Tuono first ride.....

Well took the opposition out for its first blast today.

Only 20 mins riding but enough to get a taste for what its like, after meeting my mate at his house to see his new T factory, pulled the bars back as they were a bit far forward for me (much better after), in relation to the SD here are my + and -.

Negatives:

-Back brake non existant (and I use it)
-Suspension is gash, rear bottoms out too easily, front is a bit plush as it stands.
-Does not sound as good with open Akras.
-Side stand needs to be longer.
-windblast compared to the SD.

Positives:

-Oh the power, pulls like a mo fo, where the SD lags between 100-140 it keeps pulling.
-Dash although mists up has some great functions, lap timer, you can change the shifter light/rev limiter to what ever you like, top speed, you can change display etc.
-Fits me better, feels like your in the bike rather than on top.
-Gear box is better than my SD.

Wont comment on the handling as was not pushing it and suspension needs work, its come with pretty brand spanking Pirelli Angels and used to Racetecs.

Overall was a nice ride, will see if has that appeal that kept my attention with the SD for so long, its definately going to be a weapon once its sorted, going to check the suspension settings are the same as from the factory.

Apart from the power, my first opinion is the SD is a better bike as stock, lets see if if can compare after fettling.

They are also ooogly as fook, but you have failed to mention that.

Although kudos for the fact that retired shell-suit designers still have a company that will willingly employ their design skills.

Dutch, I will give you that, I would not say ugly but not as clean as the SD.

(gets coat and wanders to tuono forum )

Just for the record, I owned an RSVR Factory and as they are basically the same bike just covered, I will mention that the stock Ohlins suspension is the NUTS...

BUT...

You MUST set the suspension up properly as it is extremely sensitive.

Using the stock settings from the factory will not feel right for most folks (IMO) but once you set the sag and tweak it a bit it is AWESOME...

Will be good to see how it goes on track once youve sorted the suspension out etc!

I rode a mates for about 20miles on a sunday blast the once, the only thing that stuck in my mind was how high the bars felt maybe its cuz your sat in the bike rather than on it The racers must feel the same as 1 of the 1st mods is to stick flat bars on them (they also drop the forks through the clamps between 5 & 10mm so they turn in quicker )

Bars are not too bad as Im quite tall, but agree they could be lower.

Lookign for a rear shock (ohlins) when I stand over the bike I can push the rear shock through the seat and bottom it out

May well drop the forks too

i put Angels on mine and aint that empressed!!! Fookin great if you want to wheelspin up the rd but when you really push it u just remember the wheelspin
Must admit the Diablo's that were the standards were a lot more user friendly and u knew where u were with them

Has anyone else tried the Angels?

I tried one before buying the SD.

The reason I didnt buy it was that I wanted a change from a superbike. The Tuono felt like a slightly heavier, slightly slower, slightly less good all round version of the K5 Gixer I had at the time. If I was going to have a superbike why not have the best one available and I already had that.

I wanted a change and for me the SD felt like a completely different animal whilst still offering good breaks, handeling and reasonable go. Head to head on track I would probably be faster on the Tuono but I think the SD is better for the road.

It was the only other bike I seriously considered though and the new V4 one has me wondering as well....

Jamie (twisted jester) raved about them. He was pushing them to their limits around Lydden Hill. I have to say following him around there was slightly scary. I was expecting to see his tyres break away but fair play they didn't. Not a tyre I would have faith in on track though. Racetec all the way please

I'm surprised to hear you say that Robbo, the only time I've had problems with wheelspin on the angels is on track when going from cranked over with my knee on the deck and starting to build the power and picking her up coming onto a straight (not including the cold tyre 90 degree left I got wrong at lydden, ) but I've always been able to control it and reign it in, never ever have I had any problems on the road, not a single scary moment, I felt confident with them from day 1, they scrubbed in real quick and I've ridden them through rain, cold and heat, never has anybody on "stickier" tyres got away from me on the road, I won't hesitate to fit em again for road riding, they did a hell of a lot better than I expected on track but are in no way a track tyre and I had to change them to be able to go faster, it didn't stop them moving me into fast group at Brands while running them though.

Perhaps those orange wheels are too fast for em, compared to the slow grey (may as well be black) ones I'm running .