On road and on gravel the action is excellent - compliant and competent and nicely controlled . On a whoopy sand trail the shock was well controlled and behaved . It has good bottoming resistance and is very comfortable riding . The front forks are USD with 43mm stanchions and have 160mm of axle travel ( the single rear shock provides 150mm of wheel travel ). They ’ re are a little on the soft side , but as mentioned above , the suspension had box standard settings and is fully adjustable . So , fettle with the compression and rebound damping until your heart is content ( once you ’ ve set your sag ). The seat height is a reasonable 825mm . For an adventure bike this is actually quite low and it is amazing how much a lower seat height improves ease of use . After a recent diet of some very tall adventure machines this is a very pleasant change . As a tall rider it is not such a big deal for me , but with many riders sub six feet tall and most with grey hair , I don ’ t believe
36 KIWI RIDER