Category Archives: Reviews

Review: Yamaha Tracer 700 GT

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The “sport tourer” moniker probably brings big muscular bikes to mind, like the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT or the BMW S 1000 XR, or rather bulky long-distance runners such as the FJR1300 or the GSX1250FA.

Going fast is easy with those bikes but if you look for light-footedness in a sport tourer, you need to look somewhere else. Enter the Yamaha Tracer 700 GT.

For a few years now, the Yamaha MT-07 has been a popular model from which Yamaha smartly derives other models. The XSR700 already stole my heart in 2016 and now the (already reasonably touring-oriented) Tracer 700 gets an (even more) touring-oriented relative: the Tracer 700 GT.

The Japanese kept it simple and drafted an easy upgrade: take a stock Tracer 700, exchange the windshield for a bigger one, replace the seat with a comfort seat and mount color-matched 20-liter side cases. There you go: the Yamaha Tracer 700 GT. Price for that suffix: £600, bringing the total to £7,999. That’s an attractive price tag. But isn’t the GT label too promising?

Hop on the comfort seat and you’ll immediately notice that the Tracer 700 GT doesn’t make an overwhelming first impression like the big sport tourers mentioned in the intro do. The Tracer feels compact and very manageable. At 835 mm the seat isn’t Continue reading →

Review: Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory

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The Aprilia Tuono has a lot in common with its donor bike, the RSV4. It still looks a lot like the hypersport, even if it’s a naked bike. It has more body panels than other fat naked bikes on the market. Especially the windscreen is taller than what we are used to. It seems to invite you to tug yourself behind it at higher speeds. A mere sign on the horizon?

Equipment

The Tuono comes in two versions: the RR and the Factory. The Factory has everything what the RR has and adds a racy rear end, Öhlins everywhere and sportier shoes: Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa’s in a wider 200/55 rear tyre are standard on the Factory, while the RR gets 190/55 Diablo Rosso III’s. The Superpole Graphics are exclusive to the Factory. Besides that both models boast a very complete equipment level.

The electronics on this bike are impressive. Don’t say “traction control”, say “Aprilia Performance Ride Control”. It doesn’t just regulate a few thingies but computes real “assistance strategies”: ATC (traction control, adjustable in 8 positions on the go through flippers on the handlebars), AWC (wheelie control, adjustable during riding and softening contacts with the road), ALC (launch control, recommended only for the track), APL (pitlimiter, very practical in city traffic) and ACC (cruise control).

There is also Continue reading →

Review: Yamaha FJR1300AS

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FJR. What do these three letters stand for? Fast Joy Ride? Furiously Jumping Rhino? For Jackass Racers? Nope. The correct (and official) answer is Fast Journey & Ride.

Since many years the Yamaha FJR1300 has a permanent spot in the sports tourer segment. Yamaha introduced this model in 2001. Today it exists in three versions: the FJR1300A (the basic version), the FJR1300AE (with electronically adjustable suspension) and the FJR1300AS (everything from the AE plus a semi-automatic transmission). I had a date with the latter.

The AS, the most complete FJR model, costs £17,099. In return for that pile of pounds you receive a bulky package: generous fairing, electrically adjustable windscreen, two mappings, ABS, switchable traction control, height-adjustable seat, sidecases, electronically adjustable suspension, semi-automatic transmission, cruise control, heated grips, LED lights with front cornering lights, 12v socket, shaft drive. In other words, everything you need and more.

The FJR is perfect for long journeys. The sitting position on the wide seat is comfortable yet slightly bowed towards the handlebars. Yamaha sells the FJR1300 as a sports tourer and not as a pure touring machine, so that forward bend seems legit.

With the windscreen down, only your head’s in the wind. If you raise the screen, there’s minor turbulence around the helmet, depending notably on the traffic in front of you: behind a truck, your head will shudder more than when you’re flying down an empty highway. Also a minor (but subtle) Continue reading →

Review: BMW F 850 GS versus Triumph Tiger 800 XCa

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This is Team Throttle’s very first comparison test and we couldn’t have picked a more appropriate duo than the Triumph Tiger 800 XCa and the BMW F 850 GS. Because both Jean and Jan F have a past with the predecessors of these two newcomers.

In 2015 Jan F bought a Tiger 800 XCa, which now has 37,000 km. The bike did an all-road trip to the Alps, a muddy weekend in the Ardennes and a week in the Sierra Nevada.

In 2016 Jean traded his BMW F 650 GS for a second-hand 800 GS. He added about 60,000 km to the odometer, during – amongst others, of course – that same dirty Ardennes weekend and more recently during Endurofun’s Midsummer Ride.

It’s safe to say that Jan and Jean are hands-on experts. So below you can not only read a comparison between the British and the German bike, we also looked at the progress that this duo makes on their predecessors.

Pain points

Jean: “BMW could certainly make progress. Don’t get me wrong. I like my 800 GS – I find it an excellent all-rounder – but it has some points that can be improved:

– Brakes: On uneven surfaces such as cobblestones they often don’t know whether they should bite or let the ABS do its thing.
– Suspension: Too soft overall. Especially hard braking leads to dramatic front-diving.
– Sound: Not exciting at all.
– Power: Okay-ish but you feel that it’s not a recently developed engine.
– Throttle response: Slight on-off effect. Combined with the suspension it results in a rather jumpy character.”

Jan: “The splendid engine, perfect gearbox and great WP suspension make my Tiger a wonderful bike. Only the wind protection has been annoying me for three years. Turbulence galore! An aftermarket solution helped a bit, but there’s still room for improvement. The brakes can also be enhanced, they are rather spongy. Some complained that in first gear the Tiger dares to stall, especially offroad. Isn’t it, Jean?”

