2015 V7 Special

[sdcr]

There have been so many different iterations of the V7, I freely admit, I haven’t kept up. So, anyone with Experience or knowledge about the 2015 V7 special, please educate me. Looking for the good, the bad and any ugly.
Thanks in advance.

[Dirk_S]

The ‘15 (stateside) was the last 5-speed, also didn’t have ABS or traction control. The ‘15 was also the last version with the motor tilted up, which certainly helped with ground clearance and rear wheel travel. The ‘16 V7 II changed all that.

[Kev m]

What he said, plus it's the last version of the Heron Head five speed so it probably has the slightly lower output wet alternator rather than the dry one that was used through ~2014/early 15.

[sdcr]

Thanks guys.
 So, aside from the things you noted, nothing really bad about this year and iteration, right?

[kingoffleece]

My 2015 V7 Stone was one of the best bikes I've ever owned.  Put 20K on it over 5 years and I had 5 bikes then.  It was almost always the go to for anything local or weekend.

[Vagrant]

I had a 15 stone, my cousin still owns it. Shinny red paint, chrome pipes and twin (but hard to read) clocks.
I still have a 16 V7II, and a 17 V7III.
The 15 desperately needs a Beetle map. Also rear shocks and proper weight fork springs. Other than that some 15's had bad voltage regulators. Mine was putting out 17.7 volts. All simple fixes. It's a great bike and I liked the 5 speed a lot more than the 6, especially in the mountains. It's the lightest and best handling of them all and tracks way better than the 16 but not necessarily better than the 17.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. 

[Kev m]

Good point on the voltage regulator, it was so long ago I forgot about that. But yeah a bunch of them sucked from the factory. Check and make sure it's not over 15V. If it is, replace with a good mosfet type.

[sdcr]

All good info. And Kev, I agree, nothing that cannot be rectified. I was aware that the suspension components are not up to par for the bike. Good to know about the voltage regulator.

[mr_pacman]

I've got a 2014.  The only minor issue I've had was the ridiculous half plastic/metal fuel filter.  It was a bit of a chore to get the tank off and get the old filter out to replace it with an all metal one.

Mine has slightly high charging due to the voltage regulator. However I swapped mine out and it caused other issues like the brake and indicator lights working intermittently so I swapped back to the factory one

[kingoffleece]

On my 2015 Hamlin installed Gold Valves (still the best bargain solution on the planet IMO)and I put Hagon's on the rear.  The bike was perfect thru about 10 trips to WV, and any issue will come to the forefront REAL quick there.