Tag: Motorcycle Review

The latest Motorcycle review from THEGAYUK.

Jaw Dropping Harley Scrambler

Fastec Racing, based in Newmarket, is an engineering company who manufacture custom parts for everyone from race teams to joe public. To promote their work (and because they live and breath bikes) they have built a string of show bikes. One of the latest is this disrespectful, insolent Harley Sportster Scrambler / Tracker. This bike reeks of attitude and bad manners but man, it looks like it’s fun.

Originally an XL1200 Sportster, it’s been rebuilt, piece by piece from the ground up. The engine has had a complete nut and bolt rebuild including brand new pistons and barrels. Exhaust gasses exit fast and loud through some hand made stubby pipes

One of the most impressive tricks up the sleeve of this mischievous Harley is the electrical system. The old Harley wiring was ripped out and replaced with a Motogadget M-unit blue. This is the heart of the entire onboard electrical system and controls everything from the ignition to the lights to the alarm and everything else electrical. The coolest thing about this system is the Bluetooth capability. All of these features and more can be controlled from an app on your phone. Remote start, engine diagnostics, positioning and a whole host of other stuff.

The rear frame overhang on the standard Sportster has been cut off behind the upper shock mounts and an upswept rear hoop has been seamlessly grafted in, following the line of the fame, from swingarm pivot to upper rear shock mounts. An in house fabricated short rear mudguard and hand fabricated oil tank, ignition cover and custom made short seat gives the bike a tough, hard as nails look and those CNC’d footpegs have a steampunk kind of vibe.

A Suzuki GSF 1200 Bandit rear wheel has been expertly squeezed into the rear with a Fastec brake calliper mount and spacers. Up front, there’s a Bandit 1200 front end; forks, wheel and brakes. That’s not as easy as it sounds. The bandit forks are beefier than the Harley forks and the spacing is wider to allow for the wider front wheel. To accomplish this, Fastec designed and manufactured a custom set of yokes to take the 43mm Bandit stanchions. The forks are held tight with one of their own Suzuki Bandit fork braces. Bars are mounted on custom risers with machined handlebar grips, all made in house.

Why a Bandit front end on a Harley? The GSF Bandit is a great bike to modify and always has been. By grafting on a Bandit front end they get a twin disc front brake setup and a wider front wheel allowing for a much broader choice of rubber.

Talking of rubber, this scrambler/tracker runs Heidenau K73 supermoto tyres to give that hardcore look and still offer plenty of grip, with 120/70-17 up front and 160/60-17 at the back.

The icing on the cake is the paintwork, taken care of by Hilary at Hurricane Airbrush Art.

17th February 2019
TECH REVIEW | Zumo 396 LMT-S Sat Nav

★★★★★ | Zumo 396 LMT-S Sat Nav

These days, most of the cars I drive have factory SatNav. If not, I’ll use my Google maps on my phone in a holder, simples.

On the bike, I have persevered for ages, trying to strap my phone to a holder or, if it looks like rain, stopping regularly to check google maps on my phone then carrying on for a bit.

On the bike, I had to say enough was enough. The phone doesn’t work in the sun, isn’t waterproof and just isn’t practical. Time for a dedicated SatNav.

Garmin came to the rescue with the devices a rugged unit, comes complete with bar mounts (and suction mount for the car) and it has a glove-friendly, sunlight-readable 4.3″ display; resistant to fuel vapours, UV rays and harsh weather.

It’s rammed with features like WiFi updating, adventurous routing (forget boring A road slogs), live traffic, speed cameras and weather, as well as on-screen notifications from your phone and hands-free calling if you connect it to your Bluetooth headset. You get free lifetime maps too.

This Garmin is a genuinely clever bit of kit. To really turbocharge it you need to connect it to an app on your phone (doesn’t use much data at all) and then you get live traffic updates and re-routing options, notifications for sharp curves, speed cameras, rail and animal crossings, schools and slower traffic and even Incident notification (to alert the contact of your choice in the event of a crash by sending them a link to your location). Now that’s clever.

The more I use it, the more features I discover, like the fatigue warning that flashes up after a couple of hours, offering you suggested stops nearby.

There’s a TripAdvisor app for ratings of nearby restaurants, hotels etc and a Foursquare app for a list of restaurants and things to do nearby, I don’t really use that much but it’s a pretty good feature.

