There, I've got that off my chest, which means I can get stuck in and tell you why this bike is otherwise exceptional. For me, it's the complete package, with the best looks, tech features and performance of any sportsbike I've ridden in a very long time. It is a pukka race bike on the road, unapologetically crafted to perform, to blow minds, but also to be ridden down the chippy to get your mate a pea fritter. It literally does it all, and with levels of style and charisma that even Dorian Gray would struggle to match, getting you under its spell and luring you in with every mile clocked. While I enjoyed it on track at Donny, it's fair to say I fell in love at the Isle of Man. The biggest appeal? The motor. For me, it just resonated the right way, offering a good spread of power, bucket-loads of character and a clinical execution when it came to winding back the throttle. This thing felt so fast up on the Mountain - and it sounded ballistic, too. If you've never heard a V4 up at 16,000rpm, believe me, it's one hell of a treat, to the extent I could appreciate it regardless of whether I was the one riding it or watching from the sidelines as Joe or Tim gave it the big 'uns.
Of course, this bike's optional underseat system has much to do with that, not only letting the bike breathe that bit more and opening the output up to about 230bhp, but allowing for a noise that the stock fitment options just couldn't. Ducatis get a lot of stick for sounding, well, broken, but the only thing broken around this were eardrums. It was super loud, to the extent I realised how lucky we were not to have got flagged when we were riding it at Donny... not that I'm complaining. The noisier the better.
Denne historien er fra October 2023-utgaven av Fast Bikes UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra October 2023-utgaven av Fast Bikes UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Sensational Suzuki Live - Blending decades of motorcycles, racing legends, track time and a beer tent with a cracking band, Suzuki Live's formula proved a winner for the thousands there.
Blending decades of motorcycles, racing legends, track time and a beer tent with a cracking band, Suzuki Live’s formula proved a winner for the thousands there. As motorcycling events go, Suzuki Live's 2024 effort is surely set to take some topping. Held over two days at the iconic Cadwell Park circuit, the event played host to a list of two-wheeled legends and a mixed bag of iconic Suzuki machinery spanning five decades.
Steve Parrish
It's been a busy old month but so good being back in the thick of it. Despite the great British weather, it finally feels like summer is here, and I've been all over the place with some really great events since we spoke last month.
Christian Iddon
It's a long time since I had that feeling... 1057 days, to be precise, and if you were to ask if 'that day' was the day it would happen again, then I would have bet all my worldly belongings against it.
BOTH A CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CASE
There’s a time and place to lawyer up to the hills, and this is one them...
LONGTERMER KAWASAKI ZX-6R
Last month, I was gearing up to consign my ZX-6R to the back of my garage while I disappeared for the best part of three weeks to work at the TT with Batham's Racing.
YAMAHA WABASH RT
When you live a life of wheelies, burnouts and fast laps on race tracks, it's hard to spot a midlife crisis... but six months on in the saddle of Yamaha's Wabash e-bike, I daresay that's exactly where I'm at. I'll be honest, cycling isn't for everyone, and quite frankly, Lycra is even more polarising, but for me, life on two wheels, be it powered or pedalled, has formed my staple diet for as long as I can remember.
24 HOURS FLAT-OUT!
Ever fancied a crack at 24-hour endurance racing? You might think again after reading this...
PROJECT 37 A TEST OF TIME
Having got his head around the standard bike at Cadwell, Timmy heads to Powerslide Motorcycles with a wish list of improvements for the Suzuki GSX-8R...
'WHY WE GO RACING...5
Ever wondered why big brands spend big money and put in huge amounts of effort to go racing? Well, we did too, so we didn’t hesitate to ask the man who makes that call for Honda Racing UK...
9 BIKES WE WISH WERE STILL HERE...
No one’s worked out how to bring things back from the dead, but if we had our way, these are the bikes we’d oe see makingareturn.