fazer_1000
Right, so I had the little 390 for a test ride a few weeks ago, and I thought it might interest some of this forum inhabitants.
I'll try to do it brief.. But first, you should know that what I rode is a 33 BHP version (25 KW if I'm not mistaken), this is because some clerk has yet to pull his thumb out of his arse and match the licence restrictions to the updated one in Europe, where the middle class grew to 47 BHP (32 KW?). It's done by a different map and not mechanically. It retains the same torque figures and I'm pretty sure it has the same rev limit, though couldn't confirm it.
So, basically, same bike as the 125 and the 200, rolling chassis wise. The differences between the bike (aside for the engine displacement that grew thanks to bigger stroke and bore) are:
1. Same suspension but slightly firmer (weight has gone up 9.5 Kg's compared to the 200)
2. Bosch's EXCELLENT 9mb ABS system (switchable, thank god)
3. Metzeler M5's instead of that rubbish Indian Durex.
4. Great color scheme and orange wheels. Hooray!!
Overall feeling, just like with the 200, is that it's not a full blown KTM. Most KTM's, who are made in Austria feel proper and high quality. The smaller ones are, well, premium Indian products. They're OK, but that's it. Slight feeling of cheap around the usual stuff - levers, pegs and such.
It's a small bike. I reach with both feet easy while towering to a midgety 170 cm's. But with a gigantic cock. I'm kidding, it's small as well.
At 150 Kg's (wet!), it's also very light and suitable to all your wifes, girlfriends, boyfriends etc.
The engine is quite dead under 6,000 RPM, and fun starts at about 8,000, just in time to slam into the rev limiter at around 10K. While it has 11 BHP less then usual, it still reached a respectable top speed of 177 Km\h and it's quite fast of the line, but you need to have amateur pianist skills to keep singing and revving.
It has a good chassis. It's small and super agile, very flickable and has a very fast turn in. It's miles better than the new Honda's 500 line with their spongy front forks who colapse during fast input to the bar or go banana's during fast direction changes. Though its suspension are not adjustable in any way, it's quite good as is. The fork is better though than the rear shock, who has a tendency to not cope with fast stuff and under higher loads it colapses, making rear grip harder to find, but that's really when pressed to it's limits.
What surprised me was it's stability in the faster stuff, 80-140 Km\h turns were really nice you can carry very fast speeds through corners and confidence is abundant, unlike some other bikes in it's category, again, Honda's CBR.
Ground clearance is a non-issue, pretty hard to reach the pegs and nothing else would touch before. Most probable is that the rear wheel will loose grip by the time you touch down with the pegs, due to the rear shock having trouble tracking.
Gearing is good with short 1st and 2nd, Which probably are better with 11 BHP more, as otherwise on the tight road we rode, coming out full on in 2nd got the engine banging in the limiter but upshifting would lower the RPM too much to nail a good exit of the turn.
Brakes are just OK. These are the indian Brembo subsidiary ByBre (By Brembo...), with Radial front caliper. Looks nice but in reality it hasn't got initail bite, which is normal and good for begginers bikes, but it also doesn't have much power and for fast decelerations you'd need to put some effort to the lever. Good feel though, and the ABS is really good.
Thing is I'd liked the engine to be a bit more of a barking single, with faster throtle response and snappier power delivery. Again, it's better for beginners the way it is, but then for young riders who are forced to wait until they can upgrade their licence (I think it's a minimum age of 21 here) but still wants to have that hairy chest bike - it's not really it.
Still, of the new crop of A2 bikes (Ninja 300, CBR500, CB500f) this is the lightest (by a mile, 20 kg's less than the Kawi, and stronger when it's not restricted) and perhaps the most fun. It's the sportiest (don't know what British magazine imagine as sporty when they describe the Honda as such) and the one that feels most natural for acting stupid on. It feels small and toy-ish compared to the Honda's, pretty much like the Ninja 300.
In town it's great, just like a scooter and you can go on and slot into the tightest gaps.
