NY metro- Test ride saturday

[Rock]

Hi guys. This bike just came to my attention a month ago because I live under a rock, and I lost my mind. I've been thinking about making a trade and I saw the FTR and called the local dealer and fortunately they're doing test rides in all this mess. I've read and watched all I can on it, and riding it will answer allot of questions, but it will be cool out and I'll likely not be riding it for long so I'll throw a couple questions to the group if I may.
The 3 negatives I've heard about so far are heat it throws off (apparently on the right side), the vibes in the grips, and the rear wheel slip. Regarding the wheel slip I think that's just part of the funky tire and something you just have to adjust to, but have any of you find you need to curtail how you come out of corners relative to other bikes you've owned? One tester said once he learned to trust the bike that he just let the electronics do its thing. I just want to be sure that I won't have to curb my aggressiveness and the test ride will only tell me so much as I wouldn't push it with new tires. Especially ones I have zero experience with.

As to the heat, I can get stuck in some bad traffic on the way to work in the summer and I don't want to roast my leg. So that wou;d be of concern to me. The buzzing in the grips is the least of my worries as I've dealt with that before with my bmw XR and that seems to diminish with break in and you throw some heavy bar ends on.
Any feedback would be appreciated

Anyway, looking forward to test riding the bike.

 

[ferraiolo1]

OEM tires arent the best, you can break them loose very easy. But they are meant to be a compromise tire.

The heat is from the large cat and the fact you're sitting on the rear cylinder. Adding insulation under the seat, tuning the bike, and/or removing the cat eliminates that issue.

Bars are far less buzzy than a lot of i4 bikes. But nothing weighted inserts cant fix.

Its a really fun bike to ride, imo a tune is the best thing you can do to them.

 

[Rock]

Thanks Ferraiolo. Removing the cat is always a good thing so check that one off the list
I didn't think the buzz what that big a deal but I'd likely do the weighted inserts. No big deal there.
I spoke with the gent at the dealership and he said there are tires you can swap out for the back if it bothers you. Not too many choices but at least viable choices.
I always seek to do something with any bikes tune so that's a fix I wouldn't even consider a fix. Like most new bikes they are made to run hot for EPA requirements. I was told they intentionally run inefficient to create heat to make this happen and a tune ameliorates that issue. Either way I would probably lose the cat and do a tune

So none of these "issues" really seem like a big deal.

Thanks again

 

[ferraiolo1]

there are quite a few tires you can use, i swapped to bridgestone a41s, and i have a set of bridgestone t31s to try next.

A lot of your "usual" sport tires dont fit, but there are lots of sport touring type tires that do.

Make sure you're in SPORT mode when you test ride it!

 

[Rock]

I go sport touring all the way anyway as I ride in the rain allot.
Thanks for the tip!

 

[Blue1]

The tires aren't optimal, but I still had a good time in the Smokys last summer. Since replace with Conti Attacks, as I was riding at the limit of the OEM tires.

BTW, even with the stock tires, slip should be managed by the lean-sensitive traction control (if you get a unit with that feature). I wouldn't be surprised if the traction control was very subtly kicking in on my annual mountain ride, as I was getting awesome launches off corners, even with the stock tires. I wore the stock tires right to the edge of the tread, zero chicken strips.

I've heard some people complain about heat from the engine exhaust. It hasn't even been close to an issue for me.

Ditto with vibration, doesn't bother me at all, and my riding history for the last forty years has been smooth Japanese fours.

Blue1

 

[mark.lb]

Don’t worry about the stock tires on your test ride. Test rides are to see if you like the motorcycle. It’s fit, finish, feel, features, brakes etc. You are not taking a hot lap on a TT circuit, just a test ride on a bike you don’t own. I have had several sets of stock tires on my bike. They are not that bad. They have plenty of bite for some aggressive riding. Most people will run out of skill and guts before they run out of tire. Are there better one out there? I’m sure there are. Worry about that later. Enjoy the test ride!

 

[Rock]

Mark, I"m not too concerned about how the tires perform on a test ride, because it's a test ride and there's only so much you can learn from a bike on a short simple ride. In addition, I'll likely be shadowed so there won't be much aggressive riding, and they're new tires so I wouldn't push it hard anyway.
So in other words the test ride will only give me so much information. That's why I asked folks who have ridden the bike for their thoughts. I've fallen in love before with a bike on a test ride only to find out I did not like it so much in the corners and that's an important part of my riding. We all have our minimum requirements right?

