from the new 112 PowerPlus engine. It has some very nice, hang-on-tight, hurryup. And, as I discovered more than once over the full course of the test, giving it a handful from low down in Sport mode produces a quite exhilarating surge and the front wheel gets surprisingly light. There are three riding modes available: Rain, Standard and Sport, all selectable on the fly from the seven-inch‘ Ride Command’ touch screen that is mounted between the combined analogue / combo LCD gauges on the dash. Sport mode was my go-to.
The liquid-cooled PowerPlus unit displaces 1834cc and has a slightly over-square bore and stroke of 110mm x 96.5mm, with an 11.4:1 compression ratio. Apart from the very pleasing 122 horses and linear power delivery, it will also trundle along quite happily in top gear at 60km / h, thanks to a healthy 181.4Nm of torque at 3800rpm. The closed loop, 52mm dual bore EFI delivers a crisp response( particularly in Sport mode, did I mention I liked this mode), and it didn’ t stumble or grumble at all during the test. On or off the gas, the six-speed gearbox
52 KIWI RIDER