Hi all. For the benefit of those who haven’t experience it yet, and to compare with those who have, and I’ll jump right into my thoughts and reactions after pulling the ADV1 for the first 40 minutes (I’m sitting in Dunks in the middle of my first ride and thought I’d share my first impressions while they are fresh in my mind)
Note regarding the bike and trailer setup: My bike is a 2018 Yamaha Super Tenere. I removed the panniers and top box to reduce weight. The trailer was completely empty.
I went into this kind of nervous, fearing it would be a very different (and perhaps unpleasant or unsafe) riding experience, and after about 25 minutes around town and 15 minutes on the highway, I can say I was greatly relieved to find I barely noticed the trailer was even there. On the highway I took it up to 65 (Massachusetts speed limit) and I can say that I’m confident I could go out west with their higher speed limits without any concerns.
At any speed above 15 MPH, I had absolutely no idea the trailer was even there. I tried and could not notice anything different (you can’t even see it in your mirrors). Handling, including turning and braking, felt exactly the same. Below 15 MPH, I was struggling to notice anything, but there might have been a little something there. A couple times, when initiating a slow turn, I think I noticed a slight hesitation. I’m not even sure hesitation is the right word. It’s more like you just need to do a little more of what you are already doing when starting to turn. But when I tried the replicate the feeling, I couldn’t. I might be trying so hard to find something that I’m imagining it. Or maybe it’s that when I’m just using muscle memory, my body notices something slightly different. But when I’m actively thinking about it, I just make the bike do what I want it to do and I don’t notice anything different.
Sorry, if that explanation is confusing. It’s kind of hard to describe. I bet the feeling will be more noticeable as I add weight. But the good thing is that I’m not worried about it since I assume it will be extremely easy to deal with. That’s my hope at least. I’ll provide an update after I do a test ride with it loaded up.
-Jim
Note regarding the bike and trailer setup: My bike is a 2018 Yamaha Super Tenere. I removed the panniers and top box to reduce weight. The trailer was completely empty.
I went into this kind of nervous, fearing it would be a very different (and perhaps unpleasant or unsafe) riding experience, and after about 25 minutes around town and 15 minutes on the highway, I can say I was greatly relieved to find I barely noticed the trailer was even there. On the highway I took it up to 65 (Massachusetts speed limit) and I can say that I’m confident I could go out west with their higher speed limits without any concerns.
At any speed above 15 MPH, I had absolutely no idea the trailer was even there. I tried and could not notice anything different (you can’t even see it in your mirrors). Handling, including turning and braking, felt exactly the same. Below 15 MPH, I was struggling to notice anything, but there might have been a little something there. A couple times, when initiating a slow turn, I think I noticed a slight hesitation. I’m not even sure hesitation is the right word. It’s more like you just need to do a little more of what you are already doing when starting to turn. But when I tried the replicate the feeling, I couldn’t. I might be trying so hard to find something that I’m imagining it. Or maybe it’s that when I’m just using muscle memory, my body notices something slightly different. But when I’m actively thinking about it, I just make the bike do what I want it to do and I don’t notice anything different.
Sorry, if that explanation is confusing. It’s kind of hard to describe. I bet the feeling will be more noticeable as I add weight. But the good thing is that I’m not worried about it since I assume it will be extremely easy to deal with. That’s my hope at least. I’ll provide an update after I do a test ride with it loaded up.
-Jim
