BRUCE IN BRIEF

I wasn’t expecting it to start first kick, just like I wasn’t expecting it to tick- over so effortlessly. But as for the smoke screen rising from its twin cans, looking like a ciggy kiosk inhabited by Pat Butcher and Dot Cotton with every blip sent the motor’s way, that bit was very much was expected.

Smoking habits aside, there was a great deal to love about the little Suzuki which felt tiny when straddled and took me back to my youth. I always wanted an RGV, but a cheaper KR-1S came up on my radar and took its rightful place in my garage. Personally, I preferred the looks of the Suzuki, but I’d never ridden one, so this was a bit of a revelation for me.

Feeling almost too light, completely gutless low down and governed by unbelievably primitive switches, the RGV felt beyond abstract. It wasn’t an easy bike to get on and ride fast, or to trust in for that matter. The brakes took way too much squeezing for my liking and the motor had to be wrung good and proper to kick into life. Engine revs were the order of the day, especially when setting off.

But the pace of acceleration was disproportionate to the racket it made – a bit like a chav’s Nova razzing around the local supermarket car park. I wanted to warm to it, but it just didn’t grab me like I hoped it would.