Curved ball: a 1260 Diavel. It isn't a cruiser, that's the X Diavel. The 1260/1260S is a roadster. Basically a Monster on steroids, especially if you fit the higher comfort seat so you're sitting on top of the bike instead of crouched down inside it. Big power, big presence but very nimble.
My problem is that the bike has to look nice. The front wind guard above the headlamp looks odd. The new generation of Monster also looks odd. Ducatis, like the Monster, used to show off the engine. Now the Ducati trend on naked bikes is to hide the engine behind all sorts of stuff. Plastic moulding seems to be in. If I spend good money on an expensive nike, then I want it to look good. Nothing in the Ducati range does look good. And then they ruin the Panigale V2 with showing off the exhaust pipe that they couldn't ne bothered to tuck in behind the fairing. The engine is hidden behind a full-fairing. That's OK, but why do they think that a potential owner would have a "thing" about being able to see an exhaust pipe?
Yes. Pillion accommodation is withthe comfort seat is actually pretty good. Better than most nakeds. Mine has the pillion backrest which I don't much like as I never carry a pillion. But I like the boot scraper numberplate hanger even less and if I got rid of the rear tail light unit which the backrest is part of, I'd have to reinstate the underseat lights which would mean losing the high-level tail tidy and going back to the boot scraper, so I'm learning to love the back rest. And it is handy for strapping tail packs to.
Hardly any bikes look nice nowadays. They're all covered in black plastic and tubing. The Diavel actually looks pretty damn smart in the metal as there's lots of very neat little touches on it that don't really show up in pics, and the lines are nice as you walk round. It gets a lot of attention so it must be doing something right. Personally, as long it's not an absolute pig, I don't much care. I'm far more interested with how it rides, and after my few personalising mods, the Diavel is fantastic in that department. I would like to tone down the monotone black plastic with some sleek carbon, and maybe a set of milled X Diavel belt covers which I've always thought looked nice. And I plan to loose the brushed aluminium intake duct covers and replace with carbon as I don't much like the brushed raw metal look. It's very industrial. Triumph go overboard with it on their bikes.
I like the Royal Enfield Guerillla 450 and the Triumph Speed 400 and there is other stuff. I have a list somewhere. Now, I am a bit odd and I accept that. I am obsessed with weight as I my left leg has been badly messed up, so it is not strong enough to hold up anything heavy. To illustrate my mental brain damage, I have even been looking at scooters. that would save my hip being worked hard to throw a leg over the saddle. I've never owned, nor wanted a scooter before, but now my interest has been raised. What are they like to own and ride. Anyone know?
Neevsie at MCN bought some species of 400 cc scooter, a Yam I think, for year-round commuting to the office and absolutely loves it. And he's a track fiend. You can even get a little tent that goes over your knees and keeps your legs dry. There's an MCN Youtube vid about it somewhere.
Honda GB350 has a good following - strong rumours of a 500cc model coming too. Not sure on weight of them though
I did consider Honda, but didn't go with it for reasons that I cannot remember. I will look into it again. The other bike was the Aprilia Tuano 457. All of these makes are available from Fowlers in Bristol, where my KTMs have all come from. We are so lucky to have Fowlers close by. They stock everything and have a brilliant cafe. The don't do Ducati, though. We have Riders of Bristol (or Bridgewater) for Harley and Ducati. Harley I don't care about and Ducati I do , but there is just not a model that I like right now.
Deffo not! The money being asked for that shit is plain ridiculous - well, to me anyway! I'll keep on thinking. I'm only interested in toys, not anything complicated. When he stopped for petrol was interesting. How complicated does it need to be? Miles more awkward than a normal bike, but twice, or three times, harder than my car. It all just looked like hassle to me!
I think he made it more complicated to be fair. Anyways, we’ve put that idea to bed. It was just your comment regarding hip/leg movement and I though a ‘step-through’ would solve that issue.
Doesn't fit the brief in this case, but if I was looking for a "proper" bike that looked like a bike I'd have one of these.
No, I don't know, but I wouldn't have thought they'd be as stable as a bike cornering. Or gripping the road - though less sure about that.
Yeah but screw the brief! I think that I would of looked into it and the deal breaker might of been weight. I dunno though and will look at it again!
The Thruxton is the pretty one but the Speed Twin is more comfortable. They're not light - it's a 1200 twin. But they are compact, not too tall and the weight is carried reasonably low. All you can do is try one out. Only you can judge whether it's manageable for you. But just on proper bike looks, the 1200 Bonnies get my vote.
