Lay-By Eyes

Dodging the showers on the Guzzi and fresh from a ride into enemy territory [or Nottingham if you prefer] I carried out a stealth mission to investigate a motorcycle which I have become somewhat obsessed with since seeing it back in November last year at the NEC Bike Show. After booking a test ride online, observing social distancing and waiting to be summoned into the dealership I must admit to being a trifle disappointed to be told that the demo bike had been sold the previous afternoon, no worries, all taken with good grace and a healthy dose of craic sadly missing from this ‘customer focused’ world in which we reside.
  I did though get to have a sit on the machine and have a really good look around it, first impressions? Total Quality. Everything fits properly, no unsightly panel fits, no tie-wraps holding hoses/cables/wires, instead q/r button through rubbers, nice fasteners, Brembo brakes, decent suspension, [Paioli I think?] Pro-Taper bars, lovely Dunlop tyres, deep, deep paintwork on the frame and cycle parts, very, very impressive to these jaundiced old eyes.
    And then? Well let’s talk performance figures, 123bhp with 85 foot torque! Mental. [to add a perspective my nutter KTM 790 Duke is 105bhp with 64 foot torque] OK probably not a fair comparison due to the difference in cubic capacity but seriously? Twice the bhp of a Harley Davidson Sportster for almost the same green folding!
   So, that’s why I end up sitting in a lay-by in rural Leicestershire, swigging a bottle of Pellegrino, doing some sums and desperately thinking how I can try to persuade Mrs B that I really need another motorcycle in the shed...........