I bought the ‘19 because of a dealer discount, and there is no difference in the 2020. They had financing deals, but I paid cash and took the discount and rebate instead, which saved me a lot. I am 600 miles in, and first service is this week. I bought it in Sacramento, and my first ride was 170 miles home. Since then, I have taken it to my mom’s house on the coast 150 miles away, and for a ride in our wonderful Sierra Nevada foothills. I am 49 years old, and not really a daredevil rider for context. I have never done a track day, but this bike makes me feel like maybe I should. I have already done the fender eliminator and a Motodynamics integrated tail light to clean up the tail. Other than that, the bike is stock.
You can look up detailed specs if you like. It has a 937 cc Testaretta L twin engine that is a stressed member connected to a tubular steel trellis frame. 110 hp, ans 69 ft-lbs of torque. It weighs 403 lbs.
The S gives you a fully adjustable Ohlins suspension front and rear, three riding modes, ABS, and traction control. For another $2500, you can get a touring package with matching bags and heated handgrips. I didn’t get that. The S also gets you an up/down quickshifter which I didn’t consider as too much of a factor until I rode with it. Holy shit, the quickshifter might be the greatest invention ever. I love it so much that I don’t know how I lived without it. Strongly recommended.
You also get .... that sound. Oh, Lord, that sound. It really is glorious, even with the stock exhaust. The stock silencer is a cool looking double barrel that I am not in a rush to replace.
So far, I really love this bike. It is a purely entertainment purchase for me, so a big factor is I wanted something that made me smile when I walk up to it, and my heart skip a beat when I climb on it. Mission accomplished! Even riding less than 10 minutes to the office has me grinning like an idiot.
You sport bike aficionados might find 110 hp to not be enough, but it is plenty for me. I thought I would be scared to ride it, because it is a big jump from my 47 hp Ninja 400, but it feels so much more stable and handles so well that it is very confidence inducing. If anything, I feel safer.
It has a nifty manually adjustable windscreen that I found really handy on the highway. At highway speeds, even at about 100 mph (hypothetically of course), it had plenty of wind protection and it was easy to duck behind the screen. It is very comfortable on the highway. The three hour trip home from Sacto and the 2.5 hour trip to the coast and then back home were really easy and comfortable, even for an old guy like me. My surgically repaired knee (torn ACL in a Cub Scout beach wiffle ball game in ‘09) was barking at me a little by the time I got back from Sacto, but that was more the knee and less the bike. The seat is shockingly comfortable. Mirrors are small, but provide pretty good visibility. You have to be a little careful on the highway, because it wants to GO. I (hypothetically) found myself at 100 mph a couple of times without realizing it because the thing is so smooth and comfortable.
You of course get the signature one sided swingarm, which I personally think is sexy as hell.
My foothill ride was an absolute blast, and rhe bike ripped through the curves with handling and stability that made me feel like a better rider than I actually am. Banging through gears with the quickshifter made me feel all giggly. As the summer gets hotter, some trips higher into the mountains are in order, and I am looking forward to exploring my favorite local roads. I was going to go out today, but I feel like I need to get that 600 mile oil change and service out of the way first.
All in all, I would highly recommend this bike. If you are looking for a hard-core sport bike it probably isn’t for you, and it also isn’t for you if you want a true sport tourer. It is somewhere at the sport end of touring, or the touring end of sport depending on how you look at it. But if you are a middle aged guy looking for a bike that feels sporty but is still pretty civilized and comfortable, check this one out.
I have played with the riding modes a little, but not enough to really feel the difference between sport and touring, and seem to spend my time in sport. Urban mode cuts your hp to 70, so what is the point of that? I sure as shit didn’t buy a Ducati for that. Anyway, I really dig this bike and feel like it is the perfect bike for me. In the end, that is what really matters, isn’t it?
