that satisfying bark on the downshift by blipping the throttle myself . The clutch lever span had no adjustment and with my somewhat meaty paws , I could have done with an adjustable lever , however , the pull is light , and I didn ’ t think about it again for the rest of the day . The gearbox is silky smooth , and I was soon upshifting off throttle sans clutch , only engaging the clutch to assist in downshifting . The lean angle to be had on this bike is amazing . I soon found the edge of the tyres and not a foot peg scrape to be had . The Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II tyres are a perfect balance between road and track tyres , offering great stability under heavy braking and acceleration and amazing grip all the way to the edge . The Tuono is light , flicks easy from side-to-side in changes of direction and is super fun . It was also very economical on fuel , another important consideration in this current economic climate . After riding the RS , I wasn ’ t expecting as much from the Tuono at the track , but it surprised me . The engine is superb , the brakes do their job well , the ergo ’ s are comfy . It was even easier to turn than the RS , the only real shortcoming on the track is the front suspension ( I later found this wasn ’ t an issue on the road ). Top speed feels similar to the RS , topping out at roughly 225km / h , and I managed a 1m 16s around the National Track , which is pretty good considering the stock suspension , gearing and brakes .
ON THE ROAD Track Day over , I headed back to my home in South Head , meaning to drop the bike off to Jock on the way , but , somehow , it ended up in my garage . Oops . Sunday dawned and another blue sky day meant it was only appropriate to take the Tuono out for a spin on some rural NZ roads , a good opportunity to test out the standard riding modes . Tackling the twisty tight turns and variable road surfaces of the Rodney District , the Tuono was in its element ; its great
38 KIWI RIDER