Initial ride impressions

Probably not, but I did have to adjust my chain at about 200 miles, it was about 80mm, specs call for 61mm while on sidestand. Probably will not need another adjustment for many miles as the chain stretches in the first few hundred miles.

I'm 185 without gear and carry 36L topcase with about 12 lbs of stuff. Suspension is pretty good right now, might could loosen up the preload about 3 or 4 clicks.

1st ride

Took the demo strada out on Friday,
Had to wait a while whilst they drained the diesel out the tank and purge the system !!!!, lot of smoke and flames out the exhaust before it finally cleared.
I didn't even attempt to sit on the SP as i couldn't even touch the floor on the standard motard they had in the showroom.
They fitted the lower seat to the Strada for me and this was still a struggle, but could manage sliding a cheek off the seat.
Found swinging my leg over was a huge struggle, so used the footpeg to stand on 1st, whilst still on the side stand. The side stand was also a pita, but managed using my toe.
Found the lower seat option very hard as hardly any padding in it.
As for the ride though i loved it, the different modes work so well, kept mainly in touring mode but tried the sport and that was amazing.
It reminded me of when i was 17 and got on an RD350YPVS for the 1st time. Huge grin factor.

I have changed my order for the standard strada now for the special order lower version with standard seat which will allow me the option to fit the lower seat if required.

Just so you know i'm 5'6 with a 29" inside leg.

mentalist said:

Took the demo strada out on Friday,
Had to wait a while whilst they drained the diesel out the tank and purge the system !!!!, lot of smoke and flames out the exhaust before it finally cleared.
I didn't even attempt to sit on the SP as i couldn't even touch the floor on the standard motard they had in the showroom.
They fitted the lower seat to the Strada for me and this was still a struggle, but could manage sliding a cheek off the seat.
Found swinging my leg over was a huge struggle, so used the footpeg to stand on 1st, whilst still on the side stand. The side stand was also a pita, but managed using my toe.
Found the lower seat option very hard as hardly any padding in it.
As for the ride though i loved it, the different modes work so well, kept mainly in touring mode but tried the sport and that was amazing.
It reminded me of when i was 17 and got on an RD350YPVS for the 1st time. Huge grin factor.

I have changed my order for the standard strada now for the special order lower version with standard seat which will allow me the option to fit the lower seat if required.

Just so you know i'm 5'6 with a 29" inside leg.

Click to expand...

I'm the same height but have the standard height Hyperstrada. I just installed the lower seat. It is still a bit of a struggle on my toes. I talked to my dealer about the lower strada but it is new forks and shock. I don't want to spend that kind of money. I removed my center stand which makes it easier to work the side stand. I'm going to look for some thick sole boots to try. I will see how it goes this summer. If all that still doesn't work for me I am going to look into shorting the rear spring a little and sliding the forks up the triple clamps a little.

The lower option ordered from the factory is the same price, my dealer has canceled all his orders for the standard Strada and changed them all to the lower one.
Just means i have to wait longer for mine to come in stock. ETA end of june. I'll be back at work then, so will be July before i get my bike. It will be worth it though, I really did struggle with the height of the standard one.

Dropping front triple clamp was something I did on both my sport bikes. Surprised no one mentioned yet. Will it upset ride dynamics that much? I'd love to lose just an inch or so off the front.

The owners manual states two different amounts of oil in each fork depending on if it is standard or low model.

On mine, I cut 10mm off the spacer and spring (on left fork), to get a better rider sag, so I raised my forks or triple tree all the way to the top of the forks. This is about the same place the axle was with less sag before, so no change in the turnin that I can tell.

I also have my rear shock preload about 4 clicks back from full on so the rear is jacked up some, handles great. I'm 32" inseam and can barely get my leg over without kicking a pannier.

I would like to see how much lower the low version is, might be able to modify it to get my wife on it. LOL She is happy with the 696 tho. I can run and hide from her in the twisties tho!

Just picked up new hyperstrada. Coming from a multistrada, I'm impressed. Engine is so smooth, clutch so light. Surprisingly nice ride and position. Great sound for stock pipe. These are going to sell like hotcakes!

Picked up my red hyperstrada from the Honolulu dealership yesterday. First one in Hawaii. Happy to report that it started after filling tank, the front brakes do not squeak and the panniers seem to come off easily. Hope to continue the trend... As my bike only has a soft 30 miles on it at this point, i will keep my fingers crossed or knock on the wood that this bike gives me. It rides like a dream. Christmas came early for me this year!

The panniers require the key to be exactly 90 degrees to take off or mount and get the key out. First time I removed the pannier, I thought I was finished as I could not get the key out, whew!

Enjoy your new bike!

I remember losing my mind for a good 15 minutes first night home when I couldn't get the key out, and couldn't remember if vertical or horizontal was position to lock/remove key. Bags have been a touchy affair.

