Falco vs. early Mille compatibility/similarity

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#1 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 9:32 pm

When I was younger and more foolish, I fell for the charms of a Suzuki TL1000S. And bought one. One of the very first batch in the country, in fact. In British Racing Green. It was a handsome machine.

The bike as standard had a stonking motor, indifferent brakes, poor steering and a complete abortion of a rear shock. It went like shit off a greasy stick but tank-slapped in places that no bike I've owned before or since did. It was, shall we say interesting. Challenging even. But it still brings a smile to my fizzog thinking about it nearly 15 years later.

Because of all the public interest, Suzuki felt obliged to issue a recall and slapped a pig-ugly steering damper on it that totally ruined the low-speed steering and did little for the bikes wayward tendencies. Most owners (including me) took it off and lived with the 'liveliness'.

Around that time Hyperpro (whose products I've always favoured) brought out a 'reactive' steering damper. Basically it didn't kill the slow-speed steering response in the way the OE Suzuki one did, but in the event of a tankslapper, kicked in quickly (in much the same way an inertia-reel safety belt does) to stop Bad Things Happening.

I bought one, and was very pleased with the way it worked. When I eventually sold the TL (I was out of work for 15 months, and needed to eat) I retained the Hyperpro damper and put the OE Suzuki steering damper back on. Like you do...

I quite fancy fitting the Hyperpro steering damper to the Falco (not that it really needs it, but...), but I'll be buggered if I can find a Falco bracket fitment. There are all manner of RSV Mille fitments, but no Falco ones.

So - getting to the point after an eternity - which of the RSV fitments stands the best chance of working with the Falco? Hyperpro list the following:

RSV 1000 (99-00)
RSV 1000 (01-03)
RSV 1000 R (00-03)

I'm guessing the first option - RSV 1000 (99-00) - stands the best chance of fitting the Falco.

What say the team?

bigearsbilly · #2 Post by **bigearsbilly** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:20 am

er,
can't help you there,
but you forgot to mention how the falco compares to the TL!

I almost bought a TL a month ago but was too skint, now got a falco
and I can't imagine the suzuki coming anywhere near the handling of the falco. which is always my first priority on a bike.

Interested how the motors compare though.

blinkey501 · #3 Post by **blinkey501** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:35 am

I have heard some horror stories with the TL 1000, the bike would tank slap for no reason, not good

bigun · #4 Post by **bigun** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:07 am

Mango,

I 'think' any steering damper from any Mille years 98-03 will fit the Falco. All Milles came with dampers as standard and with the standard Mille having the same forks as the Falco I'd have thought it more than reasonable that the damper fits too. You'll see a fitting point on the upper side of the lower yoke (right hand side if I remember correctly) then feel for similar on the underside of the frame around the headstock. If you get stuck, let me know and I'll try and get some photos of mine later on to show you.

Hope it helps.

Aladinsaneuk · #5 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:20 am

as bigun said

#6 Post by **mangocrazy** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:16 pm

Cheers chap, that was my reasoning as well. My view was that the further back you went, the closer the Falco and Mille bloodlines became.

As for the TL... It was a bloody great bike, but almost entirely due to the engine. For the time it was bonkers. It did have a (deserved) reputation for slapping, but I suspect a lot of that was due to riders not being used to the power characteristics of a fuel-injected V-twin with a short wheelbase (and crap rear shock...)

In comparison to the Falco, the Falco wins all ways up. The only area where the TL could put up a fight is the motor, and I reckon it would be a score draw as standard between them. Brakes the Falco wins hands down, steering likewise. The front end of the TL was never entirely settled on corner entry, whereas the Falco's front end is superb.

I spent a lot of time and effort trying to get the TL to handle properly; fork respring and revalve, replaced the crap vane type shock with an Ohlins and reduced the rear rim size from 6.0 to 5.5. All those mods improved the bike no end, but there was still something not quite right. By comparison, my much less modified Falco feels far better and completely trustworthy - not something I could ever really say about the TL. The front end of the Falco is streets ahead of the TL.

I used to do a lot of track days in the late 90s and in the search for better lap times I decided to try a cut slick on the back of the TL. Big mistake. It turned a slightly nervous but manageable bike into a total slap-fest. You simply couldn't predict where on the track it would throw a wobbly. Scary stuff - that experiment didn't last long...

All I can say is that the Falco kicks the TL's butt in every area bar one - the motor. That was honours even. Plus the Falco is far more pillion-friendly and has better build quality. The lights are better, instrumentation is far better and it looks better. The frame in particular pisses all over the TL in terms of form and function.

But I would have liked to see a Falco in British Racing Green...

D-Rider · #7 Post by **D-Rider** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:29 pm

mangocrazy wrote:
But I would have liked to see a Falco in British Racing Green...

A bit like Ramso's

#8 Post by **mangocrazy** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 8:55 pm

That is very, very tasty indeed...

HowardQ · #9 Post by **HowardQ** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 11:34 pm

Sorry but no, it does not do it for me.
The Falco Oasis green is much better.
BR Green VFR750s were OK though, as were Trumpet Sprints.

#10 Post by **mangocrazy** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:55 pm

Not sure if the BRG comes through on this pic, but here goes...:

Nooj · #11 Post by **Nooj** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 5:41 pm

It's still a good motor in the SV1000, but in this guise it's not quite on a par with the Falco for performance, although the Suzuki's gearbox is superb.

#12 Post by **mangocrazy** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 11:32 pm

I had the 1st generation 'full fat' TL1000, and the motor was a real stoater. Later TLs had reduced power output, and I believe the SVs power was reduced further. Certainly a standard SV can't compete with a Falco. But the early TLs were at least on a par.

I vividly remember being out on a ride with a mate on a ZXR750 and we both let rip on a straight flat road from a standing start to see what was what.

MyTL totally annihilated his ZXR750.

HisNibbs · #13 Post by **HisNibbs** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 11:54 pm

The Suzuki TL was an option I was considering along with the Falco. Still like them but am not unhappy with my choice.

#14 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 8:00 am

HisNibbs wrote:The Suzuki TL was an option I was considering along with the Falco. Still like them but am not unhappy with my choice.

You made the right chice, Keith. I get a tad nostalgic for the TL, because it was that rare thing; a Jap bike with real character. But the Falco is superior in every respect bar the motor, and that's evens. I wouldn't go back.

The Falco has at least as much character, but without the bad attitude..

Vinnie · #15 Post by **Vinnie** » Tue Dec 27, 2011 8:55 pm

My mate bought a Falco when he had a accident on his TL 1000 s, Ive since repaird the TL & he has both bikes on the road,but he admits that his Falco is better in every way,TL was a late model in silver 18k on the clock & is for sale,the Falco has some blue flame cans & a Rossi chip & Ive put a mille shock on it & he loves it