THE SCEPTIC

It’s not a motorcycle because a motorcycle has two wheels. I’m interested to ride it but I’d never consider buying one because I want to buy a motorcycle, which this isn’t. I know you can lean it and go fast like a bike, but I still don’t want it – it looks terrible, really awful. It’s obviously a very clever device, but that’s what it is – a device. I don’t know who will buy it rather than a motorcycle. You can’t filter on it [you can actually – it’s narrower than a GS], it looks very expensive to maintain and what will winter do to all those front end joints? If someone turned up at a bike meet on one I wouldn’t think less of them, I’d just think they’re irrelevant because they haven’t turned up on a bike. It’s moving into car territory. Why not stick another wheel on it and make it a four wheel leaner? [At this point we gave Mark the Niken’s keys and sent him off for a 45 minute thrash round the countryside]. That is amazing. The front end feel is incredible. It feels like you can do anything, like there’s no limit to the grip – just chuck it into any corner, any surface and it’ll sort itself out. You don’t have to worry about it at all. I would imagine it would be awesome in the wet. It’s very clever. I didn’t notice the weight once I was moving and the riding position seemed ok to me – when you’re in a straight line you could be on a motorcycle. You’re not aware of the width of the front so much when you’re riding because you can’t see the wheels so it’s just like riding a bike with a fairing.