@jbraslins: What are your initial impressions of the V4 at the track?
Well, you should take my comments with a grain of salt. It's been 10y since I last rode on track, and even back then I only did track days and very few novice races.
I've also never ridden a modern inline 4 liter bike, or 1098/1199/1299. My bikes back then were 999 and GSXR 750.
But, some observations (wrote this on another forum):
Bike is stupid fast, yet incredibly easy to ride. All the electronics are simply amazing.
If you turn everything off, you better know what you're doing, cause it's a freaking angry space rocket that wants to melt your face off.
I never got it out of 5th gear. Not because i ran out of room on the straights, but because i just did not have the balls to keep it pinned entire time and rev all the way to 14.5 in every gear. Will fix next time out
It flicks from one side to another in the esses with ease. No comparison to 999 (never rode 1098/1199/1299). Must be that counter-rotating crank. As easy if not easier than my GSXR 750 did.
Engine is a masterpiece for sure. Just picture a smoother, revvier twin. It def feels closer to a twin than it does to I4. Sound too. Yet it has so much rev range, really fun to wind it all the way up coming out of corners.
No problem pulling out of corners in taller gear, plenty of grunt. Gearing was wrong for VIR, so i found myself in few slower corners with 2nd being too short and 3rd too tall. With this engine, staying in higher gear works.
It felt comfy while i was riding it, but at the end of the day I was sore as ****. Mainly quads and forearms. Getting old suck
