Heading home after 1640 miles on the Wing in the last week or so.
A few thoughts whilst they’re fresh in the mind.
The bike was flawless and even better than expected, especially in the comfort stakes.
Averaged 54.3 mpg, which I think is pretty good for a big beast loaded with luggage.
I used the new MyRoute Next app all week, connected via Apple CarPlay.
The new app worked very well, the only minor snag being there is no longer a ‘skip waypoint’ prompt on the screen so to skip a waypoint you have to do it on the phone screen rather than by controls on the TFT.
Apparently MRA are working at tweaking the CarPlay functionality.
I have a Shoei Neotec 2 and initially had the helmet paired to the bike as Rider HS and my phone paired to the bike.
Sometimes it would take a couple of attempts to get CarPlay up and running.
The other snag was if I wanted to pause my Amazon Music, I had to scroll via the left bar buttons the the music app and hit ‘pause’ .
This was a bit of a faff.
After a few days I decided to use my Bluetooth dongle plugged in to the USB socket in left pannier.
So I unpaired both helmet and phone from the bike
, then re-paired the Bluetooth dongle as Rider HS.
I then paired my phone back to the helmet, and avoiding any bike link.
MUCH BETTER.
As soon as I plugged phone in to USB cable in cubby hole, CarPlay would kick into life every time, just like at home when using a non Bluetooth helmet.
This now also meant I could pause and play music via the Neotec buttons rather than left bar controls.
SORTED.
Comfort
The bike proved to be supremely comfortable.
I have three buggered discs and two knackered knees.
I always get a tightness in the shoulder blades during a long bike trip,whatever the bike.
But not with the Wing !!
I’ve got the standard seat but with an OE backrest :
I’ve also got some foldable highway pegs from Wingstuff
This combination proved perfect.
Being able to lean a bit on the backrest stopped any aches and alternating between standard pegs and highway pegs stopped any cramp etc and meant I could stretch out.
The OE screen proved to be brilliant.
The non-Tour Wing comes with a low screen, unlike the Tour.
But with screen fully up it was just fine for wind protection, even at 80mph with Neotec chin guard up.
Then I’d lower the screen through villages on a couple of hot days to get airflow over me
On a previous trip to Brittany I had the tall screen fitted but its needlessly tall in my opinion and on the lowest setting interferes with my line of sight.
I was going to get it cut down about 100mm but think I’ll sell it instead.
Luggage
Probably the only minor fly in the ointment.
The OE panniers are small, as anybody who’s seen a new wing will know.
I have the Shad 58 litre top box and was just fine for my 9 days away, including carrying a drone.
But I’m going to struggle with wifey on a long trip, unless we simply pack light and do some washing every few days.
But try telling her that she doesn’t need four pairs of shoes on a seven day trip !!.
Suspension/Handling etc
Very happy with the OE setup. I wound the preload up to about 3/4 max and it was fine.
Handling was brilliant and gently scraped both pegs a couple of times, but plenty of lean available.
I left the mode in TOUR most of the time as found SPORT was too low geared, even when playing in the mountains.
Much preferred just flicking to manual when wanting a play.
In any case, even in TOUR if you gas the throttle 100% it’ll hang on to the redline before changing up.
Great fun when linking a series of roundabouts and straights together.
Think that’s about it really.
This bike is definitely is my top three of all time bikes.
Just sublime.
A few thoughts whilst they’re fresh in the mind.
The bike was flawless and even better than expected, especially in the comfort stakes.
Averaged 54.3 mpg, which I think is pretty good for a big beast loaded with luggage.
I used the new MyRoute Next app all week, connected via Apple CarPlay.
The new app worked very well, the only minor snag being there is no longer a ‘skip waypoint’ prompt on the screen so to skip a waypoint you have to do it on the phone screen rather than by controls on the TFT.
Apparently MRA are working at tweaking the CarPlay functionality.
I have a Shoei Neotec 2 and initially had the helmet paired to the bike as Rider HS and my phone paired to the bike.
Sometimes it would take a couple of attempts to get CarPlay up and running.
The other snag was if I wanted to pause my Amazon Music, I had to scroll via the left bar buttons the the music app and hit ‘pause’ .
This was a bit of a faff.
After a few days I decided to use my Bluetooth dongle plugged in to the USB socket in left pannier.
So I unpaired both helmet and phone from the bike
, then re-paired the Bluetooth dongle as Rider HS.
I then paired my phone back to the helmet, and avoiding any bike link.
MUCH BETTER.
As soon as I plugged phone in to USB cable in cubby hole, CarPlay would kick into life every time, just like at home when using a non Bluetooth helmet.
This now also meant I could pause and play music via the Neotec buttons rather than left bar controls.
SORTED.
Comfort
The bike proved to be supremely comfortable.
I have three buggered discs and two knackered knees.
I always get a tightness in the shoulder blades during a long bike trip,whatever the bike.
But not with the Wing !!
I’ve got the standard seat but with an OE backrest :
I’ve also got some foldable highway pegs from Wingstuff
This combination proved perfect.
Being able to lean a bit on the backrest stopped any aches and alternating between standard pegs and highway pegs stopped any cramp etc and meant I could stretch out.
The OE screen proved to be brilliant.
The non-Tour Wing comes with a low screen, unlike the Tour.
But with screen fully up it was just fine for wind protection, even at 80mph with Neotec chin guard up.
Then I’d lower the screen through villages on a couple of hot days to get airflow over me
On a previous trip to Brittany I had the tall screen fitted but its needlessly tall in my opinion and on the lowest setting interferes with my line of sight.
I was going to get it cut down about 100mm but think I’ll sell it instead.
Luggage
Probably the only minor fly in the ointment.
The OE panniers are small, as anybody who’s seen a new wing will know.
I have the Shad 58 litre top box and was just fine for my 9 days away, including carrying a drone.
But I’m going to struggle with wifey on a long trip, unless we simply pack light and do some washing every few days.
But try telling her that she doesn’t need four pairs of shoes on a seven day trip !!.
Suspension/Handling etc
Very happy with the OE setup. I wound the preload up to about 3/4 max and it was fine.
Handling was brilliant and gently scraped both pegs a couple of times, but plenty of lean available.
I left the mode in TOUR most of the time as found SPORT was too low geared, even when playing in the mountains.
Much preferred just flicking to manual when wanting a play.
In any case, even in TOUR if you gas the throttle 100% it’ll hang on to the redline before changing up.
Great fun when linking a series of roundabouts and straights together.
Think that’s about it really.
This bike is definitely is my top three of all time bikes.
Just sublime.
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