[Phlipper]

So I'm only at about 400 miles due to spending a week in hospital and have just got back on a couple days ago. On a brand new bike I baby it around town the first 250 miles, never more than 1/3 throttle, varying rpms, no highway droning, lots of breaks, etc. After 250 I get farther into the power and have now wound it out past 5000 rpms (amazing experience the first time, btw). And I'll start commuting on it to work tomorrow doing my 4 hr round trip twice a week. My new route has quite a few twisty miles that aren't clogged with deer like many. I leave home at 0400 hrs and my old route was an almost continuous deer-dodge for most of it.

The cold startup is a pain some mornings, but nothing like that first week. And I rarely experience the surging anymore. It's perfectly livable as is.

It takes me a while to warm up to a new bike. I rarely have that honeymoon thing. Usually my first 1000 miles is nitpicking things I know I'll have to change. But I am slowly falling in love with this thing. The customized Sportster I traded in on it was very special. But no buyers remorse yet.

So far ...

LIKES
- The engine is amazing. I have barely tapped into the power thus far but have been mega impressed. Love the torque and love the rush past 5000 rpms.

- Transmission is very smooth and positive. I have found neutral a couple times when wearing thin tennis shoes. But that's on me.

- Brakes have a very nice feel. Very positive. Haven't run it hard enough to feel any fade but I don't expect I will be disappointed.

- I was surprised by the way it drops into corners. It's not as quick to turn in as my Street Triple and with the stock tires I'm not taking it to the edge of the tires. Feels a little weird, but still impressive considering the way it's built. Even with the flat tracker tires it still seems relatively stable once in the turn as long as I'm not on the edge. Doesn't try to stand up on me. Never feels squirrelly unless I whack the throttle - and it doesn't take much to get sideways when I do.

- The switch gear is very nicely laid out and has been an easy transition moving from my Sportster and now back and forth from my Road King and Scout. Just like the Scout, I love the info I can get from the screen.

- Having cruise control will be a God-send on long club runs. Works perfectly.

- The stock exhaust has changed with break-in and is very sweet when winding it out. I like that there are good, yet inexpensive options if I want to change it.

- The rider's triangle is perfect for my 6' frame. Canted forward just enough that the lack of windscreen isn't an issue till past 80 mph. No pressure on my wrists. Rearsets are not too rearward. I can shift butt cheeks pretty easily when repositioning for curves. Standing up on it is easy, too, for bad road sections. I definitely want to hit a few fire roads on it before the tire change.

- The stock seat isn't bad at all. I love the sticky cover. Lots of friction. It has been pretty comfy so far. We'll see if that holds true when commuting starts tomorrow.

- The stock tires seems to break loose a little too easily, and WAY too easily in the wet. But somehow this thing never seems to get out of shape. I was absolutely amazed at how comfortable I was sliding it around in the rain. The overall geometry is, of course 'flat tracker inspired' and this must have something to do with it. I'm not one of those guys who practices drifting and whatnot. But this has been a lot of fun. I am totally comfortable sideways on it. I would never do this with a brand new bike, usually. Not on purpose at least. I am definitely going to find some dirt before changing tires.

DISLIKES
- The cold startup can be a pain. I have to hold a bit of throttle in on first startup till it hits 120F or so.

- The stock tires aren't so hot. Probably a lot if fun in dirt, but need much better feel on the road, especially in the wet.

- I've had a hard time adjusting to the rear brake pedal location for some reason. I like everything else about the positioning. But I am not nailing the rear brake pedal consistently. Feels like it needs to be rotated upwards a bit.

- Lack of in-stock windscreens.

PLANNED CHANGES
- Coffman shorty exhaust with cat left in.

- Ryan's ECU flash

- Conti RA 3 tires

- Tallest smoke-colored windscreen I can find

- Gel pads added to seat and recovered in tan, hopefully with the same hi-friction feel of the stocker.

- Extended front mud flap

- Rear tire hugger

- Radiator guard

- Frame sliders

- Removing the rear fender monstrosity, but will add the luggage rack to the rear with plastic underneath to keep the mud off my patch.

Again ... glad I took the plunge on this thing. I'm falling in love with it.

 

[ferraiolo1]

Again please don’t waste money on that pathetic excuse for an over priced exhaust tip.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Phlipper]

I loved the Coffman on the Street Triple, with the DB killer in. I think it'll sound killer. If not ... no big loss.

 

[K9F]

Again please don’t waste money on that pathetic excuse for an over priced exhaust tip.

Or the rear tire hugger to avoid disappointment. They do absolutely nothing on the FTR.

 

[ferraiolo1]

It’s just a $250 glorified autozone exhaust tip lol. You can run the bike with just the cat and no tip and it will sound the same and your wallet will feel better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Phlipper]

Nah ... based on my actual experience with the Coffman on a Stripple, hearing it/taking it for a ride on a GSX S1000, and hearing it on a Z900 compared to a straight pipe that's not really true at all. I want to see how it does on an FTR. But thanks for the feedback just the same.

 

[bgillen35]

It’s just a $250 glorified autozone exhaust tip lol. You can run the bike with just the cat and no tip and it will sound the same and your wallet will feel better.

I'm happy with my $6 autozone exhaust tip! Sounded better, in my opinion, than the FTR I met that had a bassani slip on.