You can mount the unit easily with the supplied bar mount and brackets.

It has a decent battery: A full charge seems to last for about an hour and a half, then dims to 40% brightness and it’s around 3 hours in total until it turns off. You can, however, either hardwire it with the kit supplied (direct to battery or ignition) or plug it into a USB type 12v charging socket. The satnav simply clips to a spring-loaded holder so it’s really easy to unclip it from the bike when you’re at your destination.

The sidebar is fully customisable. Smart notifications can include alerts of emails, missed calls, SMS, WhatsApp, social media and more. Even things like elevation, traffic and other items like fuel stops ahead, trip data, weather (it’ll show you the expected weather at three points along your planned route), phone and the media player.

You can select what categories of alerts are shown, or turn them off altogether vid the apps menu.

The Zumo 396 LMT-S has car, motorcycle and off-road profiles. These affect the default route planning, map view, tools displayed, avoidances and off-route recalculation modes.

Stopping to check my phone has been a massive pain in the arse. I have to keep taking a glove off to get the touch screen to work. One of my favourite things on the Garmin is the touch screen. It works with a gloved hand… bliss. I’m sure others have it but it’s such a relief.

The Garmin Zumo 369 LMT-S seems to be very well sealed from the weather, I haven’t had an issue yet and have been out in pretty heavy rain.

Navigation is really good. That’s what this is about after all. The top bar shows information about the upcoming turn and distance, that kind of thing. There’s a clear map which you can change to suit you, and as you approach your exit, a clear illustration of your motorway junctions makes it easy to understand which lane to be in. Positioning accuracy is great and it doesn’t seem to lag much at all.

I’ve been running the Garmin Zumo 369 LMT-S in my car next to Google maps on my phone as a comparison.

I think Google Maps is slightly better when suggesting the best route and rerouting around traffic or issues. Google just seems to have slightly better information. Only slightly though and that’s more than offset by the myriad of awesome features on the Zumo.

The other main benefit I find with Google Maps is the address search. I visit customers all week. That means I don’t always know their address. With Google, I search up the business name and usually just click ‘directions’, which ports that info into Maps. Most aftermarket SatNavs I’ve used, including this Zumo (unless I’m doing it wrong), don’t have a great business name or address directory function.

In my opinion, this is a great unit. It’s bike specific, waterproof, touch screen you can use with a gloved hand and can see it in daylight and all the other cool features.

I really like it. It’s made a massive difference to my riding.

Available from Amazon for under £60

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11th February 2019
MOTORBIKE REVIEW | Suzuki GSX-S125

★★★★☆ | Suzuki GSX-S125

Float like a butterfly sting like a bee

What Have We Got

In this age of ever Increasing motoring costs, swapping to two wheels makes more and more sense. Roads are congested, fuel costs a fortune and we seem to spend half our lives sitting in traffic or looking for a parking space.

We wanted to try one of the current crop of 125cc commuters and see how practical they are.

Suzuki’s GSX-S125 is a funky, naked styled, Street bike. It looks great, it’s fun and it’ll do up to a claimed 122.82mpg! What a way to beat the traffic, have some fun and save money at the same time.

Riding

It feels tiny. With a seat height of just 785mm and a kerb weight of only 133kg, it’s a featherweight. The bars are in a great position making it easy to manoeuvre and legs are nicely placed for a comfortable ride. When you’re sat on it you’re the widest part which means you can judge gaps in the traffic easily making it a superb commuting tool, slicing through traffic with ease.

With only 15ps it’s not fast but the little single cylinder, DOHC (Double Over Head Cam) or ‘twin cam’ engine loves to rev and is good fun.

On a dual carriageway or motorway you struggle. It wouldn’t do much more than 70mph with my fat arse on it, but with a little 17-year-old should be good for more. Either way, 65-70mph is fine.

https://youtu.be/hihcf1iLa7w

Details

A bike like this isn’t going to be festooned with kit. It’s nicely built, unlike the cheap Chinese 125’s you can get. Switchgear is all good quality stuff and it looks and feels great. The gearbox was ok, it didn’t like clutchless up changes but the ‘box is smooth and easy to use.

