Thehighs“Apreviousownerhadde-catted it but kept the standard
exhaustandI justlovethetwinpipes.I getabout 140 miles from a
tankif I’mcaningit butdoingmotorwaywork, keeping it steady at
about 80 our90mphforhours,it’lldo 180 before I have to fill up.”
Thelows“Therearbrakeishopeless;it just doesn’t work. I’ve had
thefluidchangedrecentlyandthere’sa little bit of brake there but not
much.Youcertainlycan’trelyonit toslowyou down; it’s only really
goodfordragginga bitintrafficif youwant to give your right hand a
break.Otherthanthat,it’sterrible.Thekeyless ignition has failed on
metwice.I usedtheback-upbuttononthe tank for months before
gettingit reprogrammed.Thefuelgaugecan be problematic too.”
Bestmod“MRAscreenwithadjustableflap (£94). I tried
severalbeforeI foundthisandit worksreally well, especially when
itcomestodeflectingrain.”Thehighs“I’mgettingolderandreallylike the sit-up-and-beg riding
position.It’sgreatforlongdistanceandbrilliant at overtaking; you
don’tevenneedtothinkaboutit — notjust the car in front of you, but
two or three more ahead. Just drop it a couple of gears and give it
some; I love it! As I’m retired, I use it mainly for touring; there are 20
or so of us in the group I ride with, Windy Corner Riders and
whatever the weather, if a trip’s booked, we just go.”
The lows “It’s had a new stand fitted because the old one bent,
but it still leans too far for me and I don’t have the strength to get a
loaded bike upright. The clutch is a bit grabby; I’ve had it stripped
which seemed to fix it but it’s starting to happen again now. It doesn’t
like going into first gear, especially in traffic — it just baulks. It also
costs a fortune to service; the last one came in at £1300, although
that did include chain and sprockets.”
Best mod “Full Termignoni exhaust without the cat, £1500 fitted.
It saves weight and gives more power but for me, it’s the noise!”Thehighs“I’dhadanFJR1300fortenyearsandfancied
a change,sotestedeverythinginthisclassandfound
theMultistradahadthemostcharacter.TheV-twinwith
thoselittleburblesyougetupanddownthegears,the
flickabilityandthey’veevengotthepillionseatjustright.
TheSkyhooksuspensionistremendousandsoeasyto
use— it’sidiot-proof.EventhoughthePirelliScorpions
aren’tfull-onsporttyres,they’refantasticandtheheated
gripsarereallygoodtoo.”
Thelows“It’sawfulatlowspeedintown,evenin
Urbanmode.Youhavetokeepit ina lowergearthan
you’dlikewhichmakesit reallylumpy.I managedtosolve
it bytakingofftheendcanandremovingthebutterfly
valvefromthecat.It smoothedthingsrightout,notjust
atlowspeedbutrightthroughtherevrange.”
Bestmod“Hepco& Beckersidestandplate(£45).
Muchbiggerthanthestandardfootanda damnsight
cheaperthanhavingtofixa droppedbike.”‘Therearbrake’shopeless’
MarkZawada 51 Model 2011 1200S
Touringmileage13,000 Longest ride 450 miles‘Itgoeslikestink’
RayDavies 70 Model 2014 1200S
Touringmileage47,000 Longest Ride 2470‘How the technologyworksisphenomenal’
MikeFrain 47 Model 2018 1260S
Mileage 7000 Longest ride 570 miles84 | july 2019
road test extra