This was a very good thing, because we were in the hills on the city outskirts and I was waiting to show her some twisties. The howl from the 350×3 motor is just intoxicating and as the revs climb past 7,000 I just wished there was more road and absolutely zero traffic or any sort of animal ahead. It’s inviting. It’s invigorating. And, it’s overwhelming, at times, because you just know that you can shift up a gear and go through it all again! But this is the real world, and a pseudo-evolved primate on his mobile phone astride a motorised bicycle just has to have a conversation almost camped at the upcoming apex. Flick down a gear, watch the needle rise and leave ‘8’ far behind on the tacho. Primate long forgotten, I get on with corner-carving and get back to enjoying it immensely, from that rather comfortable saddle, I might add.
The grip from those Metzelers, the taut suspension set-up, the responsive brakes and throttle all make for a motorcycling experience I don’t often get to enjoy. It’s not often a motorcycle can take several forms and play each of those roles that well. For all intents and purposes, even the fuel-gauge maintained its bar count well enough to not disturb my peace of mind. Even the price tag, Rs 12.4 lakh (on road, Pune), might seem steep, but the Speed Triple justifies that. There’s almost always usually a short-fall, but not here. Not this triple. It’s one of those bikes that makes you forget about all things practical and just go get it for the plain old fun factor.
