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Another SVTC owner

2K views 19 replies 5 participants last post by  ChiefGunner 
#1 ·
Hey guys, got another “RED” SVTC owner (akf15e) who had joined the forum! Hey Rich, I guess your gray one IS going to be unique!
Let’s make sure to welcome him!
 
#2 · (Edited)
Not AGAIN?!?!?!?!? It's already hard enough now in this forum to find a freakin' SVTC PARKING SPACE! ;)

Congrats to akf15e! YOU.....---->"chose wisely".... :)

Show us a pic, of what acc's you have loaded your baby up with....inquiring minds wish to know, lol!

...oh...and you have to NAME (like they do a ship when champagne is splashed over the bow...) your ride....that is our unique SVTC/Eluder Forum tradition...gives your bike, personality. Our SVTC is named, Charlotte, after my dear late mother. Go to town...think up a name to make your ride unique, and for your own background reasons....it's fun...and we all are starting to identify with those names...for Chief's SVTC is named; Big Red, who started this thread. GARider's is named Night Fury. We think he only rides at night....to evade the cops and their radar revenue machines...! ;)

Meet Charlotte, a grand Lady, where if miles upon her, was like fine wine, resting in the cellars....mmmmmm, mmmmmm!

(left click once, on a picture, then on THAT picture, left click once more...and you will get full, high rez, full size viewing.)















Joe
 
#3 ·
Hey guys, got another “RED” SVTC owner (akf15e) who had joined the forum! Hey Rich, I guess your gray one IS going to be unique!
Let’s make sure to welcome him!
Not AGAIN?!?!?!?!? It' already hard enough now in this forum to find a freakin' SVTC PARKING SPACE! /forums/images/smilies/wink.gif

Congrats to akf15e! YOU.....---->"chose wisely".... /forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

Show us a pic, of what acc's you have loaded your baby up with....inquiring minds wish to know, lol!

...oh...and you have to NAME (like they do a ship when champagne is splashed over the bow...) your ride....that is our unique SVTC/Eluder Forum tradition...gives your bike, personality. Our SVTC is named, Charlotte, after my dear late mother. Go to town...think up a name to make your ride unique, and for your own background reasons....it's fun...and we all are starting to identify with those names...for Chief's SVTC is named; Big Red, who started this thread. GARider's is named Night Fury. We think he only rides at night....to evade the cops and their radar revenue machines...! /forums/images/smilies/wink.gif

Joe
I hear ya Joe. Think parking is a problem, wait till we show up EN MASS at a gathering!
I love the growth though.
SVTC’s are IN THE HOUSE baby! ?

In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve had a couple other migrate from the other “dead” forum over to here. It’s like VEGAS baby! You go where the ACTION is!
 
#4 ·
I hear ya Joe. Think parking is a problem, wait till we show up EN MASS at a gathering!
I love the growth though.
SVTC’s are IN THE HOUSE baby! ?

In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve had a couple other migrate from the other “dead” forum over to here. It’s like VEGAS baby! You go where the ACTION is!
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL--------------------------------LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL-------------------------------------LOLOLOLOLOLOL :)

I did...notice, and I am sure, there are lurkers here, daily Chief...for the bike is fabulous...the word and 'rides' are getting out...and you just have to know...there WILL BE some 'closet buyer's migrating from their long-in-the-tooth, V4's. You just have to know that....probably already happening....(I mean the not-out-of-the-closet' owners....)....

Joe
 
#9 ·
Hey all,

Thanks for the welcome. I was a member of ISRA for years as a V-Star 1100 rider (2003), but kind of faded away as my riding declined due to work/life commitments. Found this forum as I was contemplating a new ride after 15 years on the V-Star (for sale!!). Wife and I had always talked about a Gold Wing as our next bike. We took lots of long trips on the V-Star, but wanted something more set up for touring - and more comfortable. So I rode a demo 2018 GW DCT and a 2018 SVTC at the dealer and realized a (new) GW was not for me. I told the salesman when I was done that it was an easy choice. The Honda was one smooth and well engineered machine....but I didn't feel like I was riding a motorcycle. Some weird electric scooter feel to it (albeit a very quick scooter). Loved the sound and feel of the Yamaha V-twin. Plus, wife thought the SVTC was much roomier and comfortable - and if she's not happy, no one is happy! Love the cargo space too - Honda really cut their's down. Almost one month in and we're still learning about the SVTC and all it's capabilities and extras. Love it!

Chief - Only accessories so far were new jackets for wife and me. My leathers were getting long in the tooth. We both got new Scorpion 4-season jackets. Ordered some TCX boots, but they're going back - too narrow for my foot. We also ditched our old helmets and sprung for some new Shoei's. Mine's the modular (comfortable!!) and hers is a 3/4. Got the Yammie comm system as well (wired). For the bike I'm already looking for saddlebag protectors (wife's comm cord already scratched the left bag), tank bra/protector, highway pegs, and a cup holder! Other than that, no immediate plans until I have some miles on her and see what else I "need". I suspect I'll want some risers since I needed them on my V-Star and this bike fits me in a similar manner.