 

[ferraiolo1]

Nah ... based on my actual experience with the Coffman on a Stripple, hearing it/taking it for a ride on a GSX S1000, and hearing it on a Z900 compared to a straight pipe that's not really true at all. I want to see how it does on an FTR. But thanks for the feedback just the same.

Very different bikes. The massive cat on the ftr does most of the muffling.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Phlipper]

"No I've never actually tried the thing or know anyone who has but you're an idiot for buying one cuz they suck."

Internet gonna internet.

 

[ferraiolo1]

Lol, I’ve played with them. They used to be $99 then squids started buying them up and putting them on their gxsrs, because they could pull the baffle and make them loud. so they upped the price for the same exhaust tip to $250. Most people see them and laugh at what they are for the price.

For a little More money you can have an actual exhaust.

But if it makes you happy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Max Kool]

The S&S slipon is pretty affordable and looks 1000x better. I hate to say this but Cofman is not worth their money.

 

[rustybumbler]

I went with the Bassani exhaust and Fuelmoto tunes...been awesome thus far. Personally, I like the look since it cleans it up and you can see the swing arm etc. I added the wind screen & luggage rack and all good mods for me commuting pretty much daily. Def the best bike I've ever owned.

 

[Phlipper]

I have finally experienced the rolling shut-off. Once Sunday night, and again Monday morning pulling into the station. Pulled in the clutch, a little blip ... nothing. And it seemed like it wouldn't fire back up just rolling in 3rd gear. Had to actually pull the clutch and bump the starter. Very odd. Almost got hit from behind on the second one.

Going in for my 500-mile service next couple days. Will talk to service about it. I am bristling at having to put out another $500 to make new bike run correctly.

Now that I'm hammering it a bit I am still impressed by the afterburner-like acceleration that kicks in above 5k. But I am feeling the dip around 5500 - 6000 that I see in the dyno charts. It is quite noticeable. I'm hoping the ECU flash or FM controller can mitigate that somewhat, as well as the horrible cold start and running shut-off issues.

It does get a bit vibey in the upper RPMs. But it's a V-Twin ... not a triple. And it's not a showstopper.

It's like the bike is thiiiiiiis close (holding two fingers close together) to being the perfect motorcycle for a V-Twin twisty monster for my work commute and that I can still ride in the pack with the club. I think with the fueling issues fixed I will be totally in love with it.

I'm also finding the exhaust note changing with mileage. It's a bit louder and deeper. I'm kinda digging it. Think I'm gonna pull the baffles from the stock pipes and try that for a couple months. It would be nice to drop some weight but it already has more power-to-weight than I will use nowadays.

 

[Phlipper]

I'm happy with my $6 autozone exhaust tip! Sounded better, in my opinion, than the FTR I met that had a bassani slip on.

View attachment 629229

Did you rivet or screw that onto the stub coming off the cat? Or just use a clamp?

Any white plugs, increased decel popping, higher temps, loss of torque, etc.? Or have you been flashed or otherwise fuel controlled?

 

[Timps27]

As has been stated before, the cat on this bike is the real back pressure and sound chamber. If you leave the cat on you can pretty much put whatever you like (or nothing at all) behind it and the bike will operate exactly as it does with the stock muffler.

 

[bgillen35]

Did you rivet or screw that onto the stub coming off the cat? Or just use a clamp?

Any white plugs, increased decel popping, higher temps, loss of torque, etc.? Or have you been flashed or otherwise fuel controlled?

I just screwed it on. The pipe is too thick to clamp down, even with relief cuts.

I ran it like that for 3,000+ miles before getting a tune. It was a bit raspy on downshifts but no worse than the stock pipes, just not as muffled. The tune got rid of it completely (a little part of me misses the sound). Otherwise no loss of power or anything else you asked, ran just like stock. Haven't had to pull the plugs yet but I dont foresee any issues when I do.

 

[ferraiolo1]

Your tune will eliminate that hot stall


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Phlipper]

It's at the dealer now for the 500 mi service (first time I've let a dealer do it in 38 years) and to look at the rolling shutoff/hot stall. I'm not paying $500 out of pocket to make a brand new bike safe. I can deal with the cold natured-ness. Even the occasional stuttering. But the shut-off thing is dangerous.

I've bought four bikes from them in five years and only one was a hot mess CS experience. I have faith they'll figure something out.

 

[ferraiolo1]

If you bought the bike new it probably already has the ah2 indian update. There is nothing more to “figure out” after that.

Some people have gotten their dealers to pay for the tune.

And I thought you were planning on buying the flash after 500 miles anyway?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[K9F]

...........But the shut-off thing is dangerous. I've bought four bikes from them in five years and only one was a hot mess CS experience. I have faith they'll figure something out.

Cat is definitely staying. Just a slip-on and eventual flash.

Just get the flash done now and save yourself stress and bother! The bike can then be ridden and relied upon to do what you demand of it!

Unfortunately as you appear to have one of the bikes that are particularly irksome there is plenty of information on what the fix is as the Mothership can do very little. 'Point of Principle' will do nothing but frustrate matters further and the fix unfortunately will mean you either digging a little deeper, negotiating another like for like bike (which could present the same issues) or simply getting shot and moving on.