Quote:

....chain fling for sure, and you will notice it recurring as you ride/lube
no cause for worry
cheers
Thanks a ton for putting my mind at ease. I've never had an underbody muffler on a bike before so that was a completely new sight to me. (I do love the sleek look of having the muffler in this location though, nice touch) As I mentioned, it didn't seem like the chain was even moderately wet to the touch before I took off so I was surprised to see much fling at all. On the other hand, I assume the factory, dealer, or even DID must have applied at least
some lube along the way...so at least now I know to expect seeing this when I lubricate the chain in the future.
Regarding a blank slate...I have ordered the SW engine guards already as I tend to put guards of some sort on all my street bikes. I look at it as spending an extra $200 to help protect the investment. I know the high plastics will still be vulnerable but I'm mostly concerned with protecting the cases and such.
I also ordered the Evotech rear fender eliminator since the rear fender is a bit of an eyesore on an otherwise fine looking bike. (I'll just live with the skunk stripe on rainy days

) I may also install handguards since I tend to ride more in the cool/cold than the high heat months, and I have a spare set of polly heaters lying around that I may install soon since the weather is getting chilly rather quickly this year.
I already tossed a gps mount on the handlebars and I bought some 1/4" OD vinyl tubing for securing the instrument panel. I had a FIAMM Freeway blaster horn lying around too that did not fit another bike, so I replaced the OEM horn with that already too. It's nowhere near as impressive as some other horns like Stebel or PIAA offerings, but at least it replaced the usual meep with a more satisfying low honk instead. Other than that so far, I have no immediate mods in mind.
Now for more 1st ride impressions...
First off, I will confess it is simply not possible to adhere to the factory prescribed break-in with this little 650. Basically I rode it the way I'm going to ride it, except with tons more deliberate engine breaking and varied RPMs. I took to the back roads that see very little traffic so I could mostly do as I please without worrying about other vehicles much. I did almost clip a chipmunk that had ventured out into the road though so the little guy was lucky not to be roadkill right about now. I also scrubbed the tires a tad at a large empty lot with lots of spirited figure 8s since twisty roads are not particularly plentiful round these parts. I'd rather scrape them up a bit on a rough lot than get a scare on some tight turns right off the bat. I did take corners with gusto though where I could find them and the bike felt planted. I'm used to my bigger Bandit 1250 which is a very fine and capable bike in its own right...but the V is 100lbs lighter and just a really nimble mount.
Let's see what else...hmm well I discovered a heavy handed 1st gear roll on is quite a hoot.

Now I'm not one to wheelie much at all and I save that kind of horseplay for my dual sport in most cases anyway, but dang I was
very pleasantly surprised at the clutchless buck in this bike.

The engine response otherwise is very good, perhaps even impressive, though I admit to having some difficulty assessing it fairly since my 1250 has been my street mount for a couple years. That thing is an effortless torque monster so the V will appear sluggish as hell by comparison...which brings me back to talking RPMs.
As I said, it's just not possible to stay under 4K imo, maybe 6K...but even that's a stretch. I did not wind it out maliciously in any of the low gears, but I did give this lil girl plenty of hard acceleration and decel breaking and the RPM's were most certainly above 4-5K throughout much of that process. This bike seems happiest around 5K when running up through the gears and it just begs to be revved imo. I'm no racer personality whatsoever, but I'd be bored as hell trying to break this bike in as recommended. So I rode it like I will ride it.
The brakes and tires are brand new so I will not assess either of those yet. They both work so far, I honestly did not pay much attention to either other than the mild scrub I mentioned earlier. The ride is more harsh than I would like on big bumps but I have not messed with the suspension yet. I like to take a new ride out with the initial setup a few times before rushing to adjust anything. The riding position is excellent and it's one of the first bikes where I was not dying for risers right off the bat (I'm 6'1" with a short inseam of 30" so most height is up top) I'm accustomed to riding the XRL which has a seat height of 37", so despite my inseam, the V is a cakewalk at lights and signs, I don't even notice the height, I just like it!
I guess that's enough ramble to chew on for now. Glad to be aboard and I'll check back in lata! Hope to hear from more of yaz.