This motor is a real gem. A 649cc parallel twin, fuel injected long legged monster that revs over 11,000rpm with surprising smoothness. An impressive level of acceleration that quickly takes the bike to indicated top speeds over 200km/ph. The engine management is faultless, from the crank to the throttle, and limiter. This is the most controllable engine I had experienced for a while upon riding this bike for the first time. The smoothness is unmatched by any twin I had ever ridden, being the only bike that doesn’t cause fatigue & numbness of my right hand (especially those with previous injuries!). I saw no need then or now for changes to the performance of this motor besides cutting open the muffler & make it more free flowing. Fuel economy is better than most bikes I’ve owned this decade, getting up to 270km before the light comes on still having up to 60km left of the 15.5 litre tank.

From the first time I rode this motorcycle, I knew it was going to be an easy to ride back wheel motorcycle. It is simply the most controllable wheelie bike I have ever ridden. It can be clutch up from stand-still, or, on the move in 1st 2nd and even 3rd if you are aggressive enough. It will wheelie straight from the throttle roll on, and if you jerk on the bars in 1st while on balance I manage changing through to 4th gear. While the rear guard is standard, I’ve totally worn away the reflector from scraping on the road when going past balance & riding the rear brake. It is also easy to steer on one wheel.

While the brakes are adequate, the rear wheel is easily lifted with hard braking, although I did replace the front brake pads with Metal Gear” full splintered pads, which improved the brakes making stoppies perform with much less effort. With the very average rear shock, landing the back wheel can be harsh, bottoming out pretty hard with a loud bang. While this bike is relatively standard, apart from pads, I’m was even able to pull off good “left handed stoppies”.

This motorbike smokes it up quite good by standing on the pegs & dropping the clutch at 9,000RPM with a finger on the front brake, although you need to keep the rear spinning fast so as not to let it start gripping.
While I’ve been able to keep it spinning to 4th gear, it’s not real easy to steer it exactly where you want.
If you’re looking for something to learn to stunt, the Kawasaki ER6 might be the best choice for you.

All in all, I’ve had a lot of fun on this motorcycle, and would have no intention of selling it in the future if I was a new stunt rider or even just a generally new rider to commuting or riding in general. Japanese reliability in a fun and cheap package.
Try to get yourself a test ride and all the above mentioned points will become apparent to you as you ride it (maybe not the stunt stuff – you may upset the current owner of the bike!).