The witchcraft of whacking the throttle open on the HP4 and feeling the front end floating is very weird. Without the electronics I'd be in a hedge, but you can take such liberties. Do spend a bit of time setting the suspension up though, mine was like a pogo stick when I got it.
Whack it open too often and like my mate and his HP4 discovered, it will shred your rear tyre. Alas for him it was on a Sunday, deep in central France. We were on route from alps to chunnel for home. But thats how he rides it, whack it open and let electronics sort it out. Fucking ballistic missile, his only gripe about em is the QS. Hes on his third Sthou and he reckons theyre shit. But I reckon its coz hes crap with a spanner. Yes you are, if youre reading this. Ugly bikes though. But hey, beauty is in eye of beholder.
The quickshifter is actually pretty good IMO & lends itself well to the the super smooth IL4. It is however super sensitive to other inputs, eg throttle not fully closed on downshift, neural throttle on upshift & even the slightest clutch engagement (fingers resting on levers). But maybe he’s just crap with a spanner
Personally I think they are one of the nicest nakeds. Deffo one of the most complete and acomplished rides anyway. If its owt like my S1000RR its an effortless smooth and rapid a to b point and shoot tool. Stuart
Took mine out tonight and gave it full gas for the first time in dynamic pro mode, kin hell, i reckon i could get 30k out of the front tyre, word of warning if using dynamic pro keep your back brake covered as it disables most of the electronics.
Haha, yeah in just dynamic it allows the front wheel to get airborne for about 4 seconds or so. Only a few cm off the ground, but still makes you feel like a hero. Apart from the scream, less likely to get unwanted attention.
Did you have to get a chip and unlock Dynamic Pro, or is it already unlocked on the later bike? I 'only' have Dynamic, and to be honest only ever keep it on Road as i f'in hate stopping to fill up, do it quite a lot as it is. I find the S1000R quite hard to wheelie, i suppose due to the electronics, but did a lovely one tonight. Felt like a rock star after that.
Its a chip, plugs straight in (on latest model anyway) and opens up some customisation apparently. Mine is waiting for its first service before I plug it on Used to be called SLICK MODE
Have you got a pack from your selling dealer, have a look in there you may already have one. It looks just like a third of a biro pen that just plugs in under the seat and unlocks user customisable modes. I haven't used mine as I trust the electronics, and its way past my ability anyways. Stuart
The way these things perform, that's probably the best place for em. I'm still amazed that manufacturers sell stuff like this and its available to basically complete novices. I know I cant use the full capabilities of this bike, but having ridden for over 40 years I think I have a bit of experience, but it still frightens the shoot out of me. Whats the criteria for getting on one of these, or any superbike now actually, is it just pass a test and away you go? Genuine question as I honestly don't know. Stuart
