Vale’s M1-inspired looks; worthwhile front
end updates; trackday sleeper
It’s up to date but not ahead of the
pack like before
If you were heading to the track, the ABS is the
first thing you would take off a bike like this, but
it passed the test as above average, only cutting
in when it shouldn’t occasionally. It’s no big
deal, but it’s not meant for the track and works
perfectly on the road.
Later in the day I got to ride the ‘19 race bike
and, boy, that was just sensational. The Pirelli
Diablo tyres stuck like glue and with the weight
of all the road-going items pared off, and Akro
pipe giving five more horsepower, there was
a definitive increase in speed. I ride a lot of
big bikes on track and have raced big bikes
throughout my career, but I’ve never had quite
so much fun as I did on that bike. This bike also
had the Ohlins fitted front and rear, and at the
extra speed it worked a treat. The bike rode the
bumps much better than standard and turned
tighter than the street version. Driving out onto
the straight I could wind it up earlier too, it was
just such a nice bike to ride.