Name? Was contemplating "Eagle" or "Red Eagle" since that was the plane I flew in the USAF. The F-15E was a big, gorgeous, badass plane designed to carry a big load, a long way, and was the greatest thing in the air. Seems this bike has similar attributes. WDYT?

Thanks again for the welcome. I'm about 2 years out from retirement and current job keeps me on the road a lot, so I tend to be off the grid for random periods of time - so if I don't respond to posts at times, that's the reason rather than me just being a dick (though I can do that quite well at times my family and friends assure me!) I also have to time share the new ride with my other passion, which is RVing (it's in the background of the pic). Need to find a safe way to tow/attach 965 lbs of beast to the back of a 40 foot trailer - and no, I don't want a toy hauler, because I just paid this one off.
 

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#14 · (Edited)
Switch to SPORT mode, roll on the throttle and it’s like hitting the afterburner on the Eagle! ZOOM!!
I think I was spot on, when I described the performance of the SVTC's 113 C.I. V-Twin as compared to a high performance diesel engine. They break in very slowly, (I mean to see full torque performance, not parts spec'ed mated to run at the full rpm range), and you can run commercial grade diesel engines out to 35000-45000 miles before you even see max performance from the slow revolution engine. I have noticed as I am nearing 9,000 miles that truly, there is more performance not only in the T-Mode that I usually run at, but man oh man...when I now tap into S-Mode, this motorcycle HAULS A**!

I can easily, with my wife aboard, and all three compartments peaked out, EASILY, enter S-Mode, and if I bury the throttle, can EASILY pass one tractor trailer, and three or four cars either ahead of it, or behind it, on any two lane, WITH,...viewing an opposing direction traffic out in the distance. Easily...this bike has such deep grunt torque, it can simply take your breath away....in that the passing power is being provided by two cylinders, abet,massive ones....but still...I do not miss, at all, having a 6 cylinder engine that was in the Goldwing, vs. the V-Twin, twin cylinders. No sir!

I have equal performance...in the real world, where it all matters...passing, overtaking other traffic, a fast crisp merging onto the highway...all of it, WITH---> a 33 percent gain in MPG, over our 2008 GL1800!!! Two up....three luggage compartments packed for whatever...weekend, or extended. No matter....the SVTC seems daily, to be sharper on the throttle, faster acceleration, and yet...SMOOTHER, in its delivery, where it was already smooth, (no high pitched, high RPM vibration felt in any part of your body)...but only the power pulse 'tap' slightly felt in the feet and butt, which is most welcomed. It actually FEELS good, like a massage that isn't...

The decibel level of that great exhaust note, climbed and peaked at around 3,000 miles, and has not gotten any louder. The tone is so cool, that NONE of my riding friends, want to actually pass me/us. They like to be in the envelope output, of those twin mufflers...which even to this day, is a wonderment. Nobody passes us! So...now I simply take the lead out of a gas station, or restaurant. Nobody...passes us....lol. If that isn't a supreme compliment to the work that Yamaha Sound Studios contributed...well, I don't know what could BE a better compliment than that....I have BMW's, Honda Goldwings, Yamaha Expedition type bikes (don't recall our friend's true model name...but the one with the metal square box luggage), and none of those riders, on those machines, now want to take the lead. Yamaha Sound...man, did you do a great job of tuning the baffles in the labs...a great job!

My hands got tapping here...coffee fueled, but this was just a latest 'observance' in owning and running this fine Grand Tour motorcycle. The engine (on my bike) is certainly STILL performance breaking in,...and giving out more, and more performance, in subtle ways...smoother, faster uptake of speed, all of it. Just...like a commercial diesel engine...this engine needs 8,000 to 10,000 miles on it, city and highway operation, to even BE considered a fully mature break in. That has been my experience, to date, in ownership. One word....-----> Wow!

Joe
 
#15 ·
I think I was spot on, when I described the performance of the SVTC's 113 C.I. V-Twin as compared to a high performance diesel engine. They break in very slowly, (I mean to see full torque performance, not parts spec'ed mated to run at the full rpm range), and you can run commercial grade diesel engines out to 35000-45000 miles before you even see max performance from the slow revolution engine. I have noticed as I am nearing 9,000 miles that truly, there is more performance not only in the T-Mode that I usually run at, but man oh man...when I now tap into S-Mode, this motorcycle HAULS A**!