This little Suzuki is really light. They’ve saved weight all over, for example, it has forged aluminium wheels which help the bike turn quickly. ABS is also standard, helping to keep you safe as are LED lights and a neat, compact LCD dash.

We would expect the Suzuki GSX-S125 will hold its value much better than a cheap Chinese bike too.

Living with it

You have to take this bike in context. It’s an urban Street bike. Cool, fun and made to cut through traffic and put a smile on your face.

It handles really well, it’s very flickable. As you would expect from a bike that weighs as much as a paper bag, it turns and stops very sharply.

15ps (maximum allowed for an A1 licence) isn’t much but it’s on par with the most powerful in its class. The styling is spot on. That big Suzuki logo on the side looks really cool, and the metallic blue paint on our bike looked great.

The Verdict

Back in my day, you could pass your CBT on a little 125 scooter or something like that, then jump on a 500cc bike to take your big bike test which allowed you to ride anything. These days, it’s not so easy. There are several stages now, have a look here for more info; http://www.geton.co.uk/motorcycle-training-licence/

The first main step after you basic CBT allows you to ride this and bikes like it. Whether it’s a stepping stone to getting your big bike licence, a way to get on the road cheaply as a kid or just a commuting tool to beat the traffic and save money, you can’t go wrong with the GSX-S125. It’s fun, looks good, easy to ride and cheap to run. What’s not to like?

Love

Fun factor

Cheap to run

Easy to ride

Loathe

Slow (compared to big bikes)

I looked a bit daft on it

Nowhere to put anything

Lowdown

Bike – Suzuki GSX-S125

Price – £3,799

MPG – 122.82 (combined)

Power – 14.9hp and 11.5nm torque

Top Speed – approx 80 mph if you’re little

Co2 – 54 (g/km)

7th November 2018
MOTORBIKE REVIEW | KTM 790 Duke – Ready to Race

★★★★★ | KTM 790 Duke

What Have We Got

KTM has a rich and successful motorcycle pedigree. Countless world championships across a wide range of disciplines from Motocross to Endurance to Moto3 and much more. They have become one of the most successful motorcycle brands in history. KTM has been one of the world’s fastest-growing motorcycle manufacturers for some time now. 2016 was the company’s sixth consecutive record year and in 2018, they unleashed this 790 Duke on the world.

Small, light and fast, the KTM 790 Duke is powered by the brand new LC8c parallel twin engine kicking out 105 hp.

Riding

When you first swing your leg over, the Duke feels small, like a 250, narrow and short. It’s purposeful and uncomplicated. Press the starter and it barks into life. The parallel twin sounds just like a V twin with a powerful and potent rumble.

When you increase the pace, the 790 really starts to make sense.

It’s great at commuting, it’s noisy, torquey and very easy to manoeuvre, making light work of slicing through town. As you leave the 30mph confines and the road starts to open up and the pace increases, the KTM loves it. The harder you push, the better it gets, It really is a little hooligan.

It’s fitted with a quickshifter as standard so going up and down through the 6-speed box is effortless, helped by a slipper clutch (PASC™). I found a couple of false neutrals on the way up through the ‘box but put it down to the bike having been a press bike that’s probably seen it’s fair share of abuse.

Details

There’s a funky ultra lightweight chrome-molybdenum steel trellis frame with bolt-on aluminium rear subframe and very cool looking die-cast aluminium open lattice swingarm and at the sharp end, you’ll find 43mm upside-down WP suspension forks fitted with progressive springs.

Outback is a WP suspension, gas-assisted, directly linked rear shock, also with progressive spring and 12-stage adjustable preload.

Front brakes are KTM branded, radial 4-piston callipers with a radial front brake master cylinder working on twin 300 mm front brake discs. I thought the whole lot was excellent, needing little more than 2 fingers.

KTM’s 790 Duke has ride mode technology with customizable track mode as standard. This wild child is among the best equipped bikes in this arena, with ride mode technology with customizable track mode as standard. It Boasts an array of tech usually seen on bikes costing twice as much; Cornering ABS including Supermoto mode (for backing it in), lean-angle sensitive motorcycle traction control (MTC), motor slip regulation (MSR), Quickshifter+, and even launch control work seamlessly to make this a very serious weapon.

