a truck and trailer if required and cruise easily at 120km / h . So , yes , it ’ s a LAMS bike , but it ’ s still plenty capable . On gravel , even with road tyres , the DL is planted and stable and quite predictable , although for extensive gravel riding it ’ d benefit from some suitable knobbly or 50 / 50 tyres . The suspension action is pretty good even though the components are relatively low tech . The shock has hand-adjustable preload ( nice touch ) and the 43mm conventional-way up forks have no adjustment . For general touring and gravel exploring work , the suspension action is excellent . The DL rides comfortably , is composed and has a reassuring feel on tarmac and gravel as long as it ’ s not pushed to extremes . I ’ d say for its intended use as an entry level LAMS exploring / touring bike and more - the suspension works super well The DL is a hugely likeable bike mainly because it is not intimidating , but it also delivers with an accomplished versatility and a nice easy riding environment . The 20-litre fuel tank means trips are not often cut short by having to look for gas . At this point Geoff and I swapped bikes and decided to head up the Wanganui River Road
towards Pipiriki . It has been many years since I did this road , then entirely gravel . We didn ’ t ride the whole road , but now there ’ s certainly more tar seal , either way , a very cool road to tour with excellent scenery , fun turns and elevation changes .
SV650A Getting on the SV , it didn ’ t take more than a few corners to see the SV is the sharper of the two in the turns ( but not necessarily more agile ), due to a lower , shorter chassis , with sportier geometry and stickier rubber . The front brakes are stronger on the SV courtesy of the two four-piston Tokico calipers that offer plenty of feel and strength . I ’ d say the SV650 feels very much the way a road bike should . It ’ s smaller , and feels that way , and it was a little more cramped for my tall frame . Without a screen to shield me from wind , I also got a bit cold as it was a chilly morning . In the turns it has a solid feel from more weight on the nose than the DL , but there is no denying it is agile and goes where pointed , while remaining good and stable at highway speeds . Low speed tight maneuvering , U-turns and the like , was okay , but hampered from
40 KIWI RIDER