Dave Manning has been astride the big adventure bike. Here’s how he’s getting on:
When it was dropped off at my gaff, my first thought was, ‘By the cringe, this is loads bigger than the normal Ténéré!’ Even though it’d been a couple of years since I rode the T7, over in the Lake District on one of our National Park tours, it was immediately clear that the World Raid’s dimensions were bigger in every direction.
My first ride was down to Motorcycle Live, and fully clobbered up in winter riding gear it was a tad awkward to get my leg up and over the seat and hard panniers, and then only tippy-toe once I was seated.
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They say that first impressions are all-important. When it comes to motorcycles I tend to disagree, as a bit more seat time allows you to explore the full character of a bike, and the World Raid is a prime example, from my perspective. The first few miles I covered on the Yam saw me grumpy: too tall; too wide; too heavy; no cruise control; the seat digs into my thighs when I have my feet down; whine, whine, mutter, grumble… I calmed down, of course, and by the time I reached the NEC in Birmingham two-and-a-half hours later, warm and dry, and feeling not quite as fresh as a daisy, but probably as fresh as I ever feel nowadays. Yer, it’s okay, this Yam.
The ride home that evening, leaving in the dark in really fine misty rain, could’ve set off the grumbles again. It did not. Despite the dark; the pitiful state of driving on the M42, M1 and A46, and the persistent drizzle; I actually enjoyed the ride home.
The dual fuel tanks were big enough to just require one fill-up for the two-way journey (repeated the next day), with a comfortable 200 miles covered before a required refill, and the advantage of that slightly-too-tall seat height is that I got no leg cramp, and no knee pain like I get with bikes with a more confined seating position. The screen is reasonable too, in that it deflects a decent level of road spray, and is quieter than others (Honda Africa Twin springs to mind).
Now it’s time to get some more seat time, although I already have stuff to talk about next month, like the lack of electronic doodads and gadgets (I like that. A lot); the peculiarity in fuel gauge action; and the convenient nature of the removable panniers…
