legend, Wes Cooley. But up close, this bike has modern components and rider aids, as you’ d expect of a new bike today. It features a fullcolour TFT display, ride-by-wire throttle and a fast-charging USB-C port.
SCREAMING HERITAGE The bike I’ m testing, specifically, is the Shadow Green, which has a beautiful matte finish. Matched with Gold rims, it screams heritage, and it really does look super sharp. Overall this bike is quite well finished. It’ s actually the first production Suzuki motorcycle to come standard with bar end mirrors. They have hardly any vibration and you can easily see past your arms, something not all manufacturers have figured out yet. Ergonomically, the bike fits me just right, not completely upright and definitely not too aggressive. The fat alloy handlebars are exactly what I like, nice and wide for plenty of leverage, much nicer than many of the naked commuter bikes out there with skinny, weedy-looking steel bars. Legroom-wise, this bike is a good fit. There is a bit of a sportier position thanks to the slightly rearset‘ pegs. I’ d say for 70 percent of my riding this didn’ t affect me at all, but by the time three or four hours had passed my legs were feeling a bit stiff. This may actually be of preference to younger / more enthusiastic riders, but I feel with this bike able to tour easily with the 16.5L fuel tank and cockipit fairing, it could handle some lower, slightly forward controls. This does have a lovely balance however.
KIWI RIDER 55