701 makes a great road SM. Its low maintenance and you can still run it pretty hard, but its no racing bike, thank god, I like the 10K service intervals. Its definitely a street SM IMO. The most annoying thing to me is the bloody ABS, but I've got used to turning it off when I start it. On the odd occasion I get a little carried away, I can feel a little too much flex in the chassis and limitations of the front end, but its a road bike, and I've had the same experiences on stock superbikes I've owned in the past, before I've tracked them up a little.
I've had a few false neutrals, but I dont know why they would be dangerous. I've never had them on down shift, which is really the only time they could be dangerous, as you enter a corner. On up shift, you look like a tit for a second, but thats all it is. click the lever up again, and resume the ride. In a race situation I'd agree it would be dangerous, but not on the road, and I've had so few, that I've never really even considered doing anything about it. I wear gaerne sg10's which may or may not make a difference.
As said before, you cant put big wheels on the SM. If you want to run gravel, the stock bike is fine as it is. perhaps put on some more gravelly tyres, but I run on fire roads and gravel all the time with no issues, on the stock tyres (although I have put tubes in them now). If you want to run "off road" get the enduro, but anything classed as a "road", the SM handles just fine. The only thing I would say, if you go enduro, you'd probably be able to cook the front brake and tie the front suspension in knots if you ran it hard on the road.
My dealer has been great. Had the front seat sticker replaced, got the performance map free, and the bike service was fine. I also got all the bits I believe I was due, plus a free stock enduro sump guard that someone didnt want. I think the stock seat is fine, perhaps little high at the front, as I tend to sit right up by the front sticker. I wear leather pants all the time, and find the seat pretty grippy. I have never noticed any vibes on this bike, but then I raced these things in Europe for more than a decade when I was younger, and those things used to be vibey!
Let try and keep these threads useful. I'm sorry some have had bad experiences with dealers, it happens sometimes, especially when you start dealing with niche markets and manufacturers. Do your homework, visit the dealer if you can, and ask customers about their experiences. Also find out as much about your purchase as you can, and then query the dealer on things you KNOW. you'll soon find out if they know their equipment, or just spout marketing rubbish. Also note that different markets get different options, just like different dealers will give you different freebies, it can make things a little confusing.
Rich, motarding since the 90's :rock:
