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First Road Trip on the Pure -- After Thoughts

7K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  Kid Thunder 
#1 ·
Rode the Pure about 1,000 miles over the weekend from Dayton to southern West Virginia, up through the mountains, and circled back through parts of Pennsylvania. While in WV, I met up with some friends. I've had the bike for over a year but this was the first time I took it on a tour. Here are my thoughts, good and bad.

Power and handling are superb. It handles the mountain twisties with ease. I love the deceleration when going downhill so I barely have to use the brakes. It also handles beautifully on the freeway.

Fuel economy is great, averaging about 46 MPG regardless of how I drove it.

Engine was strong the whole trip but I noticed after riding at steady RPMs like on the freeway, the vibrations become quite apparent. Not too bad, it's tolerable. But I did notice the motor starts to backfire on deceleration more after long periods of steady RPMs.

Comfort. Here is where I have some harsh things to say. I mostly use the bike as a commuter and for the my trips to and from work, it was always fine. But on the road, it is absolutely the most uncomfortable bike I have ever owned. After an hour of driving, my hands were numb, my back ached, my neck was sore, and I felt like i was sitting on a piece of plywood.

I have handlebar risers and softer grips but neither of them seem to help. When I was riding in a group, all of the others seemed quite content on their bikes and I am hanging in the back of the pack just begging for an excuse to stop. On my trip home, I had to stop about every 30 minutes just to get feeling back and walk off the cramps.

First thing I did when I got home was order a new Sargent seat, which I truly hope will help. If not then it will be time to shop for a new bike. Too bad because I really loved this bike until now.
 
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#2 ·
I did 300 miles on my Urban last Monday. The seat was the issue as my sit bones straddle the narrower seat.

For myself, a huge help was lowering the pegs. It lets my hips roll forward more comfortably and thus puts less tension on my back, shoulders, and arms. I used the SW Moto pegs. You do lose some ground clearance (not really an issue with my bike as I raised the rear and the Urban is already a little taller).
 
#4 ·
For me a big source of fatigue is wind blast. I find myself with a death grip on interstate touring, which fatigues my arms, neck, shoulders and lower back. Really shouldn't be gripping very hard with the hands, thats what your thighs are for (remember your training!).

I'm on the verge of getting a universal fit GIVI windscreen. Should help a ton.

Otherwise when my lower back / butt start to ache I squeeze em to get some blood flow and I'll pop off and take some side roads that are slow enough for me to stand on the pegs for a while. Taking a little break when filling up helps a lot too.

Adaptive cruise control would be so nice, I don't trust the aftermarket gadgets.

The bike itself has a better power:weight ratio than 99% of the vehicles surrounding me, but I do often find myself searching for a 7th gear just to bring the RPM feedback down. IIRC they geared the final drive a bit shorter to make it more hoony.
 
#5 ·
Totally agree with you Huey on all the points you made about the pure. The vibrations are brutal at speed, 80mph+, I get numb hands, stiff neck as well. I am 5'9" and just can't get comfortable with this bike. I have added risers, dart screen, I even tried lowering the pegs. I have since put my 2019 pure up for sale, only 1400 miles if anyone is looking. I also ride a Ducati multistrada 950, can ride this bike all day! I bought the Rninet Pure to do shorter rides, ride to work ect... Just not for me.
 
#6 ·
I've had the bike for over a year but this was the first time I took it on a tour. Here are my thoughts, good and bad.
Comfort. Here is where I have some harsh things to say. I mostly use the bike as a commuter and for the my trips to and from work, it was always fine. But on the road, it is absolutely the most uncomfortable bike I have ever owned. After an hour of driving, my hands were numb, my back ached, my neck was sore, and I felt like i was sitting on a piece of plywood.

Huey - my experience is precisely the same with my Classic/ Roadster, even though it has the costly optional upgrade (comfort) seat fitted, also risers (Helibars) and lowered footpegs (Knight Design), plus Grip Puppies, and the Ohlins suspension has been professionally tuned for comfort and my modest 85kg ATGATT weight. I have a taller BMW 900 XR handlebar on order but its e.t.a. in Australia is anybody's guess. Sadly, the R9T remains definitely the most uncompromisingly uncomfortable bike I have ever owned (which includes many models of other brands, and several other boxer twin Roadsters and GSs).

I love many things about my 2017 Option 719 Blueplanet R9T, but have to be very honest and say that for me it represents a triumph of styling over practicality, unless it's being ridden only for very short distances. I understand fully that the R9T is not intended as a tourer, or anything like it, but for me - and as always YMMV - the ergonomics are all wrong for anything other than shorter outings at present. I'm hoping against hope that the taller handlebar may make all the difference when added to the existing lowered pegs and 'bar risers.. 😕
 
#7 ·
I agree the stock seat sucks and I recently ordered a new Sargent seat. Before giving up on your R9T, I would try adjusting the position of your handlebars. You'll be surprised how different your riding position will feel by just moving your handlebars forward or back an inch or two. Of course you'll have to readjust your lever position too.

I bought my 2016 R9T Classic used, one of the first things I did was readjust the handlebars and the levers. Don't be afraid to experiment.
 
#8 ·
I'm not giving up - yet! - and as noted in my post have risers fitted, with adjustments to the 'bar position, so have exhausted that avenue until the new 'bar arrives..
 
#10 ·
I appreciate all the feedback. I actually expected to receive a lot of pushback for my harsh criticism of the bike so I am pleasantly surprised. The R9T is not designed to be a tourer, I totally get that. And in all fairness, I bought it as a commuter bike, which is 99% of the use. I'm hoping the new Sargent seat will help a lot and I also ordered the peg lowering kit. This bike is paid off now so I would really like to make it work -- if I can adjust the handlebars along with the other things to make it work as an occasional tourer then I will have the best of all worlds. Otherwise, I am really eyeing the R1250 RT -- but I hate having another payment :(
 
#16 ·
Sorry for your experience. Not to make an excuse for the bike, I might offer an alternative explanation which might help you feel better about the situation. I don't know you or whether you have another bike and ride hundreds of miles every weekend, I'm only surmising from what was described.... but I find physically it takes a lot of time to build up to a 1000 ride on a motorcycle. It's like needing to train for a 10k, you don't just run one. I'd be sore after 1000 miles on "anything" and have been. Heck, I'm stiff out of a car after a 180 mile jaunt to my mothers house. If one were doing a "lot" of touring, yep, you'd need a different bike to help with but it would not alleviate all discomfort. This one does shine when you pull into the local café wearing your coolest Quadrophenia jacket after tooling around town, so do try to hang in there!
 
#17 ·
I agree totally with what Wolfhaus says here. As an ex (VERY ex!) distance runner up to Marathon events his analogy is spot on. Another view - a very well-travelled long-distance riding mate of mine told me once that the best way to prepare for a long ride is to take a long ride. Nuff said.
 
#19 ·
Excellent point. It is the first time I had taken a road trip like that so I may have been uncomfortable on any bike after a while. In all, I love the 9T since it is used 99% for commuting and local joy rides. For the 1% road trip usage, hopefully the new seat will fix me up. I'd love to have two bikes and maybe some day I will but I have to get my kid through college first.
 
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