Bought this 2015 bike (with 4500 miles on clock) back in March and having had some time away from biking in the UK (I owned a Harley for 4 years- which I hated and didn't use (and a variety of mainly Triumph Tigers and Sprints before that for the last 25 years and ridden others including Ducatis (Multistrada, 748 and Monster) , BMWs (GS and GT1600) and Hondas Blackbird and most recently (last week) an Africa Twin ) it has been transformative. I have used the bike on local country roads, motorways and going into and out of Central London with my longest trip being around 300 miles in a day (yesterday). The Good: Solid (very well planted and stable at high speeds on motorways even with cross winds); well made and finished (only wear/rust is on after market crash bars) ; reliable (so far); excellent low down power and roll on acceleration on motorways; will cruise all day at 95 mph and still accelerate rapidly 20mph above that should you need it to; surprisingly agile around town; good wind protection (from Givi screen);excellent seat height and posture (I'm 6'3"); It makes 100 mph feel like 80 mph on an Africa Twin; unusual (only seen a couple of others); very sure footed; unbothered by weight on top box (I haven't used panniers yet); excellent lights (I have added spots but original light is very good); loving the DCT in Sports mode (I find D gutless- but also like ability to switch gears manually while in auto- feel I am still experimenting with full possibilities); pillion was comfortable apparently (but ride with her was short); fuelling (seems to be fine on 2015 bike); v quiet (I'm in two minds about this but these days I think I prefer not to upset the locals); pretty good smooth suspension (once I got it set up thanks to this forum - it was dreadful initially); looks (they have grown on me and other non-bikers seem to like it). The Niggles: Suspension (could be better on uneven surfaces - I think I might look for ESA on my next bike); seat hard and uncomfortable after 1 hour (I added a sheep skin and I was able to double that but had a pretty sore bottom after that) - I've just ordered a Top Sellerie gel one; no chain!; decent brakes; cool wire wheels; vibration through right hand (this gave me a numb hand initially but think the fault was mine for too tight a grip- loosened grip and no such problem yesterday); no cruise control (that said, the only bike on which I have ever had cruise control was the Harley and I don't think it is essential to my enjoyment- I does mean I probably go too fast on motorways through boredom though); definitely not flickable in corners (I feel I am still (rather gingerly!) testing the limits of its cornering abilities - definitely went round corners quicker on my previous Tiger Sport); pretty heavy (I'm mainly aware of its bulk when on very bendy roads and when pushing it about with the engine off); high fuel consumption (but think this maybe because of my slightly enthusiastic riding style) ; dash only shows miles per litre not mpg (I could do conversion but it is not how I think); slight front wheel instability at high speed - above 115mph (particularly if there is a cross wind or slightly uneven surface - I think this may be why they detuned it from VFR1200F- these adventure tourer style bikes don't seem to be ideally suited to 120mph plus riding - which is a good thing in my book these days); it shredded its rear tire (I think this was my fault for not checking it carefully enough- I have never had a bike tyre down to the metal before; although wind protection is good with no buffeting it is a bit noisy. Extras: it came with crash bars, rear hugger, Givi screen and Givi top box. I found OEM panniers (£230)(damaged but usable on ebay- they need locks though) and added a power point (£80) a cradle for my phone/ sat nav (£45), spotlights (£120) and heated grips (£80), plus Pilot Road Vs . Bike cost £7k and even with the extras I think it was very good value compared with the competition. A low mileage GS of similar age would be around £11k. So generally I am very happy indeed with my CT (a bike I didn't know existed 4 months ago!) It is not for everyone because of its size but as an all round bike that is equally happy on a fast motorway as it is in town it is extremely proficient. It won't necessarily tug at your heart strings (I am still not sure if it is handsome or ugly and the exhaust note has no character) but it is solid, reliable and hugely versatile. And you can have a lot of pretty fast excitement on it if you wish without hitting the sort of speeds that will get you into the local papers...
