I'm looking for some help deciding whether or not to buy this bike! The decision is killing me lately.
I'll be test riding the bike in a few days, which will help, but I still want some opinions.
25 years ago I rode a cruiser for 2 years or so. Was 18ish. Rode a LOT, but not very aggressively. Stopped riding.
2 Years ago I got back into riding. Took the mandatory course, classroom and practical here. Wanted a bike to do everything with, and wasn't sure if I could handle an aggressive sportbike, so I bought a naked bike, A 2012 Triumph Street Triple R. I've put about 12000 km on it so far. Done long road trips, evening cruises, day trips, and 3 track days so far. I commute on the bike most days.
Now I want to upgrade. The street is a little too slow on the straights on my track days. The Japanese supersports all pass me on the straights, and then I get held up behind them in the corners. Very annoying. It was also difficult to hang off the bike properly with the upright handlebars etc.
But I wasn't sure if I could handle the sportbike position or not, so I bought daytona clip ons and rear sets and mounted them on the street triple, since it's basically the same bike, just down 20 hp. So for the last 4 months I've been riding it like this, and love it. I don't have any problem with the position, so now I know I want a proper sport bike.
I was dead set on the Ducati Panigale 899 right up until I rode it. It's very pretty,and does a few things very well (electronics, turns in very quickly, feels light, good power - when you thrash it) but too many things wrong for me (vibrates and sounds like a tractor at idle or under about 5000 rpm., felt "loose" on the road compared to my street triple - like the tires were slipping just a bit on the road surface, got fairly hot, has no power below 6000rpm or so. Controls feel a bit cheap compared to my Triumph.) Mostly, I just couldn't live with the engine.
So I started to look at the F3s since it seems I'm addicted to triples. And once you've looked at an F3, how can any other bike look good?
So I'm torn between a Triumph Daytona 675R and an MV Agusta F3800 ABS.
I know the Daytona will be a lot like my bike, only a bit better in every way really. Suspension, brakes, power are all a step up right away. Plus apparently the weight distribution and chassis changes are not insignificant from the pre-2012 models to the 2013+ models. Plus ABS. But it's a bit ugly in it's current form. And I know aesthetics aren't everything, but they do count for something. And I know every day when I look out the window and see a Daytona 675R, I will be slightly disappointed it's not an f3 800, unless I hate it when I ride it.
My questions are:
1. How hard is this bike to ride? A lot of threads seem to make it sound as if it's a different beast from other bikes and it takes some getting used to to be comfortable on it. It seems like people who have had it for weeks or even months are still trying to get comfortable with the bike...is it really this hard to ride?? What makes it so hard for people to get used to?
2. I take my riding seriously. I have pushed myself and my bike hard to develop some real skills, but I do only have 2 years/12000km on an aggressive bike. Is the F3 800 going to be too much for a relative new comer like me?
3. Overall how is reliability and service? There is an MV dealer in my city, but even still I don't really want a bike that's going to have a lot of issues.
4. How bad is the head shake problem? As someone who will lightly push the bike on the street do I need to worry about it, or is it really only for hardcore aggressive track riding, which I might not get around to this year?
5. What are the differences between the 2 steering dampers MV sells for the F3 800? The descriptions on the site are pretty much useless!
6. Are there frame sliders available? How much protection is available for the bike? I don't plan on going down, but if I take it to the track I plan to have as much protection as possible just in case!
Thanks in advance for your help! I hope to soon join the ranks of the MV Agusta owners!
I'll be test riding the bike in a few days, which will help, but I still want some opinions.
25 years ago I rode a cruiser for 2 years or so. Was 18ish. Rode a LOT, but not very aggressively. Stopped riding.
2 Years ago I got back into riding. Took the mandatory course, classroom and practical here. Wanted a bike to do everything with, and wasn't sure if I could handle an aggressive sportbike, so I bought a naked bike, A 2012 Triumph Street Triple R. I've put about 12000 km on it so far. Done long road trips, evening cruises, day trips, and 3 track days so far. I commute on the bike most days.
Now I want to upgrade. The street is a little too slow on the straights on my track days. The Japanese supersports all pass me on the straights, and then I get held up behind them in the corners. Very annoying. It was also difficult to hang off the bike properly with the upright handlebars etc.
But I wasn't sure if I could handle the sportbike position or not, so I bought daytona clip ons and rear sets and mounted them on the street triple, since it's basically the same bike, just down 20 hp. So for the last 4 months I've been riding it like this, and love it. I don't have any problem with the position, so now I know I want a proper sport bike.
I was dead set on the Ducati Panigale 899 right up until I rode it. It's very pretty,and does a few things very well (electronics, turns in very quickly, feels light, good power - when you thrash it) but too many things wrong for me (vibrates and sounds like a tractor at idle or under about 5000 rpm., felt "loose" on the road compared to my street triple - like the tires were slipping just a bit on the road surface, got fairly hot, has no power below 6000rpm or so. Controls feel a bit cheap compared to my Triumph.) Mostly, I just couldn't live with the engine.
So I started to look at the F3s since it seems I'm addicted to triples. And once you've looked at an F3, how can any other bike look good?
So I'm torn between a Triumph Daytona 675R and an MV Agusta F3800 ABS.
I know the Daytona will be a lot like my bike, only a bit better in every way really. Suspension, brakes, power are all a step up right away. Plus apparently the weight distribution and chassis changes are not insignificant from the pre-2012 models to the 2013+ models. Plus ABS. But it's a bit ugly in it's current form. And I know aesthetics aren't everything, but they do count for something. And I know every day when I look out the window and see a Daytona 675R, I will be slightly disappointed it's not an f3 800, unless I hate it when I ride it.
My questions are:
1. How hard is this bike to ride? A lot of threads seem to make it sound as if it's a different beast from other bikes and it takes some getting used to to be comfortable on it. It seems like people who have had it for weeks or even months are still trying to get comfortable with the bike...is it really this hard to ride?? What makes it so hard for people to get used to?
2. I take my riding seriously. I have pushed myself and my bike hard to develop some real skills, but I do only have 2 years/12000km on an aggressive bike. Is the F3 800 going to be too much for a relative new comer like me?
3. Overall how is reliability and service? There is an MV dealer in my city, but even still I don't really want a bike that's going to have a lot of issues.
4. How bad is the head shake problem? As someone who will lightly push the bike on the street do I need to worry about it, or is it really only for hardcore aggressive track riding, which I might not get around to this year?
5. What are the differences between the 2 steering dampers MV sells for the F3 800? The descriptions on the site are pretty much useless!
6. Are there frame sliders available? How much protection is available for the bike? I don't plan on going down, but if I take it to the track I plan to have as much protection as possible just in case!
Thanks in advance for your help! I hope to soon join the ranks of the MV Agusta owners!