St. Stephen

Comparison Part 2 My 2002 6th gen: $11,000 520 lbs 100 hp My 2026 Tuono 660: $11,500 400 lbs 100 hp I rounded the numbers since some are claimed, some are measured etc. An inflation calculator I found says multiply $11K in 2002 dollars by 1.79, so the 6th gen comes in around $19.5 in today's currency. This isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison, but it made me feel better after dropping that much money on a new bike!

Cycle World (Don Canet I think) tested the 6th gen when it came out in 2002. I dug up the test in the two photos below. 23 years later it makes an interesting comparison. Note the stats.

It turns out that you can have a whole lot of fun on a new bike while still staying within the parameters of "Running In" the motorcycle, as Aprilia calls it in the manual. It's all about corner speed. Every time I exited a corner I felt I had entered too slow. Haven't touched the suspension yet, just getting used to the menus and acquiring a baseline feeling. My last three new bikes were the Multistrada (2017), 7th gen (2010), and 6th gen (2002). Those familiar with VFR's will note that I purchased the last two the very first model year. Some comparisons will follow. Anyway, at ~400lbs this bike is incredibly nimble. Geared so low! I never used 5th or 6th on the RC-51 except for track days, and rarely hit 6th on the Ducati, but with this bike I start looking for 7th! PCH today:

Well, I guess I have chugged the Italian Koolaid. Based on a 40 mile ride home today, starting in Dogpatch, all the way through urban SF to the GG bridge, and then home, I really like this bike. More to follow...of course.

Street Triple? Yes. If you asked me a couple of years ago what my next bike would be, the Daytona or almost any Triumph w that great three cylinder engine would have been my answer. Brutale, well, not seriously considered but maybe I should have looked at it more closely. Don't worry, I'll go on and on about the new bike ad nauseam once I actually ride it, but for $11.5 new it's got a lot. More to follow.

Ride the new bike home Saturday!

No, I didn't see a claim that gloves would work. I've never done the bar mount thing--it always seemed like it could rotate, just wasn't a clean solution in my mind. My 7th gen had a RAM ball attached into the steering stem, homemade by a former poster here on VFRD. When I bought the Multistrada I got a RAM ball with hole to insert a longer handlebar mount bolt, replacing the upper left bolt, photos below. Works great, rock solid: https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/ram-mounts-handlebar-bolt-ball-with-hole-base?sku_id=869087 I should add that, just like in your car, CarPlay uses a lot of phone battery, and the phone gets hot. I hooked up my phone to a lithium travel battery and left it in my tank bag.

Update. Went for a 160 mile ride today. Limited access highway (101) and twisty roads (128). Pretty happy with the device so far: -The screen is great. Excellent definition, clarity, and absolutely no glare no matter where the sun was. (sometimes I couldn't see the Zumo at all if the sun was behind me) -I went for the 5" screen, not the 7" which I felt would be overkill, would block the bike's main screen, and be blocked by my tank bag. It's great. Small fonts, but my face is only about a foot from the screen when riding so all good. -I installed my Cardo comm (Q-Solo) on my helmet and quickly realized that yeah, I still don't want to listen to music while riding. Or take that call that popped up. But it worked. -All the usual CarPlay stuff worked fine: traffic, route planning, time to arrival, speed limits, etc. I did find that if you twist the throttle it takes the device a few seconds to catch up to reporting your actual speed. So, obviously, never twist the throttle while using this device. -The major flaw (today) was that my gloves don't work on the touch screen, but that's easily solved. Lot's of touch screen friendly gloves available.

Well thanks to this thread, and Frogger and TT, I absolutely broke the bank last week and ordered a $63 CarPlay unit made in China by Camecho. Just finished the install so haven't ridden it yet but I have to say it all works quite nicely. Here's the (few) Cons, then the Pros, mostly as compared to my new doorstop, the 15 year-old Garmin Zumo: Cons: -The Zumo showed elevation, which was kind nice, but I'm sure I can find an app... -The Zumo was a quick (one second) disconnect. On this unit you have to unscrew the waterproof connection, which is on about a foot of cable attached to the unit. And when you screw it back on the inner piece must be aligned rotationally perfectly, probably not easy in the dark. But then again, it only costs $63, maybe I'll never remove it... Pros: -Well, it's CarPlay. I'm iOS, but even if you're Android you'll know that it does pretty much everything CarPlay does in your car. Pretty sweet. -Screen is excellent, great definition. I'll post more after a ride. -I hooked it up to the GPS power source Ducati provided but hid behind the bodywork, just as I had for the Zumo. I left a 2 amp fuse in the line just in case, probably overkill since it's fused anyway. I spent most of my install time just getting the wiring how I wanted, making sure the wires didn't foul movement at full lock, or get rubbed by any other part. -It paired w my phone in maybe 10 seconds. Paired and works seamlessly. -I'm not really a listen-to-music-while-riding guy, but maybe I'll install the Scala unit from my old Arai. We'll see. Hey, can't beat it for the price, 10% of the cost of my Zumo, not adjusted for inflation.

+1. I kinda take Keny's posts for granted, but he is always buying, selling, riding, and improving bikes. Fun stuff.

Great advice by the dude, BLS and gaz. Do not just start a bike up in the middle of winter storage, twist the throttle a few times, and turn it off for another month, for the reasons described above. And even if you get that rare winter day and take it out for a quick spin, a five or 10 minute ride will not help, even if the temp gauge settles in to normal operating temperature. As mentioned, you need at least 20-30 minutes until the cases are too hot to touch in order to burn off/evaporate all that bad moisture in the crankcase. Sticking clutch plates are above my pay grade however, plenty of experts here on VFRD to help. Cheers.

I'm enjoying this thread, looking forward to all the other things you will figure out, and the final result. Are the elevated motorcycle "shelves" really just for display, or do you intend to walk downstairs one morning, decide which bike is perfect for a ride that day, bring it down and zoom off?

Now that's a worthy project! Captain 80's has lots of Hondas up on a high shelf, although my memory of his shop pics is that they are lighter, smaller displacement. Just because it might be crazy doesn't mean it won't work. I'm sure I'm stating the obvious when I add that when working with a building pushing 300 y.o. you want to make sure the overall structure can handle it also. I have a friend in Portland OR, skilled at reviving old BMW's (bikes that is), who completely renovated a barn and made the upstairs his workshop. He went the pallet/cable/winch route you mention and ended up with a great mostly wooden elevator! He did have more space to work with however.

Thanks for responding TT. What brand is yours? You got me searching Amazon and there's a lot of options. I've lived with the aging Zumo on my bike for a while, but when I bought a modern car last year it hit home that the Garmin is nothing like CarPlay functionality. I already have the RAM mount and power so just need to choose the right unit. Thanks again to you and Frogger for posting.

Yeah, always tempted by those KTM's! Almost bought the SD GT but ended up with the Multistrada. Eight years later I'm happy I did, but I probably would have been happy with the SD too. Or maybe have lost my license? We were in San Diego Friday and I finally got to see a 2026 Tuono 660 Factory in person. I like it. Also, I have to recommend GPCycles in San Diego, might be the best motorcycle dealership in the state. More to follow...