The compact and neat TFT dashboard works with KTM MY RIDE which is a smartphone app that is an awesome tool, click the link to see what it can do.

Living with it

KTM have fitted Maxxis Superamaxx ST tyres which on my test ride on dry, warm roads, were great. It had a brand new rear tyre so I took a few miles to wear it in but they felt very stable, loads of grip, easily able to get a knee down without feeling it was anywhere near the limit of grip.

KTM says the goal with the 790 Duke was to create the ultimate street weapon. Ultimate is a big boast but it is really, really good.

In my opinion, it was all the bike you’ll ever need. You can jump on it and pop to the shops or head off to a track day, it will easily do everything and do it bloody well.

My one complaint was the complete lack of protection. It’s a naked bike so no fairing, not even a fly screen. The 790 is fast, so you’re at mad speeds most of the time. On dual carriageways and motorway, it’s tiring but, don’t go on them!

The Verdict

Brilliant, fast, light and more fun than any bike has a right to be. That’s how I’d sum the KTM 790 Duke. Accelerating hard, throwing gears at it with the quickshifter doing its job, cutting through the countryside at daft speeds. Looking for trouble, adrenaline pumping, the parallel twin barking and shouting “is that all you’ve got”.

Riding the 790 Duke was a pure, visceral experience. I keep catching myself daydreaming about it now, imagining gunning it out of a corner or flicking from side to side through a roundabout.

Loves

1 Fast! It’s really fast

2 Handling. It’s outrageous

3 Quickshifter+

Loathes

1 No wind protection

2 Heat, it got pretty hot

3 Gearbox. I got a few false neutrals

Lowdown

Bike – KTM 790 Duke
Price – £8499
MPG – 48 mpg
0-62 – 3.1s
Power – 105 bhp / 86 Nm torque
Top Speed – 151 mph
Co2 – 102.9 (g/km)

27th October 2018
MOTORBIKE REVIEW | Suzuki V-Strom100XT

★★★★★ | Suzuki V-Strom100XT, Jack of all trades

What Have We Got?

I would have loved to see the look on the old guy’s face, comfortably oblivious of his surroundings, safe in his generic eurobox, as we exited the roundabout side by side, me on the V-Strom, cranked over will a full set of luggage. ‘Round the outside, hard on the gas, then off into the distance.

I’d like to think he would have turned to Dorris in the passenger seat and muttered, “I didn’t expect that.”

Suzuki have been in the adventure bike game for a long time. The V-strom first landed on our shores in 2002 and this is the latest incarnation. It’s got a 1037cc 90 degree V twin kicks out 100 bhp and 101 Nm torque and is huge fun.

Riding

Well, I’m actually quite new to adventure bikes. These days, the roads are in a pretty shit state and I’m older, so I thought I’d give it a go. I wasn’t disappointed. The V-Strom100XT is a big beast but so are all adventure bikes in this class. Mine had optional (and expensive) luggage too so I was a bit tentative filtering through traffic.

It’s big, very comfortable, punchy and great fun, way more fun that I expected. It turns well, handles nicely and I’d go as far as to say pretty sporty on the road. Something I particularly liked was the ability to be fast over any road surface. A few times I was riding with other guys on sports bikes on the back roads and they just couldn’t live with the Strom. It’s plush, forgiving suspension just dances over the rough, potholed roads, still giving good feedback and confidence, no doubt helped by the electronics. The guys on their sports bikes were shaken to pieces.

Details
Stopping the V-Strom is easy thanks to radial mounted four-piston monobloc Tokico brake callipers biting on to twin 310mm diameter discs on the front, and a 260mm diameter single disc with a single piston calliper on the rear.

The Bosch ABS system has what Suzuki call “Motion Track Brake System¹” which uses a 5-Axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which measures lean angle and front and rear wheel speeds and provides optimal ABS braking for the situation. Very clever.

There’s also 2 mode traction control.

1 is the lowest level of intervention, allowing sporty riding. It allows an amount of wheel spin so you can have fun.

2 is normal which eliminates wheel spin to ensure a safe ride. Great for riding in the wet.

You can, of course, turn it off if you want, if you were heading off road for example.

