V10 CENTAURO

Hello, My name is Ed. My wife and I live on the California coast, dead center in the middle of Monterey Bay. I bought the Centauro as the latest in a 40 year quest for the perfect dual sport machine. To me, "dual sport" means able to cruise and to tour.
After trailering the Beast home on Friday, we took it down the California coastline on Hwy 1, past Big Sur to Lucia and back, about 130 miles/200 kms.
In all my years on bikes, I have never experienced nor even heard of this much power on tap - it's like somebody miniaturized the motor from a semi tractor and shoehorned it in the bike. The bike was very hard to handle at lower speeds. I found I had to be in the tallest possible gear to maintain a semblance of control. Both exhilarating and terrifying - like riding a Beast
I also found the rear suspension to be overly harsh. I weigh about 165 lbs dressed out. With preload, dampening, and rebound at their lowest settings, my back was getting banged up on the bumps and still hurts as I sit to type this. Big Beast! I attribute this to the slightly cramped seating position and will be hunting for rearsets, as well as a softer shock.
Other than the above nits, the bike is an awesome, jewel-like piece of work, definitely unsuitable for mass consumption.
Any comments and/or fixes fellow Beastmasters

 

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Ed...I agree with you wholeheartedly about your first impressions. I too am 165 lbs and 34+" inseam. I don't find the legs an issue, but the rear is pretty harsh even at the softest setting. The throttle is also quite "unsafe" feeling at first. Check my post on "twitchy throttle". I'm very new to the beast myself, but I'm finding more and more as I ride it I'm really settling in on things. Is it totally stock? Tell us about your bike a little if you would. Also, I found if you set the front forks equal to the dampening of the rear it balances things out more. I had to crank mine up much stiffer up front and also make them rebound a bit slower. It helped the throttle a lot to steady the front end from bouncing around. The harsh bumps are also now transferred over the whole bike, not just the rear end. It felt like riding a bucking bull before.
It is definitely a bike you grow into. It's not for the faint-hearted nor for a rookie. At least I wouldn't want to learn on this thing! As you get to know her a bit (and tame the BEAST) t is an incredible experience that sucks you in . Right now it may feel like you had your first date with Osama Bin Laden's red-headed stepsister, but that will all change...trust me

 

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Yes - to all the above !!
Having regard to the suspension , are you only going to ride solo ?
If you are then a reduction in spring rate is worth consideration and not expensive. The stocker is 500lb. A friend whose wife rides a V11 (same set-up) eventually went down to something like 360 lb. She is light . You are not heavy yourself. If you will ride two-up then the stock spring you will probably have to live with. Road surface conditions do have a large part in this of course. The spring length is not an off the shelf length , (here in England at least) at 165mm free length but if you don't mind a struggle ! you can get a 7" on .
It's important to get the static sag right here. You could go down a little but need to wind the preload up to get the ride height.
The low speed "switch-like" low speed throttle response can be cured by an aftermarket Ecu from Oz.
Enjoy the ride ....eh Centy owners !!!! heh heh.
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