![macpass spinning wheel macpass spinning wheel](https://www.schatzwert.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Spinnrad-scaled.jpg)
Looking back to my Tuono V2, on the face of it the Monster should be a very similar ride. I don’t really know if I’m much slower overall on the Monster through a series of bends but the experience is a lot less intense and I’m noticing the scenery a bit more. And lazy entry into corners, knowing I have truckloads of torque to enjoy while exiting, is also relaxing compared to the CBR, where the pressure was on to nail the entry on every corner and maintain high corner speed or it wouldn’t really be a satisfying experience. The super comfortable riding position and hypnotic V-twin pulse allows me to relax and cruise if I want to, without feeling like “what the fuck? This shit makes no sense at all” like I did on the CBR. It has a real quality feel to it and it makes me want to sit on it and make brrmm brrmm noises in the garage. It has substantial presence and the looks have grown on me. But the Monster is a lot more than speed. If going as fast as I can everywhere and all the time was my overriding aim, I would never have replaced the CBR.
![macpass spinning wheel macpass spinning wheel](https://blog.nms.ac.uk/app/uploads/2020/12/search-1.jpeg)
But if I could enter a corner on a CBR600 and exit it on a Monster 1200S, that would be the holy grail of contemporary motorcycle cornering for me!īut like I said, we buy bikes for different reasons at different times in our lives. Not that it does corner entries badly, it doesn’t. Bloody sensational, front wheel in the air, corner exits to be exact. It’s all about hard corner exits on this bike. The Monster is the exact opposite in this regard. It takes a while to get your head around this. On the Monster, a normal takeoff from the lights with average throttle feels totally nonchalant till I look in my mirrors and see the cars are tiny, blurry dots. You feel like you’re taking off from the lights like a rocket only to look down at the speedo and see you haven’t even broken the suburban speed limit while the cars in your mirrors are big. They feel really fast because they rev to eternity and scream loudly. Small, revvy inline 4 engines are the exact opposite. You’re lulled into a feeling of “everything’s under control” till you look down at the speedo or arrive at a corner a lot quicker than you were expecting to. Big twins rev lazily and feel slow due to the lumpy turning of the engine.
![macpass spinning wheel macpass spinning wheel](https://finnsheep.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IMG_9410.jpg)
Big Twins and small i4s are perfect examples. Some bikes give an exaggerated sense of speed while others feel slower than they actually are. Because the “feeeel” of every bike is different. But I always struggle to figure out whether I’m faster on one bike or another. I change bikes often and have ridden many bikes.
![macpass spinning wheel macpass spinning wheel](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0513/0501/products/ashfordtravellersingledrivespinningwheel_1024x1024.jpg)
In the absence of the perfect motorcycle, we buy the one that seems to tick most of the boxes that are important to us at that time. This is why no single motorcycle ever made is the perfect machine that will satisfy all our desires for all eternity. This is all us, at different times and sometimes all at the same time! We’re complex creatures and are continuously evolving and changing, every minute of every day. Sometimes we’re vain, sometimes we’re determined and sometimes we’re just plain crazy. Sometimes we just want to bask in our own awesomeness reflected back at us from a shop window. Sometimes we want to split traffic like a bastard. Sometimes we want to go as fast as we can. We buy motorcycles for different reasons.