Greetings from Andorra
- Thread starter K1000
- Start date
Haven't tried it yet. Will try possibly today, or more likely during the weekend.
The thing is, in this country (Andorra 🇦🇩 ) there isn't any stretch of road straight enough, long enough, and traffic-free enought to be able to engage cruise control 😅
Up in the mountains, where we live, it's all twisties. I can't even put the bike into the 6-th gear. And the 5-th only sparsely, for a few seconds at a time. There is always a next corner coming at you.
Down in the central valley around the capital city, there are some straight roads. But the traffic is dense.
There is this long(ish) new tunnel connecting two of the valleys, which has speed limit 80 km/h (50 mph), and where I theoreticaly might be able to engage cruise control. But sometimes it has dense traffic, too.
So I'll have to go down to Spain 🇪🇸 (28 km / 17 miles from home) or to France 🇫🇷 (16 km / 10 miles) in search of some straight roads 😄
There is also a tunnel into France, but it isn't toll-free. Not that I mind paying a few Euros, but it's a hassle on the bike.
Will try, and I'll let you know, thank you.
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Glad you are happy!
I'm thinking perhaps mine will become smoother too after the engine break-in period and the first maintenance. Or not 😅
The license plate truly is an atrocity, even though FortNine tried to justify it in their famous video saying that it is somehow symmetrical 😄
All that weight!
Most everyone removes it. I'm on the fence, because here in Europe most countries have this law that the license plate must be positioned at the very rear of the motorcycle. Nothing must come after it, not even just the wheel. With most aftermarket holders the license plate would be positioned above the wheel, and not at the very rear.
I'd like to use the FTR for touring Europe, and am keen to avoid run-ins with the police. Especialy in German-speaking countries 😄 (I have already posted about this topic elsewhere in the Forum).
So maybe the atrocity will have to stay. They could have at least routed the cable through it, and not on the outside! 🙄
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irsh
Member
My 1990 Harley EVO laughs at your "leak".
I see your 1990 Harley EVO leak, and I'll raise you an Aprilia Tuono 660 leak. Any early Tuono 660 😂
Charliemurphay
Well-known member
That blue carbon, is in fact stunning.
It's a people magnet, just as I was afraid it would be. Lots of conversations at gas stations and wherever there are people. I could do with a little less attention 😅
irsh
Member
Aprilia is supposed to be "Italian Honda". Not so much?
Not so much. I didn't own it, but I know a guy.
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Sliders are on their way, I've bought the ones that MMC offers.
Thank you for the advice!
And yes, I am starting to realise that some tuning will be inevitable. Without it, the FTR is a mad cow.
I was hoping to avoid it. I rented this bike (a 2022 Sport) for 3 days and throughly tested it. Never before have I tested a bike so well before buying it. I thought I knew very well what I was getting myself into.
Alas, I was mistaken. It turns out you need to spend hundreds of Euros more at an obscure shop for a tuning, which will then make it impossible to pass the obligatory periodic Technical Inspection, and makes you liable to be fined (and have your bike immobilised) when touring in countries that do spot emissions and noise checks.
I am disappointed. The FTR may have to go.
The technical inspection would find nothing? No increase in emissions, noise... nothing? Dunno, just asking.
The FTR is not a motorcycle. It's a DIY project. Much like the Raspberry Pi: A semi-finished product that doesn't work very well until you add stuff to it. In case of the Raspberry Pi it's a power supply, a heat dissipator, a fan, a micro SD card, an M.2 hat, NVMe storage and a choice of operating system. In case of the FTR it's the headers, the decat pipe, the exhaust, the tuning and other stuff which half of the time I don't even know what you guys are talking about.
I think I'l call the FTR 'the Raspberry Pi of motorcycles'.
Of course, after adding all those components to the Raspberry you will have spent so much money that you could have had a decent mini PC with an Intel processor for the same price.
By the time you are done kicking the FTR into some kind of shape so that it stops, you know, jerking the living soul out of you, you may well be in the MV Agusta territory.
This isn't a bike you buy new. This is a bike you buy from someone who has already invested all that time and and all that money into this DIY project, and hands a half-decet machine to you.
I wish I had known that 2 months ago.
In any case, I have decided not to go down this route and keep throwing good money after bad. Already asked the dealer how much I stand to lose if he takes it off my hands.
Peterson
Member
in a way you can say so. regarding the mapping: it´s no question of if it is detectable, the thing is: nobody's looking after that during a traffic control.
& haha, I don't even know what a raspberry pi is ... Tomorrow I go 4 a ride and will look especially on this constant speed issue - according to me, up to now it is not an absolut deal breaker, but maybe if you focus on this ...
edgelett
Well-known member
he's not talking about a traffic stop - but a proper inspection which I assume he needs to have regularly where he lives.
I do know there will be no noise change
the bike will run leaner as the reason for the stalls/surging is it runs rich so I think the emissions will be ok. (Mike is that right?)
but I don't know how detailed your technical inspections are so it's hard to comment
It's a DIY computer. I have one sitting on my desk as I am configuring it for something, hence the analogy 😅
Try going at 3.000 RPM, or 3.500. Just constant RPM for a little while.
Thank you.
Thank you for your insights.
Yes, that.
Leaner means less fuel more air, right?
I am loath to do anything that would void the warranty. Also, I am not a tinkerer. At least not with things mechanical. Just want care-free motorcycling. Turn the key and go touring. Maybe clean the chain once in a while. For everything else, the authorised dealership.
That is why I always buy them new, hoping to get at least a few care-free years. Is that too much to ask in 2024? I don't know.