Fit, finish and features I can glean just by looking at bike and having the sales person go over the bke with me. I test ride a bike to determine if I like how it rides, and if it has enough comfort. By rides, I don't just mean ride quality, but performance and handling as well. Again, test rides are inherently limited, so you can only learn so much about handling IMO.

Regardless, as Blue and Ferraiolo have pointed out there are at least two viable options for OEM substitutes.

 

[Rock]

well, I wasn't shadowed but I still didn't push it. Great bike. No question. Beautiful, good build quality, great components, decent power (what I expected), but what surprised me the most is how nimble it felt. No question with the brigdestones the bike would handle sufficiently. The test ride gave me enough information to conclude that.
I would have never thought a bike with a 60" wheelbase with that conservative rake and trial, and large diameter tires would handle that well. I can't say whether or not it would hold a line on rails, my suspicion is it wouldn't, but it is nimble enough to reasonably flick in switchbacks.

That being said I would never enjoy commuting on this bike. I have a 41 mile interstate (each way) commute, and when I took the FTR on the highway it was not pleasurable at speed for more than a couple of minutes. I unfortunately do need a true sport tourer. I am thinking about it as a second bike but I really wanted to keep it to one.
It is a really cool bike though.

 

[mark.lb]

Glad you had a good test ride. I would not choose a FTR for the highway as well.
I spent all afternoon on the back roads of western PA with my son-in-law Jameson (MT09) and his brother Tyler (Ninja 650). Had a great afternoon just tearing it up. Those young guys have nothing on the old man and his Indian!

 

[Rock]

It sucks having multiple riding needs. If I didn't have to hit a substantial amount of interstate during the commute I probably would have made the trade right then and there. The Covid discount was very nice too.
I could totally believe you could keep up with those bikes on those roads. The FTR was more nimble than my Ninja 1000. When I got on it to head home after the test ride I noticed the differnce in effort needed in the corners.

 

[ferraiolo1]

It’s due to the small tire, wide handlebars, and rake.

 

[edgelett]

can I ask what it was that you didn't like about riding it on the highway/freeway?

 

[Rock]

It’s due to the small tire, wide handlebars, and rake.

Ferr, you mean the narrow tires? The rake is very conservative so I wouldn't have thought that was a contributing factor. More steep than the other Indians, but very conservative compared to my Ninja and other sport bikes. I agree the handle bars have allot to do with it as well.

can I ask what it was that you didn't like about riding it on the highway/freeway?

I expected the wind blast given it was a naked, so I was expecting that. I just didn't see a small aftermarket screen adding any substantial protection.
IN terms of the engine character I love I-4s. Twins can be really rough at speed for long periods of time. I felt the FTR was a little too jackhammer'ish at 80 mph. My hands also went numb, which I was expecting, but overall it didn't seem very pleasant on a straight line on the highway. I could imagine doing 90 mph for 45 minutes (that's what my commute is like) being very unpleasant. At least on a daily basis.

 

[ferraiolo1]

Yes the narrow tires help turn in quickness.
a full naked hooligan bike isn’t the bike for your needs.
You need a fjr!

 

[Rock]

Yeah. that's the reality fratello Ferraiolo. It would be a great second bike if I could swing it. That and a Concourse 14 would be nice!!

 

[edgelett]

I expected the wind blast given it was a naked, so I was expecting that. I just didn't see a small aftermarket screen adding any substantial protection.
IN terms of the engine character I love I-4s. Twins can be really rough at speed for long periods of time. I felt the FTR was a little too jackhammer'ish at 80 mph. My hands also went numb, which I was expecting, but overall it didn't seem very pleasant on a straight line on the highway. I could imagine doing 90 mph for 45 minutes (that's what my commute is like) being very unpleasant. At least on a daily basis.

fair enough - thanks for the info and feedback!

 

[mark.lb]

I have owned a FTR since May 2019. I probably have less than 100 highway miles so far. The bike is capable on the highway but not comfortable. I can’t imagine the wind blast trying to maintain 80-90mph speeds for 20-30 miles at a time. It would be exhausting. All the fun and satisfaction you will get riding the FTR on back roads on the weekend would be erased Monday morning on the highway at high speeds. I agree with ferraiolo1, a sport touring bike is the ticket!

 

[edgelett]

fastest you can go here on a road (legally) is 110kph (or 68mph) so probably less of an issue for me haha.

 

[Max Kool]

I heard @edgelett never rides too fast