Does anyone have experience with the MkII Tuono, the older V-twin model?
I have one. It's been the bike I've owned the longest, have no desire to sell it and it's also been the most reliable bike I've ever owned. YMMV. They're great bikes and the v-twin is endlessly entertaining. The 2007+ bikes have a number of fixes for small issues that the older ones had (weak sprag clutch on the starter is one). Just finished up a 100km ride on mine a few minutes ago in fact.
I am not the only one that feels this way, George @ Corsa has told me several times now that he can't make owners trade in their V60 bikes for the new Tuono V4R because they like them too much. Add my name to the list. The extra power, a bit better handling and smaller size of the new bike somehow don't make it any more enjoyable to ride on public roads, the V60 can be raucus and belligerent but also smooth if you want it to be. At speed, the bike feels practically weightless (that feeling goes away at the track and reminds you it's a mid-2000s litre bike, but it's still VERY good). The suspension is good too... Sachs for the R and magic carpet Ohlins for the Factory version. At 25K the shock is just starting to tire a little on my bike, which is commendable since my GSXR shocks were all worn out at this age and milage. Keep the fork oil fresh and the forks are excellent as well.
It has some minor quirks. Main one is that some people have had issues with particular power cable connectors getting hot and even melting. There is a relatively simple fix for it but it is in fact not a design flaw so much as that people power-wash their bikes and get water into the connector housing. I don't ever power-wash my bikes, in fact I mostly just wipe them down with a dampened rag, sometimes with a little soap in it if there is any sort of oil film on the bike. Ergo, I have had no issues. The brakes are ferocious and take a bit of getting used to. There is a "race" map (Map 2) available that improves the fuelling of the bike in all circumstances. They need semi-regular throttle body balancing - perhaps every 20k, because they tend to start rev-hunting at lower RPMs which progresses up the tach over time as they are more out of sync.. and the dealerships sometimes try and cut their time by not using the exhaust tap as per the Rotax documentation. If they didn't remove your exhaust bung and tap the exhaust gas there, then they didn't properly do a balance. This is important on this bike because the throttle response and rev-hunting could lead someone to think there is a major mechanical flaw in the bike - in fact it's a relatively simple thing to fix. I have had GSX-Rs also go out of sync in this amount of time, it's not a flaw of the bike, but it does react to it noticably being a big twin. Some people have had moisture get into the instrument cluster and over time, it's caused the cluster to fog a bit, and mine is slowly developing this issue - the fix is to disassemble it, clean it and reseal it... again not a big deal but I am doing my best to relate any quirk.
Not much else to say, I really haven't had a moment's issue with my bike. The one and only thing I had a problem with that wasn't my fault (I crashed it on black ice in 2013) was that a case screw backed off a bit and caused a very slow coolant weep. A quick tighten and it's been fine since, and this is a semi-common issue with ALL big twins, they will on occasion loosen a bolt off somewhere because of the nature of the engine.
Oh, also don't be worried if the engines seem a little noisy. The clutch is a bit noisy by design and the engine has a system in it to lower the amount of back torque when you let off the throttle quickly, like a slipper clutch system but mechanical. That system makes a little noise and people mistake it for an issue, but they do it right out of the factory. There are also two heads, four cams and a long camchain like any v-twin or v-four. Really it's another part of the bike's charm, you always know that there is a machine underneath you and it's doing mechanical things...
The way the bike comes off corners and grips like a politician to a pension is glorious and the way you can slide the bike with confidence lacking in a bike with supersport bars... it's a joy to ride the V60 every time I take it out. Don't care that it's only a bit quicker than a modern 600, the way the bike feels is worth taking the Tuono keys to the garage every time. I still like it better than my RSV4 most days. Especially at night... best lights on a sporting bike ever.
