Looking at a Falco - Coming from a Street Triple R

[redleader]

Hi All,

I'm looking to raise some money by selling my 2013 Street Triple R but want to retain a bike and am thinking about the Falco.

If money were no object the new Ducati Supersport would seem ideal for the type of riding I do. A kind of sport tourer with some two-up potential that looks more sporty than an adventure bike and offers some wind protection.

Then I came across the Falco. It would seem the Falco ticks all these boxes and for a much lower price point.

I ride with a pillion quite a lot but only for a couple of hours at a time. I'm not tall, about 5'8", and can sit on the Street Triple R with feet flat on the ground. My pillion likes the riding position on the STR.

I've only been riding regularly for about 7 years and have only owned Street Triples and a custom Bonneville so I'm looking for some input from people who may have ridden both bikes and if you think a Falco could be a good 'next bike'. How the riding positions compare, performance, comfort, weight, all the usual stuff I suppose.

Thanks,

[flatlander]

One of the big advantages of the Falco is there is lots of ways you can change it at moderate cost to suit what you want.
I would suggest a Falco with high bars similar to a tuono
You would want a different shock a replacement stand and possibly change the front sprocket
A common change is 15 front but I have rear at 42 which makes tge gearing longer
You could also get a chip to suit your particular taste and effectively have a customised bike at very low cost
There is luggage options available and various other changes you could make
The important thing is the colour black is definitely slower

[NeverNeutral]

One of the big advantages of the Falco is there is lots of ways you can change it at moderate cost to suit what you want.
I would suggest a Falco with high bars similar to a tuono
You would want a different shock a replacement stand and possibly change the front sprocket
A common change is 15 front but I have rear at 42 which makes tge gearing longer
You could also get a chip to suit your particular taste and effectively have a customised bike at very low cost
There is luggage options available and various other changes you could make
The important thing is the colour black is definitely slower

Does "longer gearing" mean less or more acceleration? If coming from a 675 triple, I'm pretty sure standard Falco acceleration will take some getting used to! - I wouldn't recommend more personally.

I rode a Tiger 800 triple recently, and although I liked the bike, the engine I found quite weak compared to the Falco, but obviously it was silky smooth! I can't recommend the Falco highly enough - I bought my first one in 2007 and kept it for 5years, sold it and regretted selling it for a VFR1200F. Last month I sold the VFR and went back to the Falco. Absolutely stunning bike, involving ride, great feedback, nice and slim to get through traffic... comfortable, great looks... I won't go on, but I could! I love em. Coming from a street triple I can imagine you would need to get used to: extra weight of the Falco (it's light for what it is, but the street triiple is like a BMX in comparison!), also the VTwin TORQUE makes most other bikes feel like hairdryers... Advice for buying one? Take more notice of work that has been done and useful modifications over the mileage... I made the mistake of gong for a 2001 13k miler, which had a full MOT, but also had several niggly issues due to its age - pick one that has had recent replacement parts.

[redleader]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. I must admit being able to customise the bike to my taste is something that really appeals to me. Although I'm quite keen to try the clip on handlebars. I may well try the sprocket change once I've experienced a 'standard' bike. I like the look of the rsv swing arms too!

In terms of acceleration the street triple isn't a slouch but the later model is less aggressive in terms of throttle response than the earlier model. I've ridden an 800 tiger although essentially a similar engine they certainly feel very different in the two bikes.

The BMX style handling of the Street is something I enjoy solo but for pillion riding this has its disadvantages so I'm hopeful the Falco might be more balanced in this regard.

The mileage advice is very interesting as I would naturally think lower mileage would be better but I see they're seemingly capable of big mileage and I certainly will bear this in mind. Cheers.

[Falco Frank]

Compare seating positions here:

http://cycle-ergo.com/

Falco and 2010 Street triple R are both present - forward lean is much more the Falco but the clipons can be raised (a little)

[fatboy]

Falc's have a ton of scope for jiggig to your preference..
Stock suspension settings give you barge like handling, it really does not take much in terms of work or money to turn a Falco into a beast that really shocks in terms of acceleration and lunatic cornering.
It delivers so much torque that overtaking and winding it out of corners really does surprise those you overtook, including a host of other bikes like jap 4's

[flatlander]

Longer gearing means you don't have to change so often

[redleader]

Thanks for the link to the ergo site, very interesting.

It seems like the suspension is the main area riders address. Does the RSV swingarm affect the suspension performance or is it mainly a cosmetic improvement?

[mangocrazy]

It's a cosmetic alteration, no change to handling. I prefer the lines of the Falco swing arm, as I think it suits the frame better, but a lot of people prefer the RSV 'banana' arm. Whatever floats your boat...

[D-Rider]

Those of us here would probably say the Falco is a better road bike that the RSV. Same engine as the early RSVs - the later ones got bigger valves - so it goes as well. Riding position is a bit more relaxed so it's fairly comfy (though nothing like the Futura in comfort stakes).

Suspension is key. The rear shock is a pile of junk (blue spring sachs) but that is easily rectified with an RSV shock and linkages.

For rideability, shortening the gearing by dropping a tooth at the front (to 15) or going up a couple at the back helps low speed work - as does getting a chip from Gabro matched to your bike setup (though do complete any induction and exhaust changes before buying a chip).

Suspension setup can make a huge difference too.

.... and, of course, if it still has the original sidestand, change it for one that does the job properly.

There is an almost endless list of things you can do to tweak it to your preference ..... though if you start cutting plastic we will have to send the boys round as Falco plastics are getting increasingly difficult to find.

[blinkey501]

Longer gearing means you don't have to change so often

Once in top gear with a 15 tooth front sprocket Geoff.

As you well know gear changes are few and far between.

With the low down grunt. Give it the beans and overtaking is easy.

[NeverNeutral]

So the gearing changes are similar to a pushbike? Smaller front sprocket gives better "acceleration", large front sprocket gives better top speed. For rideability, the bike is brilliant as standard... Going round corners in 2nd or 3rd is fab with the torque allowing full control going into the corner, and enough power to catapult you out of the corner. Only room for improvement for me is around 30mph where 2nd seems a little low but 3rd definitely too high (accompanied occasionally with the chain rattling if I drop to 28mph in 3rd). Will a 15tooth front solve that?

[D-Rider]

So the gearing changes are similar to a pushbike? Smaller front sprocket gives better "acceleration", large front sprocket gives better top speed.

Sort of.
Smaller front sprocket (or larger rear) can give better acceleration but the biggest improvement is low speed rideability (sharp junctions / tight mini-roundabouts etc).

In theory a larger front sprocket might give a higher top speed but in practice it doesn't as it tends to be a bit over-geared and won't pull max revs in top (not that those sort of speeds are a daily occurrence anyway).
It can make it a bit more relaxed on motorways.

[flatlander]

Longer gearing means you don't have to change so often

Once in top gear with a 15 tooth front sprocket Geoff.

As you well know gear changes are few and far between.

With the low down grunt. Give it the beans and overtaking is easy.

Dunno jay I did it by accident; as I do most things ... yes including roundabouts - but as I understood it 1 front = 3 rear so it means just edging off the full effect of just the fifteen front a little bit?

It is a bit weird as theoretically I think it means changing earlier but somehow it feels the opposite

[mangocrazy]

If you want to understand what difference gearing changes will make, I'd recommend this site:

http://www.gearingcommander.com/

In the drop down select Aprilia as Make, SL as model, and '1000 00-04' as Model year, then hit 'Load Gearing'. After that you can experiment to your heart's content...