I can easily, with my wife aboard, and all three compartments peaked out, EASILY, enter S-Mode, and if I bury the throttle, can EASILY pass one tractor trailer, and three or four cars either ahead of it, or behind it, on any two lane, WITH,...viewing an opposing direction traffic out in the distance. Easily...this bike has such deep grunt torque, it can simply take your breath away....in that the passing power is being provided by two cylinders, abet,massive ones....but still...I do not miss, at all, having a 6 cylinder engine that was in the Goldwing, vs. the V-Twin, twin cylinders. No sir!

I have equal performance...in the real world, where it all matters...passing, overtaking other traffic, a fast crisp merging onto the highway...all of it, WITH---> a 33 percent gain in MPG, over our 2008 GL1800!!! Two up....three luggage compartments packed for whatever...weekend, or extended. No matter....the SVTC seems daily, to be sharper on the throttle, faster acceleration, and yet...SMOOTHER, in its delivery, where it was already smooth, (no high pitched, high RPM vibration felt in any part of your body)...but only the power pulse 'tap' slightly felt in the feet and butt, which is most welcomed. It actually FEELS good, like a massage that isn't...

The decibel level of that great exhaust note, climbed and peaked at around 3,000 miles, and has not gotten any louder. The tone is so cool, that NONE of my riding friends, want to actually pass me/us. They like to be in the envelope of those twin mufflers...which even to this day, is a wonderment. Nobody passes us! So...now I simply take the lead out of a gas station, or restaurant. Nobody...passes us....lol. If that isn't a supreme compliment to the work that Yamaha Sound Studios contributed...well, I don't know what could BE a better compliment than that....I have BMW's, Honda Goldwings, Yamaha Expedition type bikes (don't recall our friend's true model name...but the one with the metal square box luggage), and none of those riders, on those machines, now want to take the lead. Yamaha Sound...man, did you do a great job of tuning the baffles in the labs...a great job!

My hands got tapping here...coffee fueled, but this was just a latest 'observance' in owning and running this fine Grand Tour motorcycle. The engine (on my bike) is certainly STILL performance breaking in,...and giving out more, and more performance, in subtle ways...smoother, faster uptake of speed, all of it. Just...like a commercial diesel engine...this engine needs 8,000 to 10,000 miles on it, city and highway operation to even BE, considered a fully mature break in. That has been my experience in ownership. One word....-----> Wow!

Joe
ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't speak for the new Wing as we are still patiently waiting for our day of play on one to judge for ourselves what it offers but, having recently returned from our full day adventure on the SVTC, I gotta say after riding the huge, air cooled, push rod V-Twin it is DEFINITELY a stump pullin thumper!! I kept looking in the mirror and telling my wife that I was looking for the rail road cars that belong behind that locomotive of a torque monster LOL!!! Possibly wayyyy more torque than a motorcycle needs to get the weight moving at the expense of the loss of horsepower that normally equates to yeeee hawww thrills that many people thrive on that can only happen in RPM ranges above those possible on the massive 113 in my opinion.. The torque is really nice but I was expecting more of a real world horsepower hit similar to and above that of the Raider 113 that I am very familiar with. I cant help but wonder if the mechanic at the shop that we rode from was right and that some of that missing hit and horsepower is because of the extra balance shaft and alternator - the mechanic at the dealership who loaned us the bike said he thought that the extra weight of the bike combined with those two things hurts the machines performance.. I do concur with YamahaParExcellence though in that our demo bike only had 8300 miles on it so harder hitting days may be still in it's future as it finishes breaking in.
I also did find out that, according to the Yam Mechanic,, the "Sport Mode" electronically changes the "throttle twist ratio" and that is all,, no remapping of the ECM is taking place as we went into the demo believing. I was somewhat surprised at this because, as ParExcellent mentions, the machine definitely feels snappier in Sport Mode but,, after having its function explained to me, I could see what the mechanic was talking about as the Sport Mode does have the tendency to make the bike "jerky" at slow speeds, enough so that one needs to be mindful if slow riding. Otherside of that coin is how much easier the machine is to ride FAST thru the corners in Sport Mode as that puppy seems to need a LOT of carbide drag arms under it cause dragging metal in the corners on that baby is wayyy easy - it corners that smoothly and that precisely >:)!!!! WHAT A BLAST TO RIDE HARD WITH 2 PEOPLE ON IT!!
Personally,, I think if Yamaha would have stuck an ultra smooth, massive torque AND a massive HP motor like a strong running V-6 or maybe even a V-4 in that frame the touring worlds best of the best scoots that it competes with would have been nothing but history sales wise,,,,, possibly even the most formidable HD riders would be jumping ship... We may still end up with the Yam as I/we have no idea what the 2018 Wing is gonna do for us but I know one thing,, had that endless massive grin thing that happens when raw performance meets world class touring 2 up comfort had been there, I would have wrote the check on the spot as the SVTC is definitely one GORGEOUS motorcycle to ride and to look at!!!
LoneStar
 
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