Don't know how it's priced in your places, here it's fooking expensive and about 40% more than the 200, which makes it kind of ridiculous.
I'll try to do it brief.. But first, you should know that what I rode is a 33 BHP version (25 KW if I'm not mistaken), this is because some clerk has yet to pull his thumb out of his arse and match the licence restrictions to the updated one in Europe, where the middle class grew to 47 BHP (32 KW?). It's done by a different map and not mechanically. It retains the same torque figures and I'm pretty sure it has the same rev limit, though couldn't confirm it.
So, basically, same bike as the 125 and the 200, rolling chassis wise. The differences between the bike (aside for the engine displacement that grew thanks to bigger stroke and bore) are:
1. Same suspension but slightly firmer (weight has gone up 9.5 Kg's compared to the 200)
2. Bosch's EXCELLENT 9mb ABS system (switchable, thank god)
3. Metzeler M5's instead of that rubbish Indian Durex.
4. Great color scheme and orange wheels. Hooray!!
Overall feeling, just like with the 200, is that it's not a full blown KTM. Most KTM's, who are made in Austria feel proper and high quality. The smaller ones are, well, premium Indian products. They're OK, but that's it. Slight feeling of cheap around the usual stuff - levers, pegs and such.
It's a small bike. I reach with both feet easy while towering to a midgety 170 cm's. But with a gigantic cock. I'm kidding, it's small as well.
At 150 Kg's (wet!), it's also very light and suitable to all your wifes, girlfriends, boyfriends etc.
The engine is quite dead under 6,000 RPM, and fun starts at about 8,000, just in time to slam into the rev limiter at around 10K. While it has 11 BHP less then usual, it still reached a respectable top speed of 177 Km\h and it's quite fast of the line, but you need to have amateur pianist skills to keep singing and revving.
It has a good chassis. It's small and super agile, very flickable and has a very fast turn in. It's miles better than the new Honda's 500 line with their spongy front forks who colapse during fast input to the bar or go banana's during fast direction changes. Though its suspension are not adjustable in any way, it's quite good as is. The fork is better though than the rear shock, who has a tendency to not cope with fast stuff and under higher loads it colapses, making rear grip harder to find, but that's really when pressed to it's limits.
What surprised me was it's stability in the faster stuff, 80-140 Km\h turns were really nice you can carry very fast speeds through corners and confidence is abundant, unlike some other bikes in it's category, again, Honda's CBR.
Ground clearance is a non-issue, pretty hard to reach the pegs and nothing else would touch before. Most probable is that the rear wheel will loose grip by the time you touch down with the pegs, due to the rear shock having trouble tracking.
Gearing is good with short 1st and 2nd, Which probably are better with 11 BHP more, as otherwise on the tight road we rode, coming out full on in 2nd got the engine banging in the limiter but upshifting would lower the RPM too much to nail a good exit of the turn.
Brakes are just OK. These are the indian Brembo subsidiary ByBre (By Brembo...), with Radial front caliper. Looks nice but in reality it hasn't got initail bite, which is normal and good for begginers bikes, but it also doesn't have much power and for fast decelerations you'd need to put some effort to the lever. Good feel though, and the ABS is really good.
Thing is I'd liked the engine to be a bit more of a barking single, with faster throtle response and snappier power delivery. Again, it's better for beginners the way it is, but then for young riders who are forced to wait until they can upgrade their licence (I think it's a minimum age of 21 here) but still wants to have that hairy chest bike - it's not really it.
Still, of the new crop of A2 bikes (Ninja 300, CBR500, CB500f) this is the lightest (by a mile, 20 kg's less than the Kawi, and stronger when it's not restricted) and perhaps the most fun. It's the sportiest (don't know what British magazine imagine as sporty when they describe the Honda as such) and the one that feels most natural for acting stupid on. It feels small and toy-ish compared to the Honda's, pretty much like the Ninja 300.
In town it's great, just like a scooter and you can go on and slot into the tightest gaps.
Don't know how it's priced in your places, here it's fooking expensive and about 40% more than the 200, which makes it kind of ridiculous.
