Hehe!!
Seriously though, its got some grunt hey! And yes I've found the rev limiter as well, it certainly gets round there very quickly! Gorgeous sound on the over-run from the cans too.
Being an eBay purchase I was a trifle wary/worried, but needn't have been. The guy was a bike nut, and had a huge more than double garage sized workshop with 3 bikes of his own, all 05 plate, a ZZR14 which he'd tracked and was very trick (though ugly!), an XT with supermoto wheels and other shiny bits, and an XJR which "he hadn't used in about a year" (!) He had an awesome set-up in there with a raised stand for working on and more tools than I've seen in back street workshops. A right Aladdins cave!
Anyway, story on the sale was he works on bikes as a 2nd line of business on and off, and has some contacts in the trade. He bought the Falco and another bike as finance repossessions and both were sold on eBay. He said he was considering keeping the Falco as it was so clean but decided 4 bikes was taking the piss even for him.
Anyway, the bike. I just can't get over how immaculate it is. There is not one mark on the whole bike, I've washed and polished it today before shooting up to Cheltenham and the BMF show, and could find no marks on it anywhere. Simply as new condition, the shift light was still set to 6k (though not anymore)!! The BT020's are in good nick and have plenty of life left, I'd say they're its 2nd set of tires maybe? Pads have lots in them and the chain/sprockets are immaculate.
All my mates on the rideout were really impressed with it, said the colour was gorgeous, and you know what, it really is. The pictures don't do it any justice, it looks brilliant in the metal. Can't get over how good it sounds too. Not quite as beefy or obvious as the TLR we had out but more... refined I'd say.
Downsides are it has no service book or manuals, I guess cos its a repossession. Its done 4200 miles so its due the 1st major service very soon. Is this expensive? Worth doing myself?
Riding-wise, its going to be a learning curve. Engine braking is very good and we made some decent progress (though not hooligan) through some nice twisties. Was lovely just rolling on and off the power in 4th, getting into the flow, letting the bike do its thing. Handling is superb, though the suspension is a lot stiffer than what I'm used to so she seems a little unsettled by poor surfaces - normal?
So, I'm at the end of my first weekend of Falco ownership and its all good folks! Love the feeling of riding something thats virtually unique, its a very special bike and I'm really looking forward to ownership!!
....told you it would be a long post(!) ... promise I won't waffle on too much in the future like, hehe!
