Weeksy, did you really want the newer T ?
Throwing money at something that your never gonna bond with is not the answer.
Nopes, to be honest until i came here i wasn't aware there were 2 different models LOL.
When i bought the bike (and most i've owned) there was a 'exclusivity' thing that usually comes hand in hand with most bikes i've had. From 916's, to old school R1's, to Superduke and 950SRM. The Tuono fitted into this catagory well being a bit of Italian Exotica.
I also like the fit and finish on the Tuono, it's beautifully put together.
However... my commute (which since having a 15 month old boy is 90% of my riding time) is mostly on crappy surfaces and B roads. Not talking dirt tracks, but the basic B roads through any rural village locations etc.
So assuming we've put the looks and exclusivity to bed, we move onto the next requirement which is 'passion'
Most if not all my bike have given me a desire to clean and polish and look after.... So the Tuono passed this test too.
So we move onto the next bit which was Track ability. Simply because i've got 3 days on Portugal trackday planned next year. The power and performance of the Tuono passes this test too (even in standard trim).
The only place the Tuono falls down is on the 'B road' test. Which it doesn't do as well as the XT660 i came from. Part of this i think is due to increased weight, part of this is also increased performance. Think about it this way, i'm now hitting bumps 10-15mph quicker on the T than the XT, so it 'feels' like it's not coping as well. However i'd expect in reality that the Tuono copes perfectly well if it were going the same speed as the XT660 LOL.
I also think part of it is down to footpeg position. The Tuono's is lower which gives better clearance, but makes it a little more cramped and you don't give the same input through the pegs on the backroads as you do on the SM style bikes. (we've had this discussion before as you recall).
I tried rearsets to resolve this.... however i now think i may have another option
The final part is power delivery. The Tuono doesn't GRUNT through the while range, it's a bit flatter at the lower end and then about 6500 gives you the full on grunt. In some ways that's good, in some that's bad. I did like the Single in the way it grunted (at a lower bhp of course) all the way from the bottom to the top. Whilst the Tuono is probably doing higher speeds in a quicker time period, the perception is different.
I'm getting the impression the Gabro chip may resolve this issue.
So, based on a few of the above, the Tuono IS the ideal bike... and on a few others... it's not quite.... (but potentially could be?)
Life is complex.
