‘It’s like owning a misbehaving puppy’
Best ride A sun-kissed trackday around Silverstone’s GP layout.
Longest day Five hours in the saddle riding 224 miles from Lincoln to the New Forest.
What hurt first? My arse! The standard seat is only good for around an hour’s riding.
Anything to confess? I dinged a mirror filtering in London.
High point During my third trackday session at Silverstone, I took a bravery pill at the beginning of the third lap, and lunged up the inside of a Ducati 999 and brand-new Suzuki GSX-R1000 under braking. With my knee, toe slider and end can scraping in harmony I managed to make both passes stick before Maggotts and felt like a complete riding god for around 20 seconds. Low point No more than 20 miles into a ride to London my ‘waterproofs’ began to leak around my crotch.
What do you most admire? It’s so much fun for six grand.
What’s it really good at?
Putting a smile on my face.
And really bad at?
Being comfortable. The stylish rolled seat lets down an otherwise capable commuting package.
What’s broken or fallen off? Nothing at all.
What irritates you most? Build quality. Despite constant cleaning, rust has crept in here and there.
Tell us a secret Projected fuel range plummets as soon as you exceed 85mph.
What did you think at the beginning? I couldn’t wait to ride it.
And now? I miss those summer rides, but still love it.