The motorcycle is indeed an absolute attention magnet but it isn’t comfortable for long touring.
BHPian SR1602 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Went for the first proper jaunt on the RS 457 over the weekend. Did two round trips to Kanchipuram on Saturday and Sunday.
Things I noted:
- I am staying below 6k RPM because the running in and the engine still packs a sizeable punch. Even if I decelerate down to 40 in 6th, it shows zero hesitancy in picking up speed when I pull the throttle again. That torque band is indeed a Godsend.
- The bike isn’t comfortable for prolonged touring. A lot of people were speaking about its sport touring prowess but the ergos are not touring-friendly, IMO. I’ve had lower back pain, shoulder pain and arm pump like symptoms on the right arm at the end of the ride. I am not at peak fitness at the moment so this could change later.
- The bike hates traffic. This was pretty obvious but on the way back, I got stuck in a 23km long stretch of stop-and-go traffic with a generous dash of total bottlenecks. This was from the point I entered the city in Chromepet to my house in T-Nagar and I was in total pain. There was a lot of heat, I was boiling inside my riding gear and it started to randomly drizzle as well towards the end on Saturday. I think this also had a lot to contribute to my physical soreness as discussed in the previous point.
- Horn is just really bad. I don’t think it had any effect on the highways where the strong winds would have muffled most of its volume.
- The dash is just lovely! The nav system was bugging me a bit while I was leaving Chennai but a phone restart fixed the issue. A quick peek at the deets and you’re in full peace of mind of the situation, how many km you have left and which route you have to take.
- The bike is an absolute attention magnet. Throughout the way, numerous people stopped to get a photo and throw a barrage of questions about the bike. One guy even chased me for close to 3km on the highway just to ask which bike it was, told me it looked amazing and wished me luck. I know I shouldn’t feel proud of this but full celebrity feels indeed.
Outside the renowned Kanchi Varadaraja Swamy Temple. That’s where the family was gathered for the annual Bhramahotsav.
Customary “mama on motorcycle” picture
The odo now reads at 447km, so just 553 more to go before the first service (and hopefully the quickshifter install as well).
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