I have to admit I was very impressed.
Left the dealers and the slow speed control felt good. We took a few right turns and I opened the throttle in first gear to check the initial acceleration. Holy Shit!
Front wheel came up in the air and I thought I was going to flip the thing within yards of getting on it. I then remebered that I'd signed a form agreeing that I was liable for the first £1,000 worth of damage so that concentrated the mind. The torque was equally impressive and gave a great squirt even from low revs. Heading out of the city we stopped at several red lights so plenty of chances to go up and down gearbox, find neutral and engage first gear again. All perfect everytime with every gear change. Clutch was very light and smooth with the biting point just right.
I got a lot of bufferting as we hit motorway speeds but this was soon corrected when I adjusted the screen to maximum height. A full power start caused a slight misfire at high revs (7,500 - 8,000) and a warning light to come on. The bike was in road mode and apparently this could have been the traction control.
Bike was generally comfortable although the seat was set to tip you slightly forward towards the tank.
There was a slight buzzing noise from around the screen which suggested something was loose. There was also a slight noise from engine/transmission which sounded like something metal on metal was rubbing. Not sure if this was due to the low mileage or the fact that it was a demonstrator that has been thrashed from new.
I didn't like the new switch gear and found it difficult to work the new indicator switch without removing my hand from the bars to reach the switch.
But the overall impression was good as it is a quick enough bike and feels like I could cover serious distances on it.
I might well be tempted when the Adventure model comes out next Spring especially as they should have sorted out the minor niggles with a completely new model.
Big thanks to Riders Cardiff. They were very laid back and make no hard sell after the ride to sign anybody up to buy one. Would go back to this dealer again if I do decide to buy one.
