I can't get my poor damaged head around whether the V4 is good or bad (ie better than a traditional twin) and the "shock" of dropping desmo and going back to valve springs! I dunno whether it is the "old fart" in me, or reluctance to accept change. Tha plan always was to "reward" myself by buying myself a new Ducati when I felt strong enough and confident enough to ride again. Then, with all of the DVLA nonsense and my "confusion" over Ducati's new direction, I just think,"feck it!", I'll stick with what I have! Back to my new hobby: not cooperating with my solicitor!
So, I buy my 18k + V4 with 170bhp+ and think, "fecking brill!!" and then take my new bike on the Ridgeway. Get it covered in sh1t, drop it a few times in the mud, and then take it back to Riders to get my brand new bike repaired - that is assuming I didn't drop it on the deserted Marlborough Downs and think, "feck it! I'll get a taxi to Swindon station and then a train home, coz it is too heavy too pick up". Next thing I know the Police contact me ordering me to remove the discarded bike from a public RUPP. I tell them to scrap it! And then I woke up.
Or, if I have that big will to go off-road, I buy this brand new to go green, keep my old petrol Ducatis, thus saving about 10k!
Desmo vs springs only helps at higher revs,completely pointless to run desmo on an adventure/sports touring bike. Springs =much quicker/easier to service, longer service period...both make sense on a Multistrada.
None of these heavier "adventure" bikes are suited for proper offroad riding. Drop a 230kg bike and try and lift on your own in middle of nowhere from a shallow ditch. In my opinion a proper adventure bike is the Yamaha Tenere 700 or a KTM 790 adventure.
not ideal. I wonder what the tank range is like? That’s the draw for me to something like the GSA for touring despite the fact a gs couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding
The "press" seems to be very accommodating and accepting the gig without question. Maybe it's a sign of age. When I used to read mags (mainly "Bike") years ago, it was, "oh, yer, never thought of that. good point!". Now, it's, "Wot a load of sh1t! That's crap!". Assuming that I am wrong, what we want is bigger, heavier, taller, more powerful"adventure" bikes to wreck. The jounos buy into the gig by being taken to Spain or Italy to do their "off-road" on nice flat gravel roads where they can drop a bike with impunity, knowing that a) they don't have to pay for the repairs, and b) if they are nice, they will then be spirited away to a race track for more "testing". The connection between UK motorcyclists and Bike "journalist" is well and truly broken, screwed up and dropped in the bin. Just my view but that is how it looks to me.
Both of which are still over 200kg (wet). Not a criticism of your choice but but what seems to be an industry trend, heavier bikes and taller seat heights. Andy
The result of which, putting aside my DVLA hassle, is that I've lost all interest in buying a new bike. Just gonna stick with my old stuff. And since youngsters haven't bought bikes for years, the bike industry has managed to put off a member of its target audience. My congratulations.
