Many years ago (1980's) I had the unlucky situation of buying a brand new bike (Kawasaki GTR1000) that turned out to be a rogue build.
As soon as I rode away from the dealer I had a feeling about it. What it felt like, was a tingling vibration through the handlebars that started at about 3400 revs.
I flagged it up at the dealership and they said, just put some miles on it. So I did, but after the running period the vibrations were just as bad.
I was by now reving the engine harder and trying to rev through the vibration but it seemed to get worse.
Problem was that i'd never ridden another GTR1000 so I hadn't got a reference point to compare.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, when the engine eventually got stripped down after I complained to Kawasaki UK the dealer gave me another GTR to use as a loan bike and it was completely different. Smooth as silk....and noticeably more powerful.......Finally I knew for sure i'd bought a bad one.
Fast forward to just a few weeks ago, I test rode a used 2020 Rocket 3 (6500miles on the clock) and after the rather short test ride in less than ideal weather conditions, I thought there might be something not quite right because I had been watching ride reviews of the Rocket and many were saying that the bike was 'so smooth' and the bike didn't feel exactly like their description. I really liked the bike but because of my Kawasaki experience, I knew I needed to experience another Rocket in order to put my mind at rest, which I did at another dealership the next day (a demo bike with 1500 miles), followed an hour later by a second ride on the first bike. (both rides that day were in better weather and road conditions) The conclusion was that they both felt exactly the same.
Interesting thing was that by now I had put a fair amount of miles on both bikes and I was of the impression that I myself was in fact bedding into the bike and the more I rode the less my mind was thinking about the slight 'gruffness' of the engine. I think that in my case, it's just down to the character of it being a triple which is by nature less smoothly balanced out as, say, a four cylinder. Not that i'm all that used to four cylinder bike engines. Every bike i've had since 1998 has been either a single or a twin.
Anyway, just a bit of a story........probably doesn't help your case specifically........make of it as you will.
As soon as I rode away from the dealer I had a feeling about it. What it felt like, was a tingling vibration through the handlebars that started at about 3400 revs.
I flagged it up at the dealership and they said, just put some miles on it. So I did, but after the running period the vibrations were just as bad.
I was by now reving the engine harder and trying to rev through the vibration but it seemed to get worse.
Problem was that i'd never ridden another GTR1000 so I hadn't got a reference point to compare.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, when the engine eventually got stripped down after I complained to Kawasaki UK the dealer gave me another GTR to use as a loan bike and it was completely different. Smooth as silk....and noticeably more powerful.......Finally I knew for sure i'd bought a bad one.
Fast forward to just a few weeks ago, I test rode a used 2020 Rocket 3 (6500miles on the clock) and after the rather short test ride in less than ideal weather conditions, I thought there might be something not quite right because I had been watching ride reviews of the Rocket and many were saying that the bike was 'so smooth' and the bike didn't feel exactly like their description. I really liked the bike but because of my Kawasaki experience, I knew I needed to experience another Rocket in order to put my mind at rest, which I did at another dealership the next day (a demo bike with 1500 miles), followed an hour later by a second ride on the first bike. (both rides that day were in better weather and road conditions) The conclusion was that they both felt exactly the same.
Interesting thing was that by now I had put a fair amount of miles on both bikes and I was of the impression that I myself was in fact bedding into the bike and the more I rode the less my mind was thinking about the slight 'gruffness' of the engine. I think that in my case, it's just down to the character of it being a triple which is by nature less smoothly balanced out as, say, a four cylinder. Not that i'm all that used to four cylinder bike engines. Every bike i've had since 1998 has been either a single or a twin.
Anyway, just a bit of a story........probably doesn't help your case specifically........make of it as you will.
Last edited: