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The 2018 H2 at 20,000 miles

3K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  poppinj 
#1 ·
I'm probably the only one here with 20,000 miles on their H2 and here are a few observations.
First of all I have to say the H2 is the finest motorcycle I have ever owned or for that matter ever ridden, and I have owned quite a few, including an original 73 H2 that I bought new, and having been a motorcycle mechanic for more than a decade, I have ridden probably more than a thousand bikes(or at least pushed that many in and our of motorcycle shops).

The bike is holding up extremely well. Aside from a brake rotor problem, and a couple of paint issures (both taken care of by Kwak) the bike has been pretty much flawless.
As far as the way it runs, having had it for over a year I am just finally coming to terms with how much power it has. That being said it still makes me smile with how it delivers power.

It may be me, but I believe the bike actually runs smoother. My flash takes the harshness out of the throttle while de-restricting and over 1/8 throttle the throttle plates are doing what your wrist says. But for the most part the small vibrations the bike has made, seems to have diminished a bit.

The seat never quite breaks in, it is still as hard as the day I bought it and after about 300 miles it can be a but harsh.
The milage has improved a bit, probably because the engine has loosened up some.

It still wheelies inconsistently, although better. For some reason now that the bike has miles on it you can back off the throttle and bang it on and it will come up most of the time. Maybe the assisted clutch is broken in and grabs quicker. Speaking of which that clutch is just awesome, so light and flawless.
I was missing some shifts from 1st to 2nd and realized that my new boots were thinner, so I took my own advice and lowered the shifter and never missed another shift.
It took me a while to dial in the suspension to a reasonable level, but since then it has been really well behaved.

The wheelie control is a good thing, although I wish it would let it come up about 6" more. But you can hammer it and hang on and it just floats about 10 inches off the ground, although it will pogo sometimes.

I flog this bike, it lives on mostly twisty roads and is just a hoot to ride. I went riding with a group of sport bikers about a month ago, followed them around for the first part of a long ride on very twisty roads, there were all sorts of liter bikes and I finally got tired of going that slow I went on ahead and let them follow. Here are a couple of comments.
The guy with the fastest bike there commented "And I thought my bike was fast, you just disappeared"

Another guy followed me and all he could say was "I couldn't own that thing, I would be dead. I followed you around a few turns and you were leaving a big black stripe and wheeling coming out of the corners while still leaned over."

The first time we stopped the entire group just walked around the bike saying un-phucking believable.



So other than that the bike has been a joy to own, and looking forward to another 20k miles.
 
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#2 ·
Glad she's worked out for ya Ted.23K on mine.with two years off no riding it.Great bike for sure.I'm not really into wheelying mine much...comes up too fast.So I roll on and get some small lofting on accelerations.Stage 2 kit.Very nice.Cleaned up the throttle as well.backfires sometimes...sa'll cool.No issues at all with mine...2015.
Redid my seat for long distance rides.Worked great.
 
#4 ·
Glad she's worked out for ya Ted.23K on mine.with two years off no riding it.Great bike for sure.I'm not really into wheelying mine much...comes up too fast.So I roll on and get some small lofting on accelerations.Stage 2 kit.Very nice.Cleaned up the throttle as well.backfires sometimes...sa'll cool.No issues at all with mine...2015.
Redid my seat for long distance rides.Worked great.
I'm glad to hear I am not the one with the highest milage.
 
#5 ·
Mine's a 2015 and just over 3,000 miles. I enjoyed your description of the way it handles @TedG, the last bike I rode which lifted the front while still cranked over was the Suzuki RG500. My 2015 doesn't have wheelie control and I turn off the TC for land speed racing - that really lets you know what you're sitting on. Just your own skill controlling a potent package with no rider aids to interfere or save your ass. It's the only way if you're going to set records and that's why the rider gets the laurels, not the bike.
 
#7 ·
At 17k Km mind finds neutral reasonably easy now, qs is just getting better. My Conti Attack 3 tyres are fantastic but I am for ever digging out small stones that have been driven into the rear rubber.
Seen many vids comparing the H2 to other brands but it's a fools errand, it does everything different. Not the most comfortable bike but when your sphincter is going into spasms you know that there is nothing else like it on the road. No regrets.
 
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