Enjoy the new bike Clifton, looks good
See what you mean about the stickers, I normally leave them alone but that one on the radiator cowl is a tad unfortunate
Thank you!Lovely bike health to enjoy it as they say in these parts
........"well wear"
Nice review Clifton. Fabulous looking bike. Enjoy.This afternoon I took the Stelvio out for the first time, accompanied by Jim on his KTM1190. Weather was clear and had warmed to 45 (7c) when I left at noon and got to the mid 50's for a while. The bike had 1 mile when I left and when I filled up 7 miles from the house on the return, the odometer showed 192 with the low fuel light having been on the last 12 miles. We were on paved primary and secondary roads at 30-70mph indicated speeds with a 20 mile Interstate jaunt at 80 indicated (about 75 actual). Heated grips were on I or II (out of III) the entire time and worked well.
I'm 5'-11", 195#, with a 32" inseam and the ergonomics fit me well, if anything I could wish the seat to be maybe both 1/2"-1" taller and rearward for my achy old knees, but the seat itself is fairly comfortable and flat for a stock one. Handlebars are located perfectly and the windscreen and overall wind management is very good.
The engine is delightful and pulls well even when I tried it down at 2,000 rpm in 4th. Fueling is spot on with no flat spots or hesitations anywhere. The throttle is better than on any other bike I've experienced recently with no abruptness at all, very smooth. No vibration or buzzing, at least at any speeds today. The bike idles fairly high at 1400 but Jim's KTM idles about the same so high idling is pretty common anymore.
The gearbox and wet clutch combine to give a light lurch and bang when selecting 1st gear, similar to a modern Harley. Jim's KTM does as well but maybe not quite as abrupt. It's something wet clutch bikes just do, some more so than others. Shifting up and down through the gears (no quick shifter) was nice and no missed shifts so the gearbox works well very, about the same as a Wethead BMW. My only slight gripe is the ratios seem closer than need be with 5th and 6th being a little short. 60 mph (actual) corresponds to 4,000 rpm which seems a little high for a bike with this much power and 6 gears. I wouldn't want 1st any taller, if anything it could be a bit lower, on a bike like this so it's not the FD ratio it's the gearbox ratios. It was fine for the riding I did today but riding in areas with higher speeds I just feel a taller 6th would be nice. I should add it doesn't need a taller gear to keep below an RPM where vibrations begin, at least to 80 mph.
The handling is fairly light and very neutral, it doesn't fall in nor does it need pushed. As a matter of fact I didn't even think about the handling until we'd been riding a while. Like seats I guess, if you don't think about it, it's probably pretty good. Going around a long 270* curved entrance ramp I am always making minor corrections to maintain the line through that curve, but it just followed that curve like it was on a track.
Brakes are strong with a very lineal feel. Surprisingly the rear is particularly good requiring little effort as well. Rear brakes on some motorcycles, like my V85TT and Tenere 700, require a healthy press yet still seem weak. Not so on the Stelvio.
The gravel/dirt road I live on had the front top part of the fairing jiggling around some which of course could be slightly heard as well. Both the instruments and windshield system mount to this area and I can see it all moving around some, more than I think it should. My hunch is it might get worse if ridden a lot on rough roads but maybe not, we'll see. This is really my only build quality complaint and the V85TT cowling area doesn't do this.
I want to get some kind of panniers for sure, preferably top load aluminium. I'll probably also do something with the seat, maybe just fit a sheep skin for longer rides or possibly replace it with an aftermarket one (if someone comes out with one). The windshield seems fine. The exhaust sounds great to my ear and there's no popping so I wouldn't change it if someone gave me one! All in all I'm quite happy with it, too bad about the dull paint finish.
Stelvio uses the same gearing as the Mandello, the only difference being the rear tyre but they're practically the same circumstance. To me it's one of those things that the sportier CR gearing works fine, it's just that I feel wide ratios would have been even better on an adventure motorcycle. Unfortunately most manufacturers feel that changing ratios between bikes is too difficult so we get one box fits all.
Interesting, my Mandello is doing 70 at 4000rpm.
OK then I've made a mistake. Either I misread the GPS or tachometer, or the Mandello has a different 6th gear or FD ratio than the Stelvio. I'll check again. The tyre sizes are different but the difference in circumference is so minuscule (.8% difference) they are essentially the same.
first job on the list for me
I think the matte is looking much better! 
