I did wonder about them. There's an MV dealer in Sheen which is fairly close to me so might pop over at some point.
Sorry - id have to vote my z1ooo.....never fails to surprise me....I actually had the green light on a 1290 by the wife just before xmas - but id have to chop in the zed and my rsv4 to get it - couldn't bear to loose either.... Now the zed is setup as I want it, dyno'd - rear shock sorted out, qs added its perfect...(plus other mods also) - small enough to weave through heavy traffic, nippy enough to stay with (so far) pretty well anything....just before xmas I was on my way home from work, passed an r1m (2015) at a steady pace...he hung back, then came rocketing past me so I though what the hell....at a good pace stayed with him....came to the roundabout (Hicks gate) if anyone in Bristol knows it....I was supposed to to right into Bristol but as the lights changed thought fuck it, im going left with him....he proceeded to go straight to "throttle to the stop" and move through the qs - the amount of backfiring from from his exhaust told me he was 100% and didn't shake me...came back down the bypass grinning like a Cheshire cat...now, I know if the road had been longer it would have stretched its legs a bit more but, where are you going to do that...not many places I think. Gimlets streetfighter angle is a good one but I had the option of one at the time I got my zed but 9k for a 5-6 year old bike was too much for me...mine cost 7.8 for a 64 plate. Its beautifully analog so I can look after the servicing. Having said that they seemed to have dropped for an S second hand at the moment though... The other option was an s1000r (at the time) but didn't like it (and quite a list of things as well) - I was 50 50 one the looks but when I took the demo home for my son too see he took one look and said "that looks rubbish dad!" that was the nail in the coffin on that front... The zed does it all for me at the moment....theres not many of them around - ive seen one other one in Bristol...which keeps them a bit unusual...mines detagged so theres nothing to indicate what it is to anyone that doesn't know bikes which gets it lots of looks and nods from people in cars verifiying the "nice bike mate" kind of look... The other thing is exhausts are cheap...imo...a full system for either a tuono, duc or s1000r is well into 1.3k + and more than that if its new....400 quid for stainless race headers for mine and the single exit arrow system bore size is the same as all of the above so pipes from the zed will fit plus loads of others meaning the second hand market opens up considerably -ive just changed my dual exit collector to a single to accommodate the AR pipe off my rsv4. Arrow sold me the centre section for 180 quid on its own...so I can use now dual or single exit systems...brilliant.
I still think the supernaked with the lightest feel and least sporty riding position is the 1290 SDR. Its kind of midway between a sports bike derived naked and a supermoto. The Streetfighter is probably the most sportsbike-like of any of them. I doubt there's an off the shelf option that's exactly right. Whatever RWC chooses I reckon it'll need some owner modding to get it just so. Especially debugging emissions controls and intrusive electronics. Seems to be a fact of life with bikes these days. I have to say I've found buying a second bike that will light the fire but be practical for specific duties at the same time is a lot harder than buying an only bike... I'd still say go with an unplugged 1290 but that could be because I want one. As a third bike...
The 1200R was at JHP today. OMG it looks amazing, much better than I imagined. Sold out apparently.....
Sounds like the SDR would be the best fit. I don't think the streetfighter is sportsbike like when it came to ergonomics; there is achres of room between seat and pegs, very comfortable and decidedly un-sportsbike like.
