I have ridden over 3000 miles on the V85 since it had the first service on 6 May. Most of those in Spain on the Figure of 8 reported elsewhere. Update as requested by @gren_t
The bike and I seem to be getting on well. Nothing has broken on the bike and it has used no oil in that time. It coped better with the 40C heatwave in Spain better than I did. Yes, it gets hot but it is not as unpleasant as I had worried about, having had horrible experiences with a Triumph explorer and a S1000XR in very hot conditions. It seems remarkably fuel efficient, aided by my very relaxed touring through the mountains gawping at the views and circumnavigating the bovine, equine and cervine chicanes. Over 60mpg reported. The 23 litre tank defaults to 255 miles after a fill up but that number usually creeps up for a while unless you give it some serious stick.
OE tyres have had to cope with a wide temperature variation, from 7C in the first few mornings in Cantabria to 40C as I rode towards Cordoba. I have also had a few storms to ride through and wet grip seems okay. 4 days (2 in UK, 2 in Spain when unwell with a cold) on motorways have not squared them off. Plenty of tread left on the Dunlop Trailmax Meridian to give them a recommendation. Tyre pressures have remained fine so the tubeless & spoked wheels work well.
Luggage: it works and has been waterproof. I like that you have a keyed lock and the back-up of the sprung loaded clamps that force the clamshell together to make the watertight seal. They small one over the exhaust is big enough to take my CPAP bag with space for spare gloves and I put some soiled clothing in there on the way back. The larger one will take my Neotec 2 helmet, or on this trip, a 35 Litre bag full of spare clothes, puncture kit, jump starter, tyre pump, tools etc. Also a bit of space for more gloves. There only seems to be a small gap between the small pannier and the exhaust but this must be adequate as nothing melted.
Screen: works well at most speeds, although it seems to set up a weird harmonic at around 50mph that my helmet picks up, so I try to avoid that small speed range where it happens. Otherwise fairly quiet at other speeds until you get to 70mph when the noise increases, which seems to be from around the sides of the screen not the top as a Puig deflector on top made little difference. The air seems to hit my chest and then cause turbulence at the base of my helmet leading to the noise.
Engine: it is lovely as you would hope from a v twin. On the way home I rode with a little more urgency to get as many miles done as it was not raining. I left the M5 at Gloucester and rode up to Welshpool on familiar A and B roads. It really likes to hustle along, although overtakes need a little more planning compared to the R1200RS with 125bhp on tap. It makes some nice noises as the revs rise. No oil used.
Handling: with wide bars and forgiving suspension it is an easy bike to ride. It seems to stick to a line and does not get it knickers in a twist of the road is bumpy, Rather a good thing considering the state of the roads in the Burgos district and Andalusia. I was so glad to get back to Cantabria for the last few days. I'm starting to relearn using the rear brake more (last 4 bikes had linked brakes). Especially on tight, downhill hairpins, using the rear brake makes steering a lot easier as you reduce the load on the relatively soft forks.
Comfort: overall very happy. I changed bikes as the RS crouch made my right hip hurt after an hour. I was no longer enjoying riding. No such problem on the V85. The seat is fine for quite some time. I start to shift about at 150 miles and by 200 my arse aches. At 250 I am really glad to get off. Fortunately, I had few days of this length on the trip. The bike does get very warm as you would expect of an air/oil cooled bike especially when you are over 30C. With feet on pegs, you do not get too much directed at you. What I did notice is dropping your feet off the pegs to stretch a bit means your ankles are then getting blasted with hot air from the exhaust. It's a habit I developed to cope with the hip pain, I must try to stop doing it now! I have a universal, mesh seat pad I might try as I used on the RS.
Fuel: in the UK it gets 95E10 from wherever. Often Tesco but sometimes one of the mostly Texaco stations we have around here in villages. In Spain I only saw E5 in 95 or 98 octane flavours. I only used the 95 without worrying about the brand so it got Shell, Repsol and mostly brands you never heard of from the increasing number of discounters. I cannot say I have noticed any difference in performance between E10, E5 or any brand.
Accessories: I have added the Givi Monokey topbox plate and use my trusty E45 box, bought in 1996. Also a SW-Motech Pro Daypack Tank Bag. It's a nice bag but with the zip undone to expand it, the bag flops about a bit. Also added a Thunderbox power unit, connected to a switch live so it is on with the ignition, not just the engine running. This has a lead attached that gives me a 12V cig socket on the bars (a loose fly lead). I can use the socket to power my Zumo 390 (attached to the bars by a RAM U clamp) or my tyre pump (hence wanting it live with the ignition not engine).