To discover if these pain points were gone, we took both new models on a trip to Luxembourg. There we were treated to a wide range of road and weather conditions. Sun and rain, boring highway and great curves. No offroad unfortunately, because one of the manufacturers said “nein”.

BMW gave us an almost full-option 850 GS, while from Triumph we got an XCa in standard fit.

Jan: “For those who are not familiar with the Tiger 800 range: it’s divided into two lines, the street-oriented XR models and the offroad oriented XC models. Each line has a number of equipment levels, of which the XCa has the highest (and the most expensive) level. In other words: with the XCa, the option list becomes pointless.”

Traffic light sprints

Jean: “While at first sight the Tiger barely changed, BMW clearly unveiled a completely new model. The design leaves no doubt about that.”

Jan: “But let’s focus on the engine first. The 850 GS has a brand new 853 cc two-cylinder engine. With 95 hp it has ten ponies more than the 800 GS. There’s also more torque: 92 Nm at 6.250 rpm. An increase of nine compared to its predecessor, but more importantly: the Tiger 800 peaks later and less high: 79 Nm at 8.050 rpm.”

Jean: “That difference doesn’t go unnoticed. The 850 GS is a lot snappier than the 800 GS. More vivid in low revs, stronger in the middle zone and more power in the higher rev range. As a result, it feels al lot less small GS than the 800. The Tiger too seems less energetic in comparison.”

Jan: “You probably need thorough Tiger knowledge to notice it, but the Tiger 800 has a new windshield, new lights, a new dashboard and control buttons, new mirrors and a new sound. As a result, to me the new Tiger seemed like a totally different bike than my own Tiger: if you ride it, everything you see and hear is different.”

Jean: “The engine also got an update. Triumph claims that it has a more responsive power delivery. Are they telling the truth, Jan?” Continue reading →

Review: Ducati Scramber 1100 Special

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Intermot 2014. Ducati unveils its 800 cc Scrambler in four variations. Soon followed by three extra variations and a 400 cc version. Their lifestyle-oriented approach apparently caught on, because at EICMA 2017 Ducati introduced the Scrambler 1100.

A move that gives the Italians a head start over the British, because Triumph’s bigger Scrambler will see daylight in 2019. So for now, the only direct competitor of the Scrambler 1100 is the BMW R nineT Scrambler.

The Scrambler 1100’s design doesn’t differ that much from the 800, which – with its compact, narrow built – seems to be a noobie bike, although it doesn’t ride like that at all. The 1100 appears more mature, because everything is just a bit bigger. It comes in three variations: “regular“, the stylish Special and the racy Sport. Together with the equipment level, the price rises: $12,995, $14,295 and $14,995. I got my hands on a Special.

Sexy and graceful

The Ducati Scrambler 1100 Special clearly targets those who prefer scramblers with a classic appearance. The spoke wheels, the aluminum fenders and the brown leather seat combined with the gray tank create a timeless look. The finishing is as expected from a Ducati bike: done with care and eye for detail. Even the brake cable curves gracefully.

The gorgeous headlight and the Born Free inscription on the fuel cap are eye-catchers we already saw on the 800 cc Scrambler. There’s also the typical Ducatian, beautifully bending exhaust piping, an elegant display and that sexy rear, thanks to the dual exhausts and the stylish mudguard. Don’t take the word mudguard to literal: it’s so short it won’t guard you from much mud.

Balancing act

In comparison with the design, the engine Continue reading →

Review: Husqvarna Vitpilen 701

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Three years ago Husqvarna presented the prototype of the Vitpilen 701 at EICMA. We had to wait a long time for the final production model. Beginning of this year, at the Brussels Motor Show, it was love at first sight. Now, finally I had the chance to test if this Husky rides as good as it looks.

There’s no accounting for taste, but still: the Vitpilen is a stunner. Design-wise, it deviates very little from the concept model and usually that’s a good thing.

“Simple. Progressive.” That’s the motto Husqvarna uses for the Vitpilen line. This can be seen in the design of both the 701 and the 401: progressive. And unique in the motorcycle business. Just have a look at the odd shape of the tank. Or at “the split”, the yellow line cutting the bike in two. The LED lights, both front and rear, are true design wonders and stylish logos are strewn around without ever being too much.

It’s a shame they threw a GS style license plate fender on it. And how cool would it have been should they’ve kept the open air filter as seen on the concept model?

After all this drooling, it’s time to ride! No explanations beforehand needed because there are only three buttons on the small round dash. These allow you to adjust some menu settings and switch off the traction control or ABS. That’s it. Simple.

With a seat height of 830mm the bike is rather high. The saddle also has Continue reading →

Quick test: Yamaha Niken

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A few weeks ago, Maxxmoto sent me a message. “Jean, Niken test. What do you say?” The Yamaha Niken? That three-wheeled creature that got labelled “the Multipla of motorcycles” online? What do I say? Yes, of course! Because I really doubted Yamaha would release such a controversial machine if they didn’t believe in it for 200%. On top of that, the reactions, photos and videos after the first press introduction were very promising. So off I went, together with a dozen of other curious helmet heads, for a speed date with the Niken.

Whichever way you look at it, the Niken has an odd appearance. It’s not easy to get used to those three wheels. So it makes (sort of) sense that people dislike it, based on looks alone. And if you have a motorcycle license, why would you want two front wheels!? Plenty of prejudices, so it’s time to ride!

The first few meters leaving the parking lot feel weird. There’s no doubt that you’re manipulating two front wheels that are guided by a bulky construction including two forks per wheel (which makes four in total!). It’s not just getting used to, you really have to steer that thing in the direction you want.

But as soon as the speed slightly increases, everything changes. And a new Continue reading →