It was an offer I couldn't refuse - My friend Dean (who just got a 750 Brutale) brought his work colleague Martin with on our breakfast run this morning. I guess he could tell I was pretty interested in his ride, a Suzuki M109r - So he offered to swap. Yes, I know he just wanted to get on mine( ), but still nice of him. We did our normal (180kph sweeps) route a couple times to get a feel of the bikes - This isn't his bike, just a pic from motorcycleusa.com, but his is the same colour.
Fooking hell, what an awesomely fun ride! The torque is just.. well - it's just addictive. The sound (obligatory open pipes) is terrifying in a satisfying apocalyptic here-I-come-motherf... way ! Hit 6th gear and just wind it on like a massive elastic band and roar to the world 'I give exactly zero fook about you'... Bad I know.
But that's the point !
Crazy as this statement seems, although the sitting position is miles apart, you get the same bad-ass hooligan feel as the SD - You're goaded into riding like a dick . I've ridden a v-rod before and it's just too... cultured... I don't like culture in my bikes. And I think it looks amazing. And I was far from the only one with that opinion!
The handling is... interesting . He's put a 280 ( ) on the back. I've put less effort in at gym than I needed to get that bastard to turn! I arrived at the first corner WAAAY too quickly for my knowledge of the bike, and that's the last thing to do when you didn't initiate the turn at least one suburb before you reach it !!! He says the std 240 is much easier. No shit .
Incidentally, that very same corner, Martin told me he almost went into the bushes too. But on the inside of the corner ! Bunch of tits, yes...
Once I got the hang of it (relatively), I really felt I was earning my breakfast bending that lardass beast to my will, made me feel like I'd accomplished something monumental, very fulfilling. It took a tad more lean than I thought it would, but yes I touched the pegs almost every corner after the first run. Shat myself the first couple times.
Felt pretty bad about it too, until Martin told me he puts 1/2" plates under the pegs (which he replaces every 4th or 5th ride ...
He let me ride into the town to get breakfast, that involved tight 60-100kph bends, and when I tried to keep up to him, it lost a lot of it's lustre - It's obviously not made for that, but it was a lot worse than I thought it'd be.
But it made up for that when EVERYBODY at the breakfast stop looked at it (and me), and I mean everyone! I'm normally shy, honest, but I loved the attention. I blipped the throttle everywhere, even when shutting down - Honestly, I felt like a bloody king.
I'm used to getting all the looks compared to my superbike-riding buddies, but this was another level.
Incidentally Dean was pretty pissed, because Martin got the 2nd glances on my SD, and only then did anyone notice the brutale.
Overall, in my opinion the M109R is a relative of the SD in the way that it's the SD's equivalent in the cruiser market. I love it, I want one, and when I can afford a second bike, I'll seriously consider it.
... Martin on the SD - He told me that he's never ridden anything that steers that fast, and that it took him a good 3 passes before he figured out how to ride it (he's a better rider than me then ).
He said the SD is the exact kind of bike he should not get, and why he got a cruiser for the road, said his licence and bank account would be detroyed in a matter of minutes. He loved it to bits. But also says to get the damn akras on it asap ...
Oh, he races a fully kitted 07 blade that makes 171hp at the wheel.
Fooking hell, what an awesomely fun ride! The torque is just.. well - it's just addictive. The sound (obligatory open pipes) is terrifying in a satisfying apocalyptic here-I-come-motherf... way ! Hit 6th gear and just wind it on like a massive elastic band and roar to the world 'I give exactly zero fook about you'... Bad I know.
But that's the point !
Crazy as this statement seems, although the sitting position is miles apart, you get the same bad-ass hooligan feel as the SD - You're goaded into riding like a dick . I've ridden a v-rod before and it's just too... cultured... I don't like culture in my bikes. And I think it looks amazing. And I was far from the only one with that opinion!
The handling is... interesting . He's put a 280 ( ) on the back. I've put less effort in at gym than I needed to get that bastard to turn! I arrived at the first corner WAAAY too quickly for my knowledge of the bike, and that's the last thing to do when you didn't initiate the turn at least one suburb before you reach it !!! He says the std 240 is much easier. No shit .
Incidentally, that very same corner, Martin told me he almost went into the bushes too. But on the inside of the corner ! Bunch of tits, yes...
Once I got the hang of it (relatively), I really felt I was earning my breakfast bending that lardass beast to my will, made me feel like I'd accomplished something monumental, very fulfilling. It took a tad more lean than I thought it would, but yes I touched the pegs almost every corner after the first run. Shat myself the first couple times.
Felt pretty bad about it too, until Martin told me he puts 1/2" plates under the pegs (which he replaces every 4th or 5th ride ...
He let me ride into the town to get breakfast, that involved tight 60-100kph bends, and when I tried to keep up to him, it lost a lot of it's lustre - It's obviously not made for that, but it was a lot worse than I thought it'd be.
But it made up for that when EVERYBODY at the breakfast stop looked at it (and me), and I mean everyone! I'm normally shy, honest, but I loved the attention. I blipped the throttle everywhere, even when shutting down - Honestly, I felt like a bloody king.
I'm used to getting all the looks compared to my superbike-riding buddies, but this was another level.
Incidentally Dean was pretty pissed, because Martin got the 2nd glances on my SD, and only then did anyone notice the brutale.
Overall, in my opinion the M109R is a relative of the SD in the way that it's the SD's equivalent in the cruiser market. I love it, I want one, and when I can afford a second bike, I'll seriously consider it.
... Martin on the SD - He told me that he's never ridden anything that steers that fast, and that it took him a good 3 passes before he figured out how to ride it (he's a better rider than me then ).
He said the SD is the exact kind of bike he should not get, and why he got a cruiser for the road, said his licence and bank account would be detroyed in a matter of minutes. He loved it to bits. But also says to get the damn akras on it asap ...
Oh, he races a fully kitted 07 blade that makes 171hp at the wheel.
