Thoughts on a 700

[oggy]

Gents

Finally returned to the TA fold after an enforced absence of nearly a year. This time, I am bestride an 08 700 TA, replacing the aged 600 I had last time. Between jolly jaunts offshore, I have managed to ride it a few times and for what it’s worth herewith my opinion so far…

Engine sounds and pulls well. Fuel injection is very responsive, and having always had carburettors, something I have still to get used to. I find it particularly sensitive, especially feathering the throttle round corners and blipping when changing down. Goes well on accelerating, and seems to have much more oomph lower down. Very useful for overtaking with minimal foresight. Fuel economy no idea as yet, but the ever pessimistic fuel gauge remains. Why is it not possible to make an accurate fuel gauge? The digital readout and the MFI nonsense is OTT for me, but then I favour analogue controls – much quicker and easier to read and understand where you are in the range measured. Clock is a welcome addition though.

Riding position seems very comfortable for me. Custom screen and bar risers have been fitted which seem to work well. The rider bum rest on the seat is a little too far back, but otherwise riding position is pretty much as before. Wind buffeting is minimal, but then a slightly higher than standard screen is fitted, and for me, the bar risers are an improvement. I now have the luxury of twin discs and ABS! Not sure if ABS isn’t just a gimmick and something else to go wrong – the jury’s out on that. Got to be better than a puny single disc I suppose. Box and clutch are the usual Honda light touch. I moved the gearlever round a notch or two on the spline to suit, and it made a welcome improvement to shifting smoothly. It seems supremely stable round the bends and holds the line very well indeed – on Battleax’s. The old TA was good at this too, but this one is better - 19 inch wheel? Larger rear? Personally this is something I like in a bike. Any fool can go fast in a straight line, but it’s cornering which sorts the men from the boys, and the responsive FI assists in pulling you out of the corner very smoothly - though I still have to decide whether to adopt the knees in fairly upright position or knees out, crouched slightly forward position when leaning into the corner. The former seems hairy on a tall bike, but both seem to work. It takes off pretty well too, even at around 70 mph in top. For the mountain roads up here in Aberdeenshire it seems very well suited. I have not tried the motorway as yet - cruising anyone?

Fit and finish is generally pretty good. I don’t particularly mind the plastic stuff. For me, it looks well enough and assists in giving a little more wind protection. Yes some of the fasteners are naff, but then they are on most other bikes. I’ll end up replacing dodgy ones with stainless anyways. Push lock fuel cap, handlebar lever adjusters, the odd bit of chrome are quite nice touches however. I am currently re-spraying the exhaust tail pipe. Here the paint is way too flaky, so a coat of HT semi matt black to match the side panels/front mudguard should improve matters a little. Engine finish seems good, and the simple black and blue paint scheme works well – not sure about the transfers and all the GPS rubbish, but then I can read a map. Of course, just like the last TA, the rear spokes are starting to dull. I’m never sure what to do here – polish it up with wire wool? I did this on a few with only a minor improvement. Will this remove any protective lacquer? – and even if it did, then so what. Lacquer can’t be much good; otherwise spokes wouldn’t dull in the first place. Front is fine. Just hope the rims don’t go the same way as the crappy anodised gold finish on the old TA. Problems anyone?

Improvements – when I purchased, it came with the bar risers, engine bars, matching top box, bigger foot on side-stand, soft panniers, scott-oiler and heated grips – yes, yes big girl’s blouse, but then I’m in Aberdeen – further North than Moscow. I’m thinking about a centre stand – just for chain adjustments and such like, but I also have a paddock stand, which negates it somewhat. It also came with a metal arrangement of about 10mm diameter which protects the soft panniers from the exhaust and stops them rubbing on the rear panels. With a bit of bracing, they may take hard panniers. Any further useful improvements done by anyone?

All in all an enhancement over the old TA in many areas, and definitely more of a road bike - to be fair, it was ever so. Personally I prefer the higher riding position, the fact that it is not an in-line 4, the slightly aggressive stance, the smooth drive-train and the proven reliability. The fact that I went to Switzerland and back on the last one with no trouble at all bodes well for this one – now where is my Michelin map….

[Wee Jack]

Welcome back !! I too, have returned to the TA fold after a 2 years affair with a KTM 990 adv.

You've pretty much summed-up the bike. I've opted for the touratech pannier rails to take my trusted old Zegas and I'm currently trying to decide which crash bars to fit. Centre stand - can't live without one , first option I fit if one is not already there.

Enjoy.

PS I stuck a set of Saltires over the GPS co-ordinates - shows your patriotic side and stop people asking daft questions about the numbers !!!!

[oggy]

Aye - Saltires would match the colour scheme very well, but whisper it and huad ma wheesht - I'm English.......

