[John]

Just got back from Hillview motorsports in Latrobe, Pa. Blue R3 sitting on the showroom floor between an R6 and R1! Not where I ordered mine from but it was nice to see one.
Salesman said they just came in yesterday and they expect 2 more in later.
I sat on the R3 and it felt nice. I'm 5'7" and could flatfoot the bike. The seating position was very comfortable and not as upright as I expected. I was leaning over the tank in what felt like a very natural position with some weight distributed on my wrists. It just felt perfect.

 

[FredR3]

That's awesome! I'm 5'7'' too. Glad to hear that you could flat foot it. I just contacted my dealer here in MA and they told me that the R3s will arrive at the New Jersey warehouse anywhere between April 24-27. After that, they will be shipped to dealers in the Northeast. Should be able to get our hands on them within the coming week, if not, the following week.

 

[John]

Unfortunately, not all dealerships here in PA will be getting them anytime soon. I just talked to the salesman at my dealership, which is only a few miles away from the shop that has the blue R3, my dealership still says my black R3 expected delivery date is June. It just seems hit and miss with the delivery dates, I'm excited but more than willing to be patient.



It's a fantastic looking bike in person. It's not as beefy as an R6 when they are side by side. Standing alone though, it would take a trained eye to notice the difference. The sort of weak looking front forks give it away when side by side with an R6, also the overall slimness of the bike. But not much else.



As I was sitting on the bike, I was trying to be critical of it but couldn't find anything I didn't like except one very minor issue. When sitting on the bike and your feet are touching the ground in a natural position, the footpegs were jabbing into the side of my calves. I moved my feet forward just slightly, could still flatfoot it, and it was no longer an issue. I've also noticed this on super sports such as the CBR600RR, so it's not uncommon.



I weigh 185 pounds and bounced up and down a little on the bike and the suspension was softer than a super sport, but didn't seem too soft. Didn't notice excessive sag in the rear or anything, felt balanced. Difficult to really tell on the showroom floor though.
The rear exhaust is noticeable, but not boat anchor large as it is on the ninja 300. The bike just looked solid and tastefully done sitting there on the showroom floor.

 

[John]

Finally! Picked up my R3 yesterday. $5461 OTD. Worth the wait.

Brought the bike home last night (Friday) on the back of my truck with zero miles on the odometer. Parked it in the garage, drank beer and looked at it.

Saturday 9am started a 300 mile trip from Greensburg, PA to Gettysburg, PA on Rt.30 (Lincoln Highway) to break the bike in. The Lincoln Highway on this stretch has a lot of summits, valleys, twists, turns and speed variations. I kept the bike stock.

Checked the tire pressure, oil level, chain tension, waxed it up and hit the road!

I was kind of gentle on the bike for the first 100 miles, then couldn't control myself any longer and touched 101 mph for a brief second (keeping it under redline). It had more but I didn't go there.

I'm 5'7 185 pounds and the bike fit me like a glove. Both feet flatfoot, slight lean with some pressure on my hands and arms. Even after 300 miles, I was still comfortable.
I kept wanting to find fault with the bike as I was riding, but none was obvious. The R3 just sang for me the whole trip!

I noticed the bike seems happy as low as 2.5k RPM without lugging.
When passing into oncoming traffic, drop down 2 gears because if you crank the throttle at anything below 7k RPM, nothing happens.
After 8k RPM's this thing wakes up and feels like a precision instrument.

I noticed NO strange vibrations or buzzing at all. I know about these things because I owned a brand new 2008 Ninja 650 with buzzing front fairing at certain RPM's.

I figured out the helmet lock under the seat and it worked very well. Passenger seat was a little awkward clicking back on, but I'll get the hang of it. Forget about underseat storage, I could fit my wallet a that's about it.
Instrument cluster was a pleasure. Easy to scroll through average MPG, Odometer, etc. Temp. guage has 6 bars (I think), never went above 2-3 bars the entire 300 mile trip climbing summits on an 85 degree day. Fuel light starts blinking at about 150 miles (from full). Stopped to fill it up and still had close to one (us) gallon left in the tank.

I have never had a motorcycle with ABS or slipper clutch so I cant really speak to that. I guess you don't ever miss or need what you never had? I did chirp the rear tire a couple times while getting somewhat aggressive, but I'm just too lazy to rev match, and I like chirping tires. Brakes felt very nice, but I wasn't on a racetrack to overheat them

I made no adjustments to the suspension and it felt good to me. I might increase the preload after the shock wears in a little.
Today was only my first 300 miles on this bike. It is difficult to find any faults with this bike. Overall, the R3 was just fun as **** to ride.

 

[John]

Mirrors. They seemed fine to me, didn't give them much thought. Read a post about not being able to see anything behind you but if you tuck in your elbows and look , you can see fine. This is true. And, they are not buzzy when looking back. Everything for me the entire 300 miles and at any RPM seemed very clear, never shakey or vibratey.
You do have an obstructed view that requires you to tuck in your elbows and tilt your head somewhat.
The mirror stems are adjustable, but what sucks is, they only lock into one position. If they locked straight out, instead of being swept back all the time, as an option this might be of help.
Weird they don't lock into different positions except for swept back.

 

[warlok9]

John, I'm in your area. North Huntingdon. Where did you get your bike?

 

[warlok9]

Forget it, just saw Hillview.

 

[warlok9]

Got mine out at Miller's in connelsville last Thursday.

 

[John]

Warlok your about 20 minutes away, we will have to get together.