SUMMER IS COMING
personal thing. And personally, yep, I think it’s cool.
The riding position is quirky but comfortable,
the bars are upright and wide, and manoeuvring
for parking is slightly niggly because of it, but
zapping around town, and in and out of wiggling,
windy back roads they are fantastic. The seat
height at 850mm is low enough for me to sit flat
footed at the lights, but high enough to give great
visibility, and, although the seat itself is a trifle
firm on humps and sharp bumps, it is surprisingly
comfortable on a longer motorway blat of 60km
or so. Much more distance than that, and I’d
question taking this bike. The sloping fly-screen
does deflect good turbulence from the head and
tucking down slightly reduces it even more, but for
highway touring there are differing options. There is
bugger-all to take your attention in the instrument
panel - no rev counter and no gear indicator -
and I missed them more than I thought I might,
but it’s not about info. And just as well, because
what info there is, is so small that with vibration
and without glasses I could barely make it out.
Speed - now that is readable. Also displayed is what
setting the heated grips are on, and whether the
ABS is on or off. Underkill - but who cares? What the
Urban GS does, and does with aplomb and pleasure,
is ride like one of the planet’s great motorcycles.
The throaty growl from the torquey low end, right
through to 7000rpm is genuinely gut-pleasing. At
110bhp its not going to take the racing sportsters
on anytime soon, but that doesn’t matter; turning
a wristful delivers a fabulously solid ‘sock it to
Sena 10S
Stay in touch
on the road
The slim-profiled Sena 10S keeps you in
touch with up to four riding companions
via crystal-clear HD audio, up to 1.6 km
away. It also uses the Universal Intercom™
protocol so it can communicate with all
Bluetooth headsets on the market.
Sena 20S Evo
The Sena 20S EVO features a fixed type, sharkfin antenna
which improves intercom stability and secures the intercom
distance so you can stay in touch with up to eight other riders
up to 2 km away, through the Group Intercom™ feature.
Sena’s Advanced Noise Control™ ensures ambient noise
doesn’t interfere with incoming and outgoing audio.
RIDE smaRtER RIDE safE
RadaRdiRect
F I R S T
I n
R A D A R
3 store locations
A n D
L A S E R
P R O T E C T I O n
AucklAnd
–
Wellington
Ph 0800 472 327
info@radardirect.co.nz
www. www.
–
RadaRdiRect . co.nz
christchurch
KIWI RIDER 77