CITY LIFE Those Initial expectations were tempered a little by the somewhat uninspiring low growl emanating from the side-mounted exhaust – like a little housetrained lion-cub , it sounds stifled . Expectations set aside , I thrust into the morning traffic and found , to my surprise , that there ’ s plenty enough from the little cub to enjoy in terms of engine pull and sound above 6000rpm . Below that , however , the little Honda seems to struggle a little . Putting any strain on it below 4000rpm , the engine stutters and threatens to stall out . This bike likes to be revved , rewarding with a fun , zippy nature . This left me yearning for high revs and low gears to maximise the power delivery , but the harsh engine braking and our sky-high Auckland gas prices tend to suppress that urge . The gearing itself is very short , first especially so . I found shifting down to first a necessity if I didn ’ t want to be bogged down pulling away from a standstill , but the short gear meant I was shifting up to second gear only seconds afterwards as the revs were banging on the limiter soon after . All in all , the gearing feels oddly ill-suited to start-stop Auckland traffic . The shifting itself feels smooth , aided by a light clutch , and the mechanical ‘ clunk ’ that accompanies every shift ; if you ’ re hard of hearing Honda has helpfully placed a gear indicator alongside the usual info on the all-digital dash . The addition of a new slipper-type clutch for those whoopsie downshifts is presumably disaster prevention for fledging learners , but is a welcome addition for more experienced riders too .

KIWI RIDER 29