Questions and Concerns Before Purchase

[mwtillotson]

Hello,

I had a few questions for RC 390 owners regarding their experiences with their bikes. My first bike was a Ninja 300, which was stolen a few weeks ago. I am very seriously considering purchasing the RC 390 when it arrives at my local dealership (in fact, I have a down payment on one already). It speaks to me aesthetically. It is also a comfortable and an affordable increase in power after just four months on a Ninja 300. This would be a daily commuter for me and a weekender bike too. I will ride this thing hard. Even as a brand new rider, I was putting over 1k miles a month on my Ninja. I'm excited about this bike in a way that a replacement Ninja, CBR, or R3 cannot match. But after doing some research, I have a couple questions/concerns:

1. Should I expect the belly pan to scrape on tight turns? I heard there were issues with this. I am still a new rider, so I'm not dragging knees yet, but I do like to ride up in the twisty Appalachian Mountains. Couldn't this cause a loss of control? It sounds extremely dangerous and shortsighted.
2. Just how hot is this thing under you? Can I survive a couple summers of Atlanta traffic? I try my best to avoid traffic, but it is inevitable.
3. I have a 30+ mile highway commute each way, each day. Is this thing going to vibrate me off? I heard there were things you could do to mitigate the vibrations. This is less of a concern than the others.

I know coming into this that the RC 390 will not be as refined as the Ninja. And I'm okay with that. I need to learn more about bikes and any issues faced with the 390 will be worthwhile learning experiences. But I still want to be comfortable with my decision.

Thanks so much.

 

[mr-fabricator]

You wont be scraping the belly pan on the roads unless u want to loose your licence , ive done 6 months of hard track riding and yes the stock belly pan has touched down but maybe 4 times , i dropped the forks down in the tripple clamps 5mm as the bike is to weight biased towards the front and im on no5 on rear preload , down from 8th setting and my touch downs are no more , and im quicker around the track .

vibrations ? Yeah youll get some will it bother u ?? Your call its not a major down side and it realy didnt bother me at all .

if u want shear comfort lots of bikes will give u that but the rc will do what other bikes cant .

heat is no worse than any other bike imo , and was never an issue when i had it licenced for the road .

Ninjas are good bikes but you will get bored , the rc keeps giving .

Ps im 40 years old , first bike at 9 , full road licence at 17 and my other bike is a ducati 1198 , it sits in the garage and its 1/2 the bike the rc is , especially grin factor

The tc will teach u a lot about real riding and help hone your skills , you will grow together and not a lot of bikes can offer that ..

Regards lee

 

[guzz46]

I've scrapped my belly pan quite a few times on the road, it's almost always on the same corner when the suspension compresses over a decent sized bump, it's not dangerous because it only just barely scrapes the road for a split second, I wouldn't even know it had happened if I hadn't heard it scrape, the forks are on the second ring, and I'm on position 7 on the rear shock, and I use a taller profile 140/70 rear tyre to give a little extra ground clearance, but I would be very surprised if you're scraping the belly pan as a new rider, unless you're too heavy.

The bikes doesn't run hot, the fan just comes on early, and I don't even notice the vibes at all, of all the decent bikes bikes I've owned (1990 & 1993 ZXR400, 1996 GSXR750, 1999 TL1000S, 1994 RVF400, 2008 Husqvarna SM610) this is my all time favorite, its a blast to ride.

 

[mwtillotson]

The tc will teach u a lot about real riding and help hone your skills , you will grow together and not a lot of bikes can offer that ..

Thanks so much for the advice and positive words. You have helped ease my worries for sure!

I've scrapped my belly pan quite a few times on the road, it's almost always on the same corner when the suspension compresses over a decent sized bump, it's not dangerous because it only just barely scrapes the road for a split second, I wouldn't even know it had happened if I hadn't heard it scrape, the forks are on the second ring, and I'm on position 7 on the rear shock, and I use a taller profile 140/70 rear tyre to give a little extra ground clearance, but I would be very surprised if you're scraping the belly pan as a new rider, unless you're too heavy.

I am not terribly heavy -- about 180lbs. My concern isn't scraping the underside on level ground, but when the suspension compresses as you say. I ride up in the mountains and on twisting, downhill turns I'm sure the front will compress quite a bit. This is the scraping that I fear: I'm concerned that it would inhibit my turn and force me to straighten up. I definitely don't want to fly off the cliff side or be forced into oncoming traffic! I know I probably worry too much, though.

 

[guzz46]

Thanks so much for the advice and positive words. You have helped ease my worries for sure!



I am not terribly heavy -- about 180lbs. My concern isn't scraping the underside on level ground, but when the suspension compresses as you say. I ride up in the mountains and on twisting, downhill turns I'm sure the front will compress quite a bit. This is the scraping that I fear: I'm concerned that it would inhibit my turn and force me to straighten up. I definitely don't want to fly off the cliff side or be forced into oncoming traffic! I know I probably worry too much, though.

I wouldn't worry about it, once you set the rear preload for your weight you should be fine, there's plenty of bumps where I ride and 99.9% of the time it never touches the ground, it's only on this one particular corner where sometimes it just barely scrapes, but I'm pushing it/cranked over pretty far, it doesn't inhibit anything, most of my 4000km's have been around the hill's, and I've never had to stand it up or anything like that.

 

[mr-fabricator]

Like guzz said its only very slight scrape .

Ive been through 6 pair of knee sliders and the extent of damage to the belly pan is that its maybe taken 1mm off right on the edge .

Now go buy one !!

Regards kee

 

[mwtillotson]

Like guzz said its only very slight scrape .

Ive been through 6 pair of knee sliders and the extent of damage to the belly pan is that its maybe taken 1mm off right on the edge .

Now go buy one !!

Regards kee

Yes sir! Once my bike gets to the dealership, I'll be on it right away.

Thanks guys. I'm much more comfortable with my decision now.

 

[mr-fabricator]

I uploaded some pics to my user name photos , theirs one of me cranked right over left and right , zoom in and u will See the slight scuff marks . Nothing detremental

Regards lee