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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 16th May 2010 15:09
Posts: 637,
Visits: 1,168
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| Just finished reading the Denmark trip blog in it's entirety - very entertaining. Loved the guys with their Harley-on-a-trailer: rather like the people who drive to race meetings, then get their leathers and helmets out of the boot for when they walk around. And Hayabusa man: sounds like he should've bought a Harley, too! Nice to see your mate Poul's a fellow RF owner. Good bike (as I'm sure I've said before!): sleeved down GSXR1100 engine, 12500rpm redline and only 5 gears for a fairly genuine 160+ mph - that'll do it for plenty of grunt and acceleration. In the right hands, they're quite capable of surprising hardened sportsbikes... Obviously no grenades or shotguns involved: in fact it all sounds remarkably civilised and welcoming! Bet you're extremely pleased with the whole trip - and quite rightly so. Thanks for sharing it with us (well, and the rest of the internet, obviously).
>> ex silens nox noctis <<
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 23rd August 2010 20:19
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Visits: 1,795
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Thanks, buddy - glad you liked it! Yes, Poul's RF gave me a big surprise. I thoight they were a bit dull, like my old GSX750F, but I was wrong on that. The Pan can accelerate hard when it wants to, but going for a maximum drag-strip launch from some traffic lights, bouncing it off the rev-limiter through the gears, and then having an RF whoosh past up your inside, made me alter my views. Well under-rated.
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2003 ST1300 Pan Euro
1995 Yam XT600E
http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 16th May 2010 15:09
Posts: 637,
Visits: 1,168
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I have seen similar expressions of surprise once or twice!  Mind you, I could say the same thing of the Pan: given how big they are, they're capable of a quite astonishing turn of speed and a surprising degree of nimbleness. I guess the Massey-Ferguson levels of torque help a bit with the former, and Honda's normally beautifully-balanced ergonomics can't hurt with the latter. To be fair, I don't suppose the plod high-speed brigade picked them by accident...
>> ex silens nox noctis <<
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 23rd August 2010 20:19
Posts: 1,002,
Visits: 1,795
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The Pan is very torquey between 3 and 6k, and it's easy just to ride along on this. Power is there all the way to the redline (8.5k), but there's no top-end rush, so no need to go there. In fact, I only discovered the rev limiter on that ride with Poul, when I was really going for it. Up until then, I had just changed up when it felt right, and it didn't seem too slow doing that  The bike really feels as though the weight is carried between your ankles, which is exactly where the crank is placed. You know it's heavy and bulky, but it seems to change direction easily, and while I don't think you would call it 'flickable', it's certainly much nimbler than it looks. Lucky for Honda that the plod bought so many, and lucky for us that they suddenly sold them all on after a couple of years after the high-speed weave thing. Which, by the way, I haven't come close to experiencing.
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2003 ST1300 Pan Euro
1995 Yam XT600E
http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/
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