First impression on 2017 500EXC-F!!!

[kayakingsteve]

You'll have to forgive me, I've been on a F800GS (450+ lbs wet) for the past 4 years. Picked up the 2017 500EXC-F today, so this is probably like listening to a 5 year old ramble, but humor me, I really like this thing!

Impressions:

1. Not as tall as I was afraid it was going to be

2. Way more power than I need even in stock config

3. stock mirrors have to go

4. Half the weight of the F800GS. This thing begged me to take it in every ditch and over every dirt mound... my old bike told me it liked the highway and occasional packed trail, but that if I took it in anything soft it was going to slip its front tire out from under me and dump me on my @ss

5. @#@#@## kickstand auto-retract is going immediately

6. Front headlight and front plastics feel kinda flimsy and the key is awkward as hell to put in, but that's tiny, meaningless stuff...

7. Suspension setup from factory feels like a brick on the street.

8. 85 mph and tons of power left,

Okay, thanks for listening ?

[EK314]

Just wait until you take it on some serious off road route.  You'll really be smiling then!!

 

[kayakingsteve]

43 minutes ago, yzernie said:

Just wait until you take it on some serious off road route.  You'll really be smiling then!!

 

I'm not that great a rider but I know I will enjoy it.

Where is a good place to find some decals for it, aftermarket rearview mirrors etc...?

[EK314]

I never even rode the bike with the stock tires or mirrors.  I put on a Sicass mirror.  It vibrates so bad you can't see out of it but meets the DOT requirement of having a mirror and folds out of the way when off the pavement.  Tire that work out here in the sun baked S/W probably wouldn't work for you!!

[sirthumpalot]

Doubletake folding mirrors with the ram mounts.  They foldup nicely for off-road when you don't need it.  
 

[kayakingsteve]

2 hours ago, sirthumpalot said:

Doubletake folding mirrors with the ram mounts.  They foldup nicely for off-road when you don't need it.  
 

What tires did you change to? There is sand/mud here depending on the time of year, always soft off road though. Pretty hot year round, not desert 115 f' hot but 95 and humid much of the year.  nothing hardpacked here for the most part, no rocks.

 

I'm thinking I may just 86 the mirrors entirely for right now and then get something really minimal. Silly as it sounds even a tiny windscreen on the light cowl would make a difference on the highway though. I really would like to stick some black decals on the bodywork as I really love black, anyone ever found some cheap solid black decals for the bodywork or done aftermarket plastics?

 

[Airboss/oc]

great offroad tire but not good street is the Dunlop AT 81

glad to hear you got the 500 , its a monster in sheep tune. just clock the TPS and load the ECU with the euro map and its a mega beast

[brute448]

i run the kenda k760 track master 2, for $59 i dont think it can be beat

[Spud786]

 The stock mirrors are okay to see out of, but you cant keep them on the bike, all the pivot points loosen and they flop around. I ended up gorilla glueing all the pivots points a couple times, then they became usable and resistive, Tree limbs will knock them a bit at times (not the staulk usually, but normally the mirror), but I made them atleast usable.  

 

 

[kayakingsteve]

Day 2, commute to work: Have a high speed vibration/oscillation but was still a joy to ride.  Plenty of power in stock config. Played in the sand afterwards at home and the front end doesn't slide out nearly as much as anything I'm used to. That light weight means even if it does I am not worried.

Calling my old BMW F800GS a "dual sport" compared to this is like calling a brick a feather... I didn't go near deep soft sand or take that thing anywhere that wasn't hardpacked. This bike laughed at sandy banks, even approaching them at a shallow angle.

I'll never come close to riding this thing to its full potential but awesome! Ear to ear smile! Glad I got the 500 since the weights are all the same anyway.

Edited April 20, 2017 by kayakingsteve

[Spud786]

The tires (both) need to be fully balanced, then you'll have a streetable bike.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Spud786

[s4awd]

I did the same though I came from a 1200 GSA and recently got the 500 a few months back. Same impressions. You're gonna love the bike for what it CAN do. I say this because it's NOT a GS which I adore. After riding the EXC from the dealer which was 2+ hours from my house I realized very quickly it's NOT an adventure bike. So I no longer ride on the road with it and am now putting around everywhere I can find dirt from woods to mx tracks

PS you can find sticker kits on Amazon. I just put on mine. Pic below

 

Edited April 26, 2017 by s4awd
more pics

[Airboss/oc]

now that's an adventure ?