OUR BIKES
anything more than cruise , overtaking was impossible without changing gear . Well ... sixth gear actually makes sense on the T700 . It ’ s a great highway gear , with the engine making enough torque to be able to accelerate without changing down a gear , or two . On a lazy commute into Wellington CBD , I can get up to 100km / h ( on the GPS ), leave it in 6th and that ’ s the only gear I need . One bug bear I always had with the MT-07 , was the slightly cramped feeling I had in my knees on long trips , not to mention that the seat was really only good for 150-200km before I lost feeling in my backside . The T700 fixes these issues , with a bigger gap between the pegs and the seat , and the ability to stand up and stretch out . All of a sudden I ’ m able to outlast the fuel tank on long trips . I can now mile-munch a good 300-400km before stopping for a coffee , a pee and a tank of fuel .
FUEL RANGE The bigger fuel tank on the T700 is also another bonus . On the MT-07 I was able to squeeze 250km out of the tank . On the T700 I can get an easy 300km , and still have 2-4L in the tank when I pull into the gas station . The calibration on the fuel gauge does annoy me somewhat though . It starts to blink and tell me I need fuel at around the 200-220km mark , even though maths says I should be able to do 350km . I get it , it ’ s made for adventuring , getting off road , and no one wants to get stuck in the bush with no fuel . But it still
104 KIWI RIDER