[cleatus12r]

Originally Posted by Power Hungry

Have you ridden one? I only say because I was a ricer-rider back in the day (1987 FZ-700) and have always loved sportbikes. However, one of the guys at Edge has an XB-12 and I took it for a spin. Despite the fact that it has the V-twin thump (which I don't necessarily mind), the bike is smooth, responsive and nimble. The first tight curve I hit had me in at about 50º and just rolled out smooth as glass. A little goose in 3rd would get the front end right up in fine fashion and with a smooth torque curve, you could hold it as long as you wanted. I'm not into that, but it felt nice.

The one thing that kept throwing me off was the redline on the tach, not to mention fighting the urge to wind that sucker up like an inline 4. You get over that pretty quick though.

Anyway... just my thoughts.

Nope, never ridden an XB-12R. I rode an XB-12 S2 and couldn't get over how quickly I had to shift....I felt like I was constantly lugging it but there's enough low end to get you moving in a hurry.

My main v-twin experience comes from an Aprilia RSV Mille and a Ducati 996; neither of which I owned but I didn't care for the jerky sensation on every power pulse from the engine. It's impossible to match the handling of a v-twin in the twisties though.