he came back beaming, absolutely loved it. We talked it over and I went back out on the 300. Weirdly, I felt different about the bike, I guess that’ s mind-games at their best. Those initial concerns faded away, as I found the sweet spot. The engine really is the star of the show here, it pulls flawlessly through the gears without a single hesitation, the bottom end is strong and very usable. If you really want to push, it will howl up top like a 250F. The gearbox is as you might expect, wellspaced and capable of pulling 3rd most places on a tight forest trail. The suspension is plush with a firm initial stroke and good hold up for the bigger hits, the Brembo gear works brilliantly, zero complaints there. As a combination, the motor and suspension are silky smooth, making the bike fast, deceptively fast.
IS IT QUICK? Yes, it is. Deceptively so. In an interesting turn of events on a timed lap through the trees, I was considerably faster on the 300SEF, than on my own bike despite feeling like it was slower. Not at all what I was expecting. It’ s not the sort of bike that you’ ll hop on and it’ ll scare you or make you wonder if you need that much power. It’ s the opposite; it’ s the kind of bike that will improve your lap times, extend your riding time and help you become a smoother rider. And that has to be a good thing, right?
KIWI RIDER 35