Ok, so I had my half hour test. The positives first. The bike is pretty comfortable, all the switchgear etc is simple and easy to use. I'd heard the clutch is heavy but it didn't seem that way to me. It's a really easy bike to ride and I very quickly felt at home on it. My test ride was over too soon. I found an unmade road and although not technically challenging, the bike coped admirably with mud and ruts etc.
And the negatives?
The saddle felt very narrow after riding a larger road bike but I guess that's what you need if you going to venture off road.
The engine DID feel a bit underpowered (yes I know that was to be expected after riding a larger bike but..) It felt a bit restricted at higher revs, running out of go after about 5k revs, and had an unpleasant buzzy rattle at about 4.5k revs.
The bike I was riding was Brand new, 8miles on the clock, Inwasthe first person bro ride it on the road, so maybe it'll loosen up once run in??
I'm not so sure though, something about the engine noise sounded "wrong" to me. I couldn't place it, suspect there may be something amiss with that particular bike. The dealer said he'll look into it and let me know.
So I'm still undecided but charmed enough to go back for a second ride. Maybe try their other demo bike which has a few hundred miles on the clock?
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