Test-ride day, part 2

Still only what I thought at the time.

2012 Kawasaki W800

Kawasaki W800

I like Triumphs and I like Ducatis, and I had ridden the revived W650 a few times. I got on this expecting that, and the engine was too smooth. It did not have the twin character I wanted.

I wanted more thump.

Open the throttle and it spins up with a breezy whee. The push of each firing gets thin, and I started to wonder why it had to be this bike. I may be imagining it, but the W650 I rode before was more fun.

I love the way it looks.

2012 Suzuki GSX1250F (Bandit)

Suzuki GSX1250F

Nothing here of the Bandit 400V I once wanted, the one with variable valves, or of the beautiful rocket fairing on the LTD V.

The position is easy and the engine is manageable. As a tourer it is well done, and it is ordinary. There are many bikes like this. I do not know why it is called a Bandit.

My idea of a Bandit is more glamorous, and a little bit bad.

2012 Yamaha FZ1

Yamaha FZ1

The streetfighter shape you see everywhere now.

It was properly good. After a run of twins that let me down, a multi started to feel like fun again.

The view from the seat is good: a complicated tank line, and the open view of a naked bike. It holds you, it does not feel like 219 kg when you turn it around, and the corners were a pleasure. It answers the throttle immediately without getting jerky. It does what you ask. The tachometer is still a needle, which I appreciated.

I caught myself thinking: were multis always this much fun?

2012 Yamaha YZF-R1

Yamaha YZF-R1

A current liter-class supersport.

145 hp, so I set off carefully. It was not as difficult as I had imagined. It is built to go quickly, and on the circuit it was the most interesting bike of the day.

The corners, especially. A demo day is not the place to push, and the feel from the tires was still the best I have had. It made me relax.

Roughly: the BMW felt like the bike was in charge. The Ducati felt like it was daring me to go faster. This was simply natural. Even at a modest speed it told me what was happening, accurately, so a gentle corner was still fun.

Tip it and it goes in. Open it and it draws the line you pictured. Not a horse you have to fight. Rider and bike as one thing. I enjoyed it.

Yamaha, of the bikes I rode that day, understands motorcyclists. I kept coming back to that.

1994 Harley-Davidson FLSTN

Harley-Davidson FLSTN

A Harley, after a long gap.

A twenty-year-old 1,340 cc Evo, still running well. This bike does not need an explanation. I was smiling almost as soon as it moved.

It does not really turn, the brakes are ordinary, and it is not comfortable. I still do not know why it is this much fun. I do not know if I will ride one again. If I do, I will probably leave town.

Of the ten bikes, the split was obvious. The ones that kept the basic pleasure of a motorcycle, and changed only what could honestly be improved, were fun. Newest or four-cylinder did not matter.

The ones that only pasted nostalgia onto new technology, or that were nothing but a pile of new technology, were not fun to ride.

This may be true of cars as well. I wonder whether the makers need this many models.

Riders, myself included, mostly want something that feels good and looks right. Taste differs, and the details differ. The base is the same. A bike that exists to announce what the factory can do is like being told "look what I can do" and answering "good for you." The technology is not, by itself, attractive, and it is not fun. I do not think this is only about motorcycles.

The people who build toys should be better at playing than the people who buy them. That was the thought I went home with.