The roads were wet and light rain was
falling, so I figured it was appropriate to
deploy Rain mode. As my first hundred or
so kilometres drifted past in a haze of early
morning Waikato mist, I started to get a feel
for why some call the Duke 790 the ‘Scalpel’.
The handling is direct, allowing the rider
to place the bike exactly where they want
it. The WP suspension does a fantastic
job of soaking up the bumps while still
giving plenty of feedback. The model I
rode, came equipped with an Akrapovic
exhaust, which is emits an unbelievably
erotic sound from the turn of the key.
After Matatoki, I set my sights on Paeroa for a
fuel stop, which is where the rain stopped, the
clouds parted, and the sun came out. With the
roads drying, fuel tank brimmed and the TFT
display showing a range of 290km, I set off for
Rotorua, and I could finally try out another rider
mode other than Rain. I navigated to Street
and instantly found the throttle response to be
sharper. I have to say, the acceleration on the
790 Duke is addictive, and slightly intoxicating.
104 KIWI RIDER
Getting to the posted speed limit is almost
an anticlimax, as the Duke shoves you there
there far too quickly, it’s just over so soon! I
was having so much fun that I reached the
Friday afternoon traffic of RotoVegas, and my
accommodation for the night, far too quickly.
Up early, and on the road by 8am I braved the
cool central plateau morning. The Duke’s TFT
display showed off another feature, a seemingly
quite accurate ambient air temperature
reading… for the record, 10 degrees with
wind chill feels a lot colder than it sounds.
Keeping the Duke in Street mode, I hit the
road bound for Taupo. The visceral sound from
the Akrapovic exhaust really gets the blood
pumping at full howl on a cold, crisp morning.
Did I already mention the exhaust note…?
A quick splash and dash in Taupo, with
the air temp rising slowly, and the roads
were starting to dry out from the dewy
morning. It was now time to Sport mode
for a spirited jaunt over to Napier. With no
one on the roads this early, I got a chance to
really see what the Duke was capable of.