Well Karma is gone…

I have never owned a motorcycle for such a short period & she was the first motorcycle I bought ‘new’! So I better make clear that it was I that changed and not her (but could we still be friends?). Overall she is an excellent package which is very hard to find fault with. The engine is brilliant, you keep the revs in just the right range, change up/down around that 4,900rpm ‘sweet-spot’ and you are in for a tremendously rewarding ride.

She will forgive you most of your mistakes with usually just a brief sound of annoyance. I rode all year with her, right through the winter with snow on the ground and -4C/24F air temperature (not taking wind chill into account). I ride within my limits but when I did push her on a few occasions I found she was more then willing and able. The only time things would get funky is on roads with bad surfaces as the suspension would start to punish you.

With the hard luggage fitted, the MRA screen and baglux there would be no reason why you could not do some serious touring. OK, you might not be a Pan European putting cruising at 241km/150mph all day long but you have to admit there are not many places you could get away with that…but 130-145km/h (80-90mph) is more then possible if the conditions allow it and well within her limits.

Stripped down with maybe just the top case she is brilliant for beating the congestion. Now 9 times out of 10 I would have the hard cases but when I did not she was superb. Now the tires would not entertain the white lines with even a rain drop on them. She would just slide off them, so I tended to keep clear of anything painted on the road regardless of how dry they appeared.

Quality was very good overall. Under the fairing there were a few untidy wires but I never had a problem, we all know not to power wash our bikes anyway as it is exactly little things like that, that would have us in trouble. The only rust on her was on the Givi luggage racks were the nuts fit them together and were the cases attach to the rack. For the cost of the Givi equipment you would think they would simply coat the frame in thick plastic which would guarantee a very long life.

The bike itself was well maintained with a full service history, after every wet ride (once she was cool) I would spray on Scottoil FS365 and hose down every Sunday. These were simply little things that kept her looking fresh and effectively beat the rust. The nuts on the rear wheel spindle and nuts on the front wheel brake calliper were the only parts to go ‘furry’. The fairing is a nightmare to take off though and changing a light bulb at the side of the road with just a mobile phone for light takes approx 40mins!!!

In the end I can not recommend this make and model highly enough, she is a great motorcycle that never gave me a seconds trouble. If economy would allow I certainly would not have parted company. She did everything I asked of her and knew when to say no…and I am sad to see her gone.

Hopefully she will have a long life keeping the rubber side down.