10-27-2016, 12:53 AM
The more I ride the Standard, the more I think there is just absolutely nothing that can be done to really make the bike into a machine that can nibble at the supersport category, which is consistent with the Ferret's suggestion that the wheels and suspension on the RS model are just styling exercises.
The frame is a huge issue, there is quite a bit of flex there along with "yuuuge" amounts of driveline lash which cannot be dialed out no matter what shocks or forks or ECU mods are employed. There is a lot of flywheel, chain, and wheel inertia, it requires a very smooth throttle hand.
The stiffer the suspension, the worse a lot of the problems become. It's the length and weight of the bike, and the frame's inability to damp certain low-frequency oscillations (fore and aft pitching).
A lighter swingarm would certainly help with that; I could see some improvement from that piece. If the wheels were lighter, that would also improve things. The reason I think not is because the bike has not lost a single ounce of weight. It seems no heavier (the extra poundage is due only to the extra gasoline in the larger tank) so where's the weight? It has to still reside in the wheels, tires, and suspension, new they may be.
If Honda had shaved off even ten pounds from the bike with this new model, I'd be more sanguine.
I hit all my old favorite roads yesterday giving the Standard a nice workout and was convinced once again the bike needs to be set up loose, like a dirtbike, in order to work, and needs a smooth throttle hand. All that weight has to be cushioned. It works way better soft and moderately damped than it does stiff and firmly damped, unless the roads are very smooth. And I tend to ride on a lot of pretty rough roads. If that's true, and I think it is, then Ohlins or some other ultra-premium shocks are just wasted on the bike, because those things are likely to be "racetrack" stiff. That's why Honda gave the RS an Ohlins look-alike, but without the performance. I don't think I'll be spending any money on shocks; the Ikons, adjusted properly, are as much as can properly enhance this bike in its current form. Anything else, like the 180 rear tire, is just overdoing it.
Speaking of the 180, wide tires just make rough roads worse. The RS is a Cafe Racer, I predict, in the true sense of the term, designed to be ridden from coffee house to coffee house.
If it is released, and I can get a good test ride and find out differently, I will probably buy one. If it's what I think it is, I'll be keepin' my Standard.
The frame is a huge issue, there is quite a bit of flex there along with "yuuuge" amounts of driveline lash which cannot be dialed out no matter what shocks or forks or ECU mods are employed. There is a lot of flywheel, chain, and wheel inertia, it requires a very smooth throttle hand.
The stiffer the suspension, the worse a lot of the problems become. It's the length and weight of the bike, and the frame's inability to damp certain low-frequency oscillations (fore and aft pitching).
A lighter swingarm would certainly help with that; I could see some improvement from that piece. If the wheels were lighter, that would also improve things. The reason I think not is because the bike has not lost a single ounce of weight. It seems no heavier (the extra poundage is due only to the extra gasoline in the larger tank) so where's the weight? It has to still reside in the wheels, tires, and suspension, new they may be.
If Honda had shaved off even ten pounds from the bike with this new model, I'd be more sanguine.
I hit all my old favorite roads yesterday giving the Standard a nice workout and was convinced once again the bike needs to be set up loose, like a dirtbike, in order to work, and needs a smooth throttle hand. All that weight has to be cushioned. It works way better soft and moderately damped than it does stiff and firmly damped, unless the roads are very smooth. And I tend to ride on a lot of pretty rough roads. If that's true, and I think it is, then Ohlins or some other ultra-premium shocks are just wasted on the bike, because those things are likely to be "racetrack" stiff. That's why Honda gave the RS an Ohlins look-alike, but without the performance. I don't think I'll be spending any money on shocks; the Ikons, adjusted properly, are as much as can properly enhance this bike in its current form. Anything else, like the 180 rear tire, is just overdoing it.
Speaking of the 180, wide tires just make rough roads worse. The RS is a Cafe Racer, I predict, in the true sense of the term, designed to be ridden from coffee house to coffee house.
If it is released, and I can get a good test ride and find out differently, I will probably buy one. If it's what I think it is, I'll be keepin' my Standard.