genuinely slippery stuff and when on black top, it can really stop hard with just two fingers and not too much effort. The two 320mm discs and four-pot, radial Brembo calipers are the business. The rear 260mm disc was equally great with excellent power and feel – top marks here! And of course, it has 6-axis Bosch dual-channel ABS when activated for tarmac rider safety. KYB fully adjustable suspension with 230mm of travel is fitted at each end. To me, this is about the correct amount of travel for a large adventure bike. Any more and the seat height, weight and overall size becomes unmanageable for most. Wet weight is a claimed 222kg and standard seat height is
870mm with a low seat option of 830mm. The suspension action is slightly mixed. The 48mm USD forks are plush, bottom resistant for the riding we did and, in general, just a nice action. They are controlled and confidenceinspiring on loose rocks, large rocky steps and corrugations, absolutely no complaints. The shock is almost as good, taking the hits well and remaining controlled, and mostly offering comfortable riding. The only issue I noted was a feeling of it being a little over damped on rebound which is common-place on all large adventure bikes, to help tie them down in the rough, which is understandable. However, I think a more supple rebound action would aid comfort, particularly on road. To be fair,
32 KIWI RIDER