In the Sierra de Gredos at 30C with snow topped mountains on the horizon
The bike and I seem to be getting on well. Nothing has broken on the bike and it has used no oil in that time. It coped better with the 40C heatwave in Spain better than I did. Yes, it gets hot but it is not as unpleasant as I had worried about, having had horrible experiences with a Triumph explorer and a S1000XR in very hot conditions. It seems remarkably fuel efficient, aided by my very relaxed touring through the mountains gawping at the views and circumnavigating the bovine, equine and cervine chicanes. Over 60mpg reported. The 23 litre tank defaults to 255 miles after a fill up but that number usually creeps up for a while unless you give it some serious stick.
OE tyres have had to cope with a wide temperature variation, from 7C in the first few mornings in Cantabria to 40C as I rode towards Cordoba. I have also had a few storms to ride through and wet grip seems okay. 4 days (2 in UK, 2 in Spain when unwell with a cold) on motorways have not squared them off. Plenty of tread left on the Dunlop Trailmax Meridian to give them a recommendation. Tyre pressures have remained fine so the tubeless & spoked wheels work well.
Luggage: it works and has been waterproof. I like that you have a keyed lock and the back-up of the sprung loaded clamps that force the clamshell together to make the watertight seal. They small one over the exhaust is big enough to take my CPAP bag with space for spare gloves and I put some soiled clothing in there on the way back. The larger one will take my Neotec 2 helmet, or on this trip, a 35 Litre bag full of spare clothes, puncture kit, jump starter, tyre pump, tools etc. Also a bit of space for more gloves. There only seems to be a small gap between the small pannier and the exhaust but this must be adequate as nothing melted.
Screen: works well at most speeds, although it seems to set up a weird harmonic at around 50mph that my helmet picks up, so I try to avoid that small speed range where it happens. Otherwise fairly quiet at other speeds until you get to 70mph when the noise increases, which seems to be from around the sides of the screen not the top as a Puig deflector on top made little difference. The air seems to hit my chest and then cause turbulence at the base of my helmet leading to the noise.
Engine: it is lovely as you would hope from a v twin. On the way home I rode with a little more urgency to get as many miles done as it was not raining. I left the M5 at Gloucester and rode up to Welshpool on familiar A and B roads. It really likes to hustle along, although overtakes need a little more planning compared to the R1200RS with 125bhp on tap. It makes some nice noises as the revs rise. No oil used.
Handling: with wide bars and forgiving suspension it is an easy bike to ride. It seems to stick to a line and does not get it knickers in a twist of the road is bumpy, Rather a good thing considering the state of the roads in the Burgos district and Andalusia. I was so glad to get back to Cantabria for the last few days. I'm starting to relearn using the rear brake more (last 4 bikes had linked brakes). Especially on tight, downhill hairpins, using the rear brake makes steering a lot easier as you reduce the load on the relatively soft forks.
Comfort: overall very happy. I changed bikes as the RS crouch made my right hip hurt after an hour. I was no longer enjoying riding. No such problem on the V85. The seat is fine for quite some time. I start to shift about at 150 miles and by 200 my arse aches. At 250 I am really glad to get off. Fortunately, I had few days of this length on the trip. The bike does get very warm as you would expect of an air/oil cooled bike especially when you are over 30C. With feet on pegs, you do not get too much directed at you. What I did notice is dropping your feet off the pegs to stretch a bit means your ankles are then getting blasted with hot air from the exhaust. It's a habit I developed to cope with the hip pain, I must try to stop doing it now! I have a universal, mesh seat pad I might try as I used on the RS.
Fuel: in the UK it gets 95E10 from wherever. Often Tesco but sometimes one of the mostly Texaco stations we have around here in villages. In Spain I only saw E5 in 95 or 98 octane flavours. I only used the 95 without worrying about the brand so it got Shell, Repsol and mostly brands you never heard of from the increasing number of discounters. I cannot say I have noticed any difference in performance between E10, E5 or any brand.
Accessories: I have added the Givi Monokey topbox plate and use my trusty E45 box, bought in 1996. Also a SW-Motech Pro Daypack Tank Bag. It's a nice bag but with the zip undone to expand it, the bag flops about a bit. Also added a Thunderbox power unit, connected to a switch live so it is on with the ignition, not just the engine running. This has a lead attached that gives me a 12V cig socket on the bars (a loose fly lead). I can use the socket to power my Zumo 390 (attached to the bars by a RAM U clamp) or my tyre pump (hence wanting it live with the ignition not engine).
In the Sierra de Gredos at 30C with snow topped mountains on the horizon