Picked up my bike from Raleigh NC yesterday. The ride back home was awesome! I'm really happy I chose the Hyperstrada. Totally different riding experience than the monster was!. It was a 100 mile ride home and I took the back roads to avoid the holiday traffic. Handling is amazing! I can't wait to get this back up to my old stomping grounds in the western part of the state. This thing will make my riding buddy's sad on the twisties

I did not really notice the diving issue with the front end. I do hope that the aftermarket guys come out with some improvements for the fork though. the rebound seems unusually slow to me over choppy roads. I like adjustable suspension to keep my OCD busy XD
I've yet to do any sag measurements/setup on the rear shock though. hopefuly after that it'll even out a little more.

The fly by wire throttle is taking some time to get comfortable with. I'm used to a little more resistance and modulation. this thing seems like it's either on or off. Not that bad in urban mode but omg sport mode on this thing is crazy. I went in and played with the settings and tweaked a few things in touring mode. I think i'll stay with that for a while. I tend to ride more reserved.

Seating position reminds me a lot of my WR250. It's nice to be in a upright seating position again. I did catch myself getting pushed back a bit though when I would apply a little more right hand than needed. I'm used to the more forward seating on the monster keeping my weight down. I ordered a new lower seat for the bike. (I have a 30" inseam" About like I figured it was not there when I went to pick the bike up so i'm riding the stock height right now. I've never felt like I'll drop the bike but putting the side stand up is a pain in the butt. I think the 3/4 of a inch difference will help out a lot. Hopefully i'll get it in the mail sometime this week.

I love this bike!

Sounds good. Right on with the forks. You can probably move them up in the trees nearly an 1" and be okay, but the turn in might be a little quick. Think the springs are a tad firm also, but may wear in some hopefully.

The stiction is pretty bad also. Compared to the base multi12, these forks are not setup that great.

I'm putting this under "initial impressions" even though I have just under 1000KM on the bike. For some reason - no excuse - I'd gotten into a habit of riding the bike in "touring" mode for no other reason than it's how I received it and I fell in love with the smooth feel, nice even power, etc.

Anyway, last night it occurred to me that I still hadn't tried the "sport" mode. !!!Wow!!!

As many have said in various reviews, I likely won't use "sport" as my primary riding mode, but holy crap is it fun. The throttle response is just wicked. I was having so much fun, I didn't even realize that I was 27 KM over the speed limit and quickly accelerating - glad I caught that in time...lots of cops in my area, so I got lucky.

That is why I prefer the sport mode, like the instant on that you get in that mode for throttle response!

I like Sport for quick blasts or running errands but for longer commutes in traffic it's annoying. Touring is just right and I've also modified the DTC/ABS setting on all my modes. I turned Sport into total hooligan mode with DTC & ABS on 1. Think i bumped DTC down to 3 in Touring and left everything else the same. I turned Urban into my rain/wet mode, with DTC on 8/ABS 2.

In sport I turned the DTC off but bumped the ABS up one to 2 haven’t changed any of the others yet still haven hit the first service…..

Hey SuperTen, did you remove the forks to do the oil change and mods you did or did you leave them in place and siphon out the oil. I picked up some 5 wt and was thinking of doing it yesterday with the forks on the bike but didn't want to find out the cap is under extreme pressure and I would have a hard time getting it screwed back in. Please let me know

It would be a good DIY...just sayin'

1200 mile ride report

okay after 1200 miles ere what I have to comment on:
THE GOOD:
Plenty of power - if I need more that's why the bmw s1000rr is in my garage.
Comfortable - With LDC shorts.. awesome can go forever, without.... its okay 500 miles and then I get twitchy.
Controls - all pretty easy to use, I can find the horn button without thinking.
Handling - we all know that's good.
THE BAD
The saddle begs have become increasingly hard to get off the bike, i'm banging on them now.
Turbulence - this bike does not like it, I haven't seen any long distance ride reports by the magazine yet. In clean air its great, the slightest turbulence and the front end gets twitching.
I stood up on the pegs and the heel of my boot caught under the rear stand I believe will have to investigate further but, this was not good at all!

Overall - I am happy with the bike and liking it more and more I ride it. I would buy it again.

picked up my hyper low version on Friday.
Tried it with the lower seat option too, bit opted for the standard touring seat because of the extra comfort, found the lower seat dug into my thighs.
Well all i can say is after doing almost 400 miles at the weekend is that its brilliant and possibly the best bike I've ridden. I love the fact you can change the driving modes to suit.
I did find that occasionally when coming to a corner that when blipping down the gears there is a slight surge just as i was going to turn in, which was a little off putting, but didn't happen all the time.
It's so light and agile, flicks through the bends like a 250 two stroke.
Seems well planted and got some good lean angle although not enough to scrape anything yet!!
I'm made up i waited for the lower version, it fits me so well, when sat on it, even if i'm still on tip toes lol.
Back at work now for a good few weeks and missing it already.
Can't wait to get the 1st service done so i can open it fully up.