[Slapper Hackett]

Arrrrr, well I'm really pleased with my TA 700 as well... It's certainly put a smile back on my face... But for those longer trips with the missus I'll stick to the HD Ultra classic - The Cruise Control and stereo comes in really handy...

[Grey alp]

Hi ,I cleaned my chain and spokes last weekend. Both with WD40 ,spray them in ,soke about 10 min and wipe with a soft rag. Chain is 21000km in use and comes out like new. Spokes the same ,a bit of a .... at the rear wheel to get your hand and rag in there ,but the outcome is nice.

Enjoy

[oggy]

....and my crash bars are Motech's. The black finish is good quality, suits the bike's colour scheme and they do not stick out like some vestigal foot.

[playlord]

I am new here so - hello everyone. Won't be getting a bike till next spring when I have some money, hopefully, and intended just hanging around without posting till then. But your review, Oggy, was very helpful to me and I greatly appreciate the time and trouble you took to go into that detail. Thanks.

I've not decided whether to get a Varadero or Transalp yet. I like the Vara but have been put off a bit by the frequent mentions of its heft and dropability. I like to get my feet reasonably fixed on the ground. I used to ride a GS - is the Varadero much bigger than that?

All in all, I'm leaning towards the TA though I will try and get a demo on both (though I get the impression demo bikes are not that easily available?).

Anyway, I will read the forum with interest through the long Scottish winter (Motherwell), and look forward to more quality posts.

All the best

Joe

[StumpyFingers]

The one thing I have noticed about the 700 is the extra weight compared to the 650.
The 650 feels flickable whereas the 700 feels top heavy.

[oggy]

For me, it is the versatility of the TA that flaots my boat, plus the higher riding position giving you a better view of things. For me, anything bigger would be too much for swooping around the twisty bits, as I do enjoy the nimble nature of a (relatively) lighter bike. It does everything pretty well, has a proven motor and build quality is good. Not having a personal oesteopath on hand, ride comfort is also a factor.

Agreed that the 700 seems less "flickable", but would add that it feels much more stable and predictable - which I think is more advantageous for the bias towards the intended road use.

[ABC]

I am new here so - hello everyone. Won't be getting a bike till next spring when I have some money, hopefully, and intended just hanging around without posting till then. But your review, Oggy, was very helpful to me and I greatly appreciate the time and trouble you took to go into that detail. Thanks.

I've not decided whether to get a Varadero or Transalp yet. I like the Vara but have been put off a bit by the frequent mentions of its heft and dropability. I like to get my feet reasonably fixed on the ground. I used to ride a GS - is the Varadero much bigger than that?

All in all, I'm leaning towards the TA though I will try and get a demo on both (though I get the impression demo bikes are not that easily available?).

Anyway, I will read the forum with interest through the long Scottish winter (Motherwell), and look forward to more quality posts.

All the best

Joe

I'm used mainly to bigger bikes. I've had many over several decades, the last being a BMW R1200RT plus I've had several Harleys including an Electraglide, but I'm getting on a bit and felt that I wanted something more nimble and slimmer.

That's because I doubt I'll be doing any more long tours, the old knees protest at very long journeys these days and hence my choice of the Alp. The big bikes are ideal for touring but now I expect to be doing mostly day trips and don't need all that touring equipment which makes a bike wide and consequently awkward in town. I ride only for pleasure, don't need a motorcycle for anything else.

I looked at a few other bikes before going for a new Alp, which I should pick up in a couple of days. Test rode a Kawasaki Versys and a Triumph Bonneville and looked at the similar BMW models. All very good bikes but for me the Alp won it on comfort. I'm not interested in riding dirt and will probably never go off road but I like the looks and riding position of the Alp and don't mind the modest power.

However if I wanted to do fast long distance touring, I wouldn't have bought one. The Alp is not a really good bike for sustained high speed cruising. The Varadero is way superior for that purpose to the Alp simply because it is so much more powerful and therefore relaxed at speed. The Varadero is much heavier than the Alp but it's worth noting that the GS is little different in weight to the Alp. BMW have done a superb job of reducing the weight of their latest boxers. Also the GS has shaft drive which is much more desirable for lengthy touring than chain in my view.

So it all depends on what you want the bike for. If it's between the Varadero and the Alp, then if you intend to do a lot of long distance fast cruising, the heavier more powerful Varadero is much better. Or, if your riding is mainly shorter distances for commuting etc. then the lighter, less powerful Alp may be preferable in my view.

I'd say though that if you are looking at the bigger bikes rather than the Alp, the GS is a much better bike than the Varadero. I'm not saying the Varadero is bad, it's not, it's a fine motorcycle, but the GS is better, money apart.