Anyone ridden one and have a view as to how they compare to an 899 / 959, street and track - fun / handling / riding position?
Can’t comment on the F3 per se, but had a couple with the 800 triple and it’s a stonking motor (but for some unreliable?)
I am sniffing an F3 800 RC for track day use and retiring my Trioptions 899. Will provide feedback if the weather improves and I can get a test ride.
Thanks a bit my thinking - including use for track. if you don’t mind me asking - a tri-options 899 sounds like a decent track tool - what are your thoughts here?
Very much so. Fully sorted internals and cases, suspension, wiring loom etc....quite good value for the performance.
Yeah, I’ve spent loads of time on 899/959 and most recently F3 800, happy to answer any questions. Here’s a couple of shots
Pretty perfect honestly….. you MUST get a Euro4 bike, it’s a much stronger engine. I never had any problems with mine in a couple of trackdays and around 1k road miles, never failed to start, was perfect. a few points though, the clutch is really ‘clattery’ there’s a lot of backlash in the gears, which apparently is because it’s a counter rotating crank. It’s fine, just a very noisy engine. the bike is a bugger to work on, topping up coolant requires the tank off, which requires all the rear bodywork off as the tank sits under the seat. I used Dave moss suspension settings on mine, was mint and verified when I got it set up at castle Combe and the guy said he couldn’t improve it. get a steering damper, it’s worth it, it isn’t a necessity but it does make the bike feel a little more solid. I always ran it in sport mode, but never adjusted settings on it in honesty, the traction control is pretty crude and doesn’t have a light. The blipper is the best I’ve ever used, bar none, utterly faultless. Finally if you are tall, like me, and you’ll see from the pictures, I’m right at the back of the seat, with no more room. I’m 6ft and on the road it’s perfect because short reach to the bars etc but on track it bothered me a bit and tbh I personally have a bit of a Complex about my size. my F3 is for sale at MotorcyclesUK in Swindon, the new 2020 onwards bikes have 3 year warranty, so my old one has about 6 months still on it. some more pics
I had a Panigale V2 most recently and it’s got a stronger engine than the F800 power wise, but the F3 especially in Euro 4 guise is much smoother and the gearing shorter which makes life easier. I did however do a session on the 959 at Jerez in September, the front forks are nicer than the MV, more ‘quality’, but the 959 is very long and ‘flat’ feeling, and SUPER physical to ride in comparison, where as you lock into the tank on the MV really easily and don’t need to brace in the same way as you do on the 959. overall I prefer the F3 800 engine, the triple is much more flexible than the 959’s engine which I feel like can drop between gears really.
I really rate the F3, there is so much negativity around them, and I’m happy to admit I may have got lucky, but if you do the homework, most have had massively more positive experiences since euro4 updates to the bike, I imagine the euro 5 ones are even better. one thing I forgot to say. Brakes….. MILES better on the F3 than the 959, the brakes on the one I rode at 959 felt really soft and had loads of lever movement after a lap or so, which tbh may have been because the persons bike I borrowed laps 1 min a lap slower! Yes.. I know… I just think those monobloc M4’s are a really good caliper and work well with the Nissin master cylinder on the F3, the rear brake on the MV is rubbish though and constantly needs bleeding
