+ Excellent base bike ; Suspension upgrade ; larger screen and baseplate – Tall seat height and seat shape ; cold draughts despite taller screen to see the numbers I was seeing . Thankfully , the cruise control is there to save you some points on the licence during those long stretches of highway droning . This linear , progressive power delivery is just about perfect for dirt road adventures , giving a particularly direct feeling of connection to what the rear wheel is doing . There ’ s a bi-directional ( up and down ) quickshifter which makes traveling at pace a smooth , jerk free experience . It ’ s one of the nicest calibrated ones I ’ ve experienced , giving buttery smooth shifts even when on a partial , trailing throttle ... something that does tend to trip up a lot of quickshifters . Only having a couple of day ’ s play on the Norden , I didn ’ t have a huge amount of time to explore its limits either on tar or gravel , but that initial visual impression of bulk / strength around the shoulders doesn ’ t translate into any feeling of top heaviness once underway , which bodes well for the times you may need to muscle it around a bit . It ’ s tall , but once underway it feels flickable and responsive on the seal , and the front in particular is planted and secure on the gravel . The rear , of course , can be persuaded to get loose by switching the traction control to off road mode , for the times you want a little fun . The Norden is by no means a singletrack warrior ( unless you are up there with the likes of Pol Tarres or our own Chris Birch when it comes to riding ), but with the added suspension travel of this Explorer version , it could more than hold its own on 4WD trails , and the odd farm track , with an ‘ average ’ rider aboard . Gravel roads are a breeze , and clearly this is where the Norden will most likely , and should , find its home . With a full suite of electronic trickery for safety and fun , its superbly useable engine , and very comfortable ( for me ) ergonomics , I ’ d have no problem loading this up for a multi day road and gravel getaway ... and that ’ s surely what adventure bikes are for , right ? If you ’ re looking for a bike with a bit of uniqueness , a solid dose of comfort and practicality , plus a big chunk of fun factor thrown in , you owe it to yourself to take a test ride on one of these . TROY WALTON