better than any other OEM offer, including WP/KTM.
I need new springs because I am fat and presently, the OEM springs are preloaded too much and thus, top-out. It’s not necessarily a strike against Polaris, but a general strike against most manufacturers… 175 lb riders don’t exist… lol. Spring your bikes for the 200-lb-plus actual buyers of your machines!
The wheelbase, rake, and trail are not exactly sport, but they are exactly what I wanted… more “grown up,” but still more aggressive than steering a container ship.
She turns well, given her limits. What I mean is that the FTR runs-out-of-lean before the chassis gets challenged. Parts will drag/self-clearance before the geometry, and especially suspension (properly set) become any sort of issue. Like stated before, I’m a racer… the FTR’s limit of 43 degrees of lean is the performance limit.
Brakes- Sweet. Awesome. Shortly after buying the machine, my boots unscrewed the rear brake reservoir and I lost the seal and cap, (the cap was in the parking lot at work) and so I bled the brakes, personally after receiving the warrantied parts. From the factory, the brake response is “okay.” After a good bleed, the brake response is super. The MC, lines, calipers, and pads are a great street combo. I admit that I will be replacing the pads for a compound with more bite, the OEM pads performed well enough at “expert” pace, on-track, but a more aggressive compound is just a comfort mod… but only after the OEM need replacing.
Aftermarket support, or should I say “Add-on availability”- pretty darned good from the OEM, but third-party is absolute shite compared to Japanese machines. After more lurking and investigation, I am sure that I will find compatibility, like I found with rearsets, recently.
The R Carbon is damned-near-perfect WRT parts and ergonomics, for me, so aftermarket isn’t so great of a hurdle.
Conclusion- When I bought the machine, I was floored by the low-end torque and loved it. I was pleased and satisfied with the chassis, suspension, ergonomics and brakes.
As time has passed, I have found that the chassis, suspension, ergonomics, and brakes are still great.
The engine mapping is junk.
The excitement I have for winter is that I can flash my ECU…
Polaris hit a Home Run with this machine. They missed the Grand Slam with simple code.
