of Queen Charlotte Drive , with around nine landslips where the whole left-hand lane had washed away into the sea . So our twisty trundle back to the ferry wasn ’ t quite what we ’ d been expecting .
THE BIKES During the whole of this three day ride , we ’ d been chatting about the bikes on our Cardo intercoms , discussing each of the bikes and where each one shone . Both have pros and cons . On one hand , you have the latest and greatest electronics package in the Harley- Davidson Pan America . Not to mention that Revolution Max 1250 engine , which really gets the bike moving . And when the variable valve timing comes on song , the sound from the exhaust is beautiful . But there ’ s also something to be said for the Suzuki and its more conventional , less high-tech approach to controls and setup . The 1037cc engine is not to be sniffed at and gets along really quite well thank you very much . Head-to-head , the V-Strom can actually outperform the Harley ... sometimes . The Harley is more comfortable ,
the Suzuki is more simple , The Harley might be slightly more approachable . The Suzuki has a clearer button layout . The Harley has a nicer screen . I could go back and forth like this all day . I think in the hands of a really talented rider , the Suzuki might be more capable , but in my hands , they ’ re both just as capable as each other . I couldn ’ t even separate them when it comes to fuel economy , the Harley with it ’ s close to 200cc more engine capacity used almost exactly the same amount of fuel as the Suzuki . I initially thought of the V-Strom as the poster-bike of Adventure Touring bikes . It ’ s been around for so long with only small changes between model years that a lot of people discount it without riding it . While many people interested in the sector might laugh at the idea of buying the Pan America , because it ’ s a Harley - and what could they possibly know about making an adventure bike ?
WHICH WOULD WE BUY ? When we finally reached Picton and while
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