The power delivery is fairly linear , but there is definitely a bit of a hit in the upper mid-range that increases excitement levels by offering pleasingly decent thrust . It ’ s actually fairly quick in this zone and pulls well to redline . There is a huge spread of torque and for most riding , accurate gear selection is really rather unimportant . It will waft along nicely at 70km / h just as happily in third gear as it will in sixth . The engine is certainly relaxing , flexible and effortless for the vast majority of riding and exciting enough when you properly twist the throttle open . Twin mufflers on the left side sound great and add to the experience .
GERMAN SMOOTHNESS It ’ s several years since I first rode an R Nine T .
This bike is not that dissimilar looking , but the suspension is a good improvement . That older model had a soft fork , in particular , that would bottom out quite easily just under bumpy braking . Then , last year , we tested a 50th Anniversary model that had okay suspension , the forks were a big improvement , but the shock still had its moments on short sharp hits where the bike would become quite unsettled . My feeling then was that the rear shock was under damped and over sprung . Certainly , the rebound damping especially lacked progression and the compression too , bu to a lesser extent . To be honest , the shock on this new model feels much the same , but with the handy , hand adjustable preload adjustment , it ’ s no problem to fettle with the spring tension . I
KIWI RIDER 55