Stunning looks; well priced; easy to ride
A bit slow; over-geared; very soft suspension
Firstly the engine is a mellow, fugal, but capable
250cc single that is massively over-geared in
standard trim. It is not the fire-breathing 450cc or
larger machine I projected onto it that I wanted
it to be. I put the Rally on a stand, wheels off the
ground and revved it out in top gear. 171km/h
showed on the dash. You could lower the gearing
and the top speed by 40km/h and still have a
properly illegal final gear. But you’d be rewarded
with a far more responsive engine and more
capable and flexible gearing for adventure rides.
Then there is the small matter of the suspension
that is extremely soft and aimed at the novice trail
rider. I think the reasonably long travel suspension is
even too soft for the ‘larger’ novice rider on the road;
it wallows in turns with my 100kg of ex-farmer mass.
Now, this might be starting to sound like I don’t
like the Rally, but the opposite is actually true.
KIWI RIDER 49