[Mr Gazza]

The moment comes when I throw my leg over and the first thing I do is reach to finger the clutch. “You said I would” I shouted to Nathan and we chuckled.
Get the mindset Gazza! No gear lever, no clutch just the throttle and brakes... Here we go. I nervously twisted the throttle and it moved forward very smoothly and in silence. Wow! This is something new.
The first two or three hundred yards is on farm track with Nathan leading on a similar Zero. It’s comfortable and the best thing is that I can’t see the bike from here.
It had felt heavy to upright from the sidestand, but now the weight counts for nothing on the roll. By the time we reach the lane to enter public road, I’ve got the measure of the clutch-less twist and go idea. I pulled out after Nathan with confidence and it once again answered smoothly and silently. I’m liking it already.

The riding position and feel is very similar to my Monster and all I really have to do is shuffle a little in the unfamiliar saddle to get the buttocks sufficiently gathered for comfort and we’re there. The lane turned into a b-road and as it widened Nathan upped the pace and I was having to twist a bit more to keep up, a little bit more concerned about the slowing down bit at this stage, but I needn’t have worried. Backing off the throttle produces a nice engine braking feel and slamming the throttle shut is enough to produce a small reaction in the forks as the weight transfers. This is very reassuring. Nathan had told me that just touching the front brake lever will enhance the engine braking before the pads touch. This turned out to be extremely easy and satisfying to control.

It also turned out that I didn’t need all that noise, gear changing and blipping to gauge my cornering speed, just roll off enough and it’s all intuitive. Rolling the power back on is so satisfying I think I can say I have never really felt so in control of a motorcycle ever before. There is absolutely no snatch as the power comes back in. Just a seamless transition from engine brake to neutral power to power ON. Boy does it come in nicely! All those horses and that torque, forget the Monster grin, this IS something new.
This is guilt free hooliganism. Just pure motorcycling with none of that baggage of gears, jangling and blaring exhausts.

We’ve done a few miles together in the past and Nathan is a good rider, not slow either. I know he won’t lead me into trouble (especially on the company’s bikes).
We find ourselves waiting for a safe over take on a nice sweeping A-road and I glimpse the clear straight down the nearside of the truck. I recognise Nathans positioning and ready myself for the move. Nathan pulls the trigger and I go too. Past the truck on a gale of force, once clear I glance down at the speedo “HOW FAST?” I laugh in my helmet for the second time. (I couldn’t possibly divulge the velocity; suffice to say another column is needed!) Nathan glances behind and we grin again and nail it down the straight.

The only noise is just a muted whine of varying pitch which is drowned by the wind noise at above 55ish mph. I must say I find this very refreshing, even if I have to confess to an open dry clutch and cored cans. I think it’s a rather selfish notion that it sounds good. I certainly don’t think it’s big and clever when Jack the kipper goes wailing down the main road with the crescendo piercing my own garden over a mile away. The mirror is not always kind!