Living with it

Suzuki’s V-Strom1000XT is an awesome bike. It did everything we asked it to without breaking into a sweat. We even took a V-Strom on track, hooning it around Bruntingthorpe. Admittedly it’s not the obvious choice as a track slag but it was surprisingly good. It moves around a little when you really push on and the pegs tend to go down, but it’s very good and very funny to see other people’s reactions. It doesn’t do anything stupid, it’ll hold a decent line and doesn’t sit up on the brakes in the corners. It’s a very civilised way to do a track day.

The Verdict

Why a V-Strom? The adventure bike sector is crammed with bikes. Everyone seems to do one or even several. BMW is the obvious choice and arguably, you can say they started it all.

Yamaha, Triumph, Honda, KTM, Ducati and more all play in this playground.

The V-Strom sits in between most of these interestingly. Generally, adventure bikes are around 1200cc or 800cc (ish). Suzuki’s V-Strom1000 sits in the middle. At 232kg It’s lighter than pretty much all of the competition, even the smallest capacity bikes like the Triumph Tiger 800.

It’s obviously down on power on the big capacity competition but at £9,999 it’s very well priced.

A BMW R1200GS, for example, starts at £12,400 and a Honda Africa twin starts at £11,575.

Loves
1 Comfort, you can ride for hours
2 Great handling
3 Torquey V-twin engine

Loathes
1 Optional luggage was odd shaped & pretty small
2 Vibey at low revs
3 Dashboard is pretty busy

Lowdown
Motorcycle – Suzuki V-Strom1000XT
Price – £9.999
MPG – 58.85mpg (manufacturer claimed. We only got around 40 mpg)
0-62 – 3.1s
Power – 100 bhp / 101 Nm torque
Top Speed – 126 mph
Co2 – 112 (g/km)

15th October 2018
MOTORBIKE REVIEW | Suzuki V-Strom 250 ABS

★★★★★ | Suzuki V-Strom 250 ABS

The bike

The bike we have here is a Suzuki V-Strom 250 which falls perfectly into the A2 licence* class. It’s an adventure bike, with longer travel suspension, upright seating position. Think of it like an SUV. Looks good, rugged, can handle all sorts from off road to motorways so it’s perfect for our crappy roads. It has a 248cc parallel-twin engine and is more road-focussed that off road. 248cc, 25bhp and 23.4 Nm torque doesn’t sound like much, but it’s enough to have fun and do whatever you need to do.

Riding

It’s not particularly fast with a top speed of 85 mph which means those faster overtakes need a little planning. With such modest power and a fun chassis, it does mean you can exploit the V-Strom pretty much everywhere without constantly looking over your shoulder for blue lights. You won’t believe how easy the little V-Strom is to ride.

Bars are fairly high and the seat is soft and comfortable, prompting you to sit up straight in a typical adventure bike style.

It’s big enough to have some road presence and small enough to filter through traffic and it does it all on a thimble full of fuel. This little adventure bike does a staggering 88 mpg which means over 310 miles on a single tank.

Details

There’s a 12V DC power outlet for your sat nav or your phone, a very neat reverse-lit full-LCD instrument panel showing; Speedometer, tachometer, odometer, average fuel consumption, fuel gauge, RPM, service indicator, clock, dual trip meters, gear position, coolant temperature and oil pressure. It sounds like a lot of information but it’s very easy to read. There’s a very handy screen in front of you to protect you from the wind too.
The brakes offer good feel and work well and Bosch ABS is standard. It’s rugged and handsome and doesn’t look like a beginner bike.

Living with it

On the road, the bike rides very nicely. The V-Strom turns well and is fun. It’s a very friendly package, helping you to feel safe and confident. If you’re new to bikes or returning, this is a great way to build your confidence. It’s very easy to manoeuvre with good steering lock which makes urban riding simple.

Despite its adventure bike looks, it’s a pussycat. With a low seat height, it’s a piece of cake to ride. The upright riding position is very comfortable but it isn’t fast.

The Verdict

If you are a new rider or returning to two wheels after a break the V-Strom 250 is great. It looks good, it’s easy to ride, it’s economical and won’t break the bank. It’s not fast so is ideally suited to urban riding and not really ideal for motorway miles.

There are many benefits to riding a motorcycle. it’s fun, It’s practical and in these times of ever-increasing congestion on our roads, a bike offers a fantastic alternative to sitting in queues of traffic hour after hour. It’s greener too!

