I went on a Demo ride today put on by Velocity Motorsports in Mechanicsburg PA.
Velocity Cycles Pennsylvania Honda BMW,Aprilia and QLink Motorcycle ATV and Scooter Dealer 717-766-2523
I drove down 3hrs from Binghamton to ride bikes for an hour, it was worth it.
They had a BMW S100RR and an Aprillia RSV4 available for a test rides! Most dealers wont even let ya take a scooter around the parking lot, much less 2 bikes like these for an hour long ride. The set-up was 3 riders go out at a time, the 2 guest riders on the BMW and Aprillia, half hour on each bike then switch, and the "Tour guide" Mike to lead us.
I got there a bit early looked around the shop a bit until a spotted the other rider Id be goin out with. I was a bit worried about this on the drive down, didnt wanna end up with some idiot that made the ride unsafe or difficult, I lucked out in this department. The other rider was a Motorcycle Safety Program instructor of all things. Looks like I'd be the on the ride thats getting worried about
We did some paper work then went riding. I started out on the RSV4, it was surprisingly comfortable, the seat was pretty firm but well contoured. It was an agressive riding position as expected, but not too bad. The V4 engine was something very different, it had a V-twin rumble to it and made good power, but when i hit a switchback in 2nd when it wanted 1st, i could really tell. The vibration wasnt very fun at all, I could feel it all the way through the rev range and hands were getting numb after the half hour ride. It cruised right along around 5k RPMs, and pulled nicely and didnt seem to lack power, just needed the cylinder arrangement re-worked. IMO The gearbox was geat, a stand out, firm precise shifts. There was a red shift light that flickered from 6k up, when I first saw it I thought i broke something, red lights on the dash scare me. It fell into the corners nicely but didnt fell as stable as the BMW. The brakes were great, grabbed fast and stopped ya on a dime. Overall, a good bike, just not diggin the V4 feel.
Now, for the BMW... WOW, what a machine. There were 3 modes, Rain, sport, and race. An article on the wall in the dealer said there was also a track/slick mode availble for track days too. I started in sport mode, not wanting to anger the beast to early, that lasted all of 2min then race mode it was The power felt great, pulled hard all the way to 9.5k where i found a limiter
The bike had 900miles on it, so im no sure if it was a break in period limiter or demo ride limiter. That was a bit disapointing, as the 185hp is made around 13k RPM, so I didnt get to feel the full power, maybe Mr. Anderson will let my try his, as im experienced on the Bimmer now oh well, still got to ride one
The handleing was amazing, it felt confident in the corners and just went exactly where you wanted it. Im used to riding a 7 over, 240 rear, so there handling difference was HUGE, but even compared to my friend stock Zx10 it had a noticable advantage, made it look like i knew what I was doing.
I also heard the greatest noise I have ever heard on the BMW. The WOT clutchless upshift
WOW! other than the change in the exhaust note, you really couldnt tell you shifted, seemless and smooth, truly amazing.
Overall a great day of riding, i never thought id get to ride these to bikes without buying em, I think owning and riding a Busa helped assure Mike that i would be able to handle these bikes, tho he was disapointed that i didnt ride the Busa down, but with my seat at New image,well...
There ya have it, an idiots review to Euro Superbikes, been a long day, but well worth it. If anyones in the Mechanicsburg area of PA, stop in at Velocity cylces, good people there.
Now to come up with $14k to go buy one
Thanks again to Craigntx for the headsup on this
Velocity Cycles Pennsylvania Honda BMW,Aprilia and QLink Motorcycle ATV and Scooter Dealer 717-766-2523
I drove down 3hrs from Binghamton to ride bikes for an hour, it was worth it.
They had a BMW S100RR and an Aprillia RSV4 available for a test rides! Most dealers wont even let ya take a scooter around the parking lot, much less 2 bikes like these for an hour long ride. The set-up was 3 riders go out at a time, the 2 guest riders on the BMW and Aprillia, half hour on each bike then switch, and the "Tour guide" Mike to lead us.
I got there a bit early looked around the shop a bit until a spotted the other rider Id be goin out with. I was a bit worried about this on the drive down, didnt wanna end up with some idiot that made the ride unsafe or difficult, I lucked out in this department. The other rider was a Motorcycle Safety Program instructor of all things. Looks like I'd be the on the ride thats getting worried about
We did some paper work then went riding. I started out on the RSV4, it was surprisingly comfortable, the seat was pretty firm but well contoured. It was an agressive riding position as expected, but not too bad. The V4 engine was something very different, it had a V-twin rumble to it and made good power, but when i hit a switchback in 2nd when it wanted 1st, i could really tell. The vibration wasnt very fun at all, I could feel it all the way through the rev range and hands were getting numb after the half hour ride. It cruised right along around 5k RPMs, and pulled nicely and didnt seem to lack power, just needed the cylinder arrangement re-worked. IMO The gearbox was geat, a stand out, firm precise shifts. There was a red shift light that flickered from 6k up, when I first saw it I thought i broke something, red lights on the dash scare me. It fell into the corners nicely but didnt fell as stable as the BMW. The brakes were great, grabbed fast and stopped ya on a dime. Overall, a good bike, just not diggin the V4 feel.
Now, for the BMW... WOW, what a machine. There were 3 modes, Rain, sport, and race. An article on the wall in the dealer said there was also a track/slick mode availble for track days too. I started in sport mode, not wanting to anger the beast to early, that lasted all of 2min then race mode it was
The power felt great, pulled hard all the way to 9.5k where i found a limiter The bike had 900miles on it, so im no sure if it was a break in period limiter or demo ride limiter. That was a bit disapointing, as the 185hp is made around 13k RPM, so I didnt get to feel the full power, maybe Mr. Anderson will let my try his, as im experienced on the Bimmer now oh well, still got to ride one The handleing was amazing, it felt confident in the corners and just went exactly where you wanted it. Im used to riding a 7 over, 240 rear, so there handling difference was HUGE, but even compared to my friend stock Zx10 it had a noticable advantage, made it look like i knew what I was doing.
I also heard the greatest noise I have ever heard on the BMW. The WOT clutchless upshift
WOW! other than the change in the exhaust note, you really couldnt tell you shifted, seemless and smooth, truly amazing. Overall a great day of riding, i never thought id get to ride these to bikes without buying em, I think owning and riding a Busa helped assure Mike that i would be able to handle these bikes, tho he was disapointed that i didnt ride the Busa down, but with my seat at New image,well...
There ya have it, an idiots review to Euro Superbikes, been a long day, but well worth it. If anyones in the Mechanicsburg area of PA, stop in at Velocity cylces, good people there.
Now to come up with $14k to go buy one
Thanks again to Craigntx for the headsup on this
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