addition for home maintenance and the inevitable roadside puncture repair . The engine protection crash bars look solid and strong , but are entirely bolted to the engine cases , which I hope won ’ t be problematic in a crash .
BIG STEP UP The new 900 engine , actually 888cc , is a very obvious step-up and has a dramatically different power delivery from the earlier 800 models . 94hp is available at 8750rpm and 87Nm of torque at 7250 . The DOHC triple has gone from a 1-2-3 firing order to a 1-3-2 order in aid of shifting the bulk of the grunt down to the lower mid-range . As a result , gone is the mild-ish low end , linear mid-range and high revving top-end biased power - to be replaced by a strong and responsive , yet smooth and torquey , delivery from idle until about 5500rpm . From there up the vibes creep in a little , but the top-end remains good and useable . However , with the grunt being so flexible and effortless from idle to the upper midrange , short-shifting gears is the name of the game . In fact , very rapid progress can be made just between 4000 and 5000rpm , which really is the sweet spot of this engine . Yes , that is only a range of a thousand revs ,
KIWI RIDER 49