Loves

Easy to ride & fun

Uses hardly any fuel

Rugged, handsome styling

Loathes

Not very fast

A little buzzy when you rev it hard

Exhaust is quiet

Lowdown

Motorcycle – Suzuki V-Strom 250

Price – £4.599
MPG – 88.28 mpg (combined)

0-62 – 9.3 seconds

Power – 25bhp and 23.4 Nm torque

Top Speed – 85 mph
Co2 – 72 (g/km)

*if you are over 19 with a full car licence, you can take your CBT (basic test), take your theory test and your practical test (just like a car), then you can ride any bike up to 35kw (47bhp). That’s called an A2 licence.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/568266/routes-to-your-motorcycle-licence.pdf

4th September 2018
When is a cheap helmet not a cheap helmet?

Don’t rule out a cheaper helmet.

A few years ago, after an unexpected off (aren’t they all unexpected?) I needed a new helmet.

Funds were low so so I opted for a Nitro helmet for less than £100. It was a decision I regretted straight away, it was so noisy, uncomfortable and poorly built. I’ve been off bikes for a while so upon my return to two wheels I found myself on the hunt for a new helmet again.

One thing that hadn’t changed was my financial situation so I was looking at a budget helmet again. In the few years I’ve been away from motorcycles, things have changed. A budget helmet used to be a pretty poor relation to the big money race replica lids you see but these days they are so much better.

There are a huge number of budget helmets out there. From as little as £50 you can buy a full face helmet these days and I had no idea how to tell good from bad so I read the reviews and then spoke to the team at GetGeared. They have a big range and talked me through them. It turns out that our heads are all different shapes so some helmets fit some of us better than others. There are lots of helmet retailers out there, don’t be afraid of end of line deals either.

Long story short, I went for a MT Helmets Mugello Vapour in yellow. It’s very yellow which is good, as it might help the half-asleep car drivers see me.

Unboxing was a treat. It’s a world away from my old Nitro. The MT feels plush, well built and feels as if it’s worth a lot more money. It was only £60, reduced from £80 and was purchased online, delivered in a couple of days. It even comes with a helmet bag… behave.

It’s a four-star helmet which means in the Sharpe test (industry standard helmet tests, a bit line NCAP for cars) it did well.

If this is what budget helmets are like, manufacturers at the top end of the market should look out. My new lid fits really well, is comfortable and has useful features like the breath deflector which sits in front of your nose and stops the visor misting up, and the chin curtain, a stretchy band around the bottom of the helmet that stops the wind getting in, really help. It’s got a removable, washable liner and a really useful quick release buckle. Both are welcome features. Trying to undo a sweaty lid with a gloved hand is a pain.

There are loads of features but I won’t bore you. Put simply I’ve done hours and hours in it now and it’s great. I’ve done a race school in a single seat race car, a motorcycle track day and many, many road miles in rain, sun, more sun, so much sun and wind. No complaints at all, it’s proved to be an excellent buy, quiet, comfortable, easy to wear. I can’t believe you can buy a helmet like this for so little money.

Give the team at GetGeared a shout or better still call in and try a few helmets on, they have hundreds.

29th August 2018
MOTORCYCLE REVIEW | Suzuki SV650X ABS

★★★★★ | Suzuki SV650X ABS

The bike

What we have here is the retro-styled, naked bike called the SV650X. It’s a small capacity, light and nimble naked bike that is just about as much fun as you can have on two wheels.

Suzuki’s SV has been around since 1999 and is more popular than ever. After having this one for a few weeks I can see why. Do you really need a 180bhp sports bike? Who new 75bhp could be so much fun?

Riding

The heart of the SV is the punchy engine. A 645cc 4-stroke, DOHC, 90°V-twin that loves to rev. 75bhp and 64Nm of torque isn’t a lot in these days of 180bhp sports bikes, but that’s missing the point. Suzuki’s SV is so much fun and the performance is so accessible, you just can’t fight the urge to use it. SV’s have always had a reputation for being a great handling bike and this new model continues that theme. It’s great, flicks easily from side to side and is just so much fun.

