Went for a 20 minute blat courtesy of Wellington Motorcycles at lunchtime today.
Now I'm a big fan of handling as opposed to outright power. I like small/light 'bikes with predictable handling. The XB9S isn't small - it's a freakin' unicycle! As soon as bum hit seat the wee fella just vanished. Despite warnings about the lack of steering lock I found that it actually had a better turning circle than my TRX.
I didn't have much time so I headed up the tight and twisty Mt Victoria roads, where you can give the supension, brakes, and turning ability a good workout. Obviously the bike wasn't set up for my ability to give any motorcycle a rearward weight bias, so it understeered just slightly at low speed. A touch of rear ride height would cure this, though the high and wide bars made it easy to compensate, without having to use much in the way of muscle to tighten a line.
This thing redefines compact. I've owned and ridden 250s that would dwarf this thing. I couldn't see anything of the bike, including the mirrors, without turning my head to look. Which was a bit of a worry when you spotted the speedo and realised you were a good 20km/hr faster than you expected! Which brings me to the suspension and general chassis setup. Who would have thought that such a tiny 'bike would be so stable, and the suspension so supple? The road on the Newtown side of Mt Vic has been used for hill climbs before and it is a great test of a 'bike's "flickability". I managed to ride down and back up that road at legal speeds without touching the brakes at all. Which is a shame because the front brake is a mutha. If you ever feel the need of a nose job, wear an open face and grab a handful of the front brake lever. If the bike lands on you, rest assured that you'll be able to get it off with one hand, and toss it in disgust into a nearby shrubbery.
The only suitable description is "supermotard on steroids". If I wasn't scared to death of it breaking it would be the perfect commuter. The gearbox can only be described as agricultural, but then I am a "nancy" who has been spoiled by a couple of decades of Japanese gearboxes. I had to be quite forceful to avoid neutral between first and second, but I could have just left the 'bike in third to avoid that. I think that the riding position, which is brilliant for short trips, would probably be painful on long fast trips. Apart from those last two points the XB9S is one of those bikes that would be great to have in the garage for the times when the insane little gibbering stunt monkey that lives in everyone's brain to a lesser or greater extent, pops out and says, "Wheely it, chuck it in HARDER, DO A STOPPY YOU POOF!".
If you get offered a ride take it. You won't regret it.
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Originally Posted by White trash
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