Ok so this last week or so I have had the pleasure of riding three bikes I wouldn’t normally have ridden, it started with the XR1200X and I have to say this is one awesome motorcycle it reminded me of a supermoto I had once upon a time with a short gear box and a very punchy motor, as soon as I pulled out of the shop it felt comfortable with a moto x style seat and footpeg arrangement nipping between traffic when coming to traffic lights was a doddle due to the narrow bars and being able to see ahead of you, pulling onto the bypass and opening the throttle brings another joy the air box growl is just terrific and it makes you want to stay in low gears just to hear it more, overtaking is a breeze the engine pulls well but obliviously this is a bike you can have a lot of on under 100mph when it came to the twisty bits this bike can handle that too due to the showa suspension and brembo brakes, reading the digital speedo is clear and the rev gauge is functional but feel the gear indicator would be of use as I found myself looking for the non existing 6th gear, I have to say by the time I got home I still had a smile my face and looked forward to riding it again in the morning if you haven’t considered a XR1200X before I suggest you ride one because its bloody good fun!!
Next up was the all new Harley Davidson Blackine, now I am a fond lover of anything that feels aggressive "a la" fat bob/night train" or even my old sporty, with drag bars and the forward controls this bike fits me perfectly and I really enjoyed riding it, it is the perfect compromise between Dyna and Softail as you can really ride this thing without it being too bulky like a Fat boy/Heritage or Deluxe as like all the softails it has a counterbalanced engine so feels lovely and smooth thro all 6 gears the bike certainly looks the business with a nice balance of black on chrome and with the LED stop run tail lights the back end looks cool but I would be tempted to fit a side mount license plate just to tidy it up a bit, overall this bike does everything well it handles well goes well also with the 1584 twin cam engine and the brakes do a sufficient job especially now with ABS being standard on all 2011 Softails so if you want a bike that can be ridden and look good try the new Harley Davidson Blackline and I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
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