Details

The SV-X has clip ons, a funky little cafe racer style headlight cowl and a really cool, tuck and roll seat and different paint. SV’s have always had a reputation for being a great handling bike. 41mm right way up forks are preload adjustable and did a good job on my bike. The rear shock is 7-way adjustable for preload. Front brakes are Tokico twin piston calipers on twin 290mm floating discs with ABS and do a great job. Fast road riding was easy, not too hard or soft and it was a joy to flick from side to side.

Living With It

The SV650X mixes a great chassis with usable power, which means that unlike a litre bike, where you rarely get to exploit all that power, with the SV you can wring its neck, laughing all the way to the 14k rpm rev limit, again and again and again. The noise is intoxicating, sounding like a mini MotoGP bike. With a race can this would sound awesome.

Suzuki has blessed the SV with a lovely gearbox. Under hard acceleration, you don’t need to use the clutch going up the ‘box, the gear change is so sweet and very fast.

The Verdict

Loves

Fun
Punchy engine
Great chassis

Loathes

Snatchy at very low speed
Slightly conservative styling
Suzuki wanted it back

Lowdown

Motorcycle – Suzuki SV650X
Price – £6,199
MPG – 72.43 mpg (combined)
0-62 – 3.3 seconds
Power – 75 bhp / 64 Nm of torque
Top Speed – 133 mph
Co2 – 91 (g/km)

22nd August 2018
MOTORCYCLE REVIEW | Suzuki Burgman 650 ABS

★★★★★ | Suzuki Burgman 650 ABS

The bike

One of the most unusual bikes I’ve ridden is the Suzuki Burgman 650. On one hand, it’s a twist and go scooter, on the other, it’s a luxurious tourer. In reality, it’s a bit of both. It’s one of the new crop of maxi scooters.

The Burgman is powered by a silky smooth parallel twin 638cc engine putting out 55 bhp and 62 Nm of torque. It’s velvety smooth and it’s mated to a Suzuki Electronic CVT gearbox (Continuously Variable Transmission), that’s a kind of automatic gearbox.

Riding

The Burgman is a pleasure to ride. The feet forward riding position takes some getting used to as does the twist and go gearbox, but it’s such an easy bike to ride. It’s lively, It turns in sharply and holds a nice line and is very easy to manoeuvre. The suspension is supple like a French car, and the ride quality is great. Cornering is easy, it’s eager to turn and even fun to throw around. I actually touched down the centre stand a couple of times but I was being a little daring.

Details

The dashboard gives more information than you know what to do with, but it’s not intrusive or distracting. It tells you when you need to change the oil, oil level, air temp, water temp, the time, plus there’s a great trip computer with information on fuel consumption, range and more.

A big seat, loads of storage, heated grips, electric folding mirrors, tall electric screen all add make it feel more like an adventure bike than a maxi scooter. Build quality was excellent, no exposed wires, no dodgy catches or rattling, squeaky panels.

Living With It

Brakes are very good, it doesn’t dive or push on. An electrically adjustable tall screen means motorway miles are a breeze, the wind hardly touched me and you sit up straight too which means you can see over the cars in front.

I took the Burgman it on a 2-day road trip on all sorts of roads, 2 days luggage, my laptop and all manner of stuff crammed in the massive storage compartment under the seat. It’s practical, fun, easy to ride and economical. What’s not to like?

The Verdict

The Suzuki Burgman is bristling with equipment, it’s easy to ride, it’s comfortable and even economical. It sounds like the perfect do it all bike then right? It nearly is. The Burgman is a little long in the tooth, it’s a few years old now. It also suffers from an image problem in certain circles; is it a proper bike? But other than that, it really is a do it all motorcycle. Pop to the shops or ride across Europe, the Burgman will eat it up.

Build quality is great and its pricing is easily comparable with the competition, most of which have smaller engines too.

Loves

Comfort

Practicality

Easy to live with

Loathes

Snatchy at very low speed

In the company of big bikes, you feel inferior

It’s very wide when you’re filtering through traffic

Lowdown

Motorcycle – Suzuki Burgman 650 ABS
Price – £9,199
MPG – 60.5 mpg (combined)
0-62 – 8.3 seconds
Power – 55 bhp / 62 Nm of torque
Top Speed – 110+ mph
Co2 – 109 (g/km)

19th August 2018