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[ST] Intermot



Last week Sunday I visited the Intermot in Köln (Cologne),
which was unique since in the past years in used to be
far away (for me) in München (Munich). So now it was only
a bit longer than 2 hours for me, so Angelique and I took
the TDM on the Autobahn (221 km/h on the speedo was the
best I could get) to der Heimat. Very cold ride unfortunately,
misty in very chilly air, but dry at least.

Tried the Kawa 1400GTR, was very comfy. Was very much FJR,
I think the button for the electric screen is even identical.
Tried the F800ST (seen it often, never sat on it), it felt
very small. But maybe that was because I just came of that
Kawa. Saw the new model range of Givi, they look less samsonite
now and are more in line with the current new edge design you
see on most bikes. Shoei updated their flip up Duotech and calls
it now Multitech. Wasn't that much different though, I'm still
hoping for an updated Schuberth C2 which would fit a pinlock.

Honda had updated the Hornet with new looks, the Varadero only
had some very minor cosmetic changes unfortunately. It's still
a big and especially heavy allroad. Angelique tried lots of
smaller sporty bikes. The Daytona 675 turned out to be too
high for her, the SV650S to sporty (bars too much forward)
and the R6 and GSX600R to uncomfy in the saddle. Surprising
to see that for her the most comfy bike was the CBR600RR.

Tried the new Tiger of course, which was on display in all
colors. One version had a taller screen and bags on it. Sat
very much like the TDM, but taller. I read that in comparison
with the old Tiger that this was had a very slightly lower and
more narrow saddle to easier reach the ground. But it was still
very tall. No problem for me, Angelique couldn't even reach the
ground with her toes though. It was comfy though, also on the
back. Worth a testride at least. Not nice to see the big chunk
out of the sidebag to accomodate the exhaust though (like on
the BMW GS models). Nice to see the new Sprint in all black,
apparently the 2007 Sprint ST has higher bars and a higher screen.

The show was huge, 7 big halls stuffed full of everything you
can find about motorcycles. Brands I had never heard of, mostly
Chinese and Korean and plenty of big German magazines that had
set up big stands as well. Outside plenty of space for people
to test ride bikes and to watch stuntriders and racers on a small
track. After 3 hours of walking I was still halfway. I forgot
about the Kawa Versys, I skipped the BMW offroad models and
K1200R Sport. But I did have a surprise encounter with the bike
of Claudio, the R1150GS Adventure which had ridden with Ewan and
Charley from London to New York, the Long Way Round :-). What a
thrill to see and touch his bike there, live. Very cool...

Just a few pics here (some pics were taken with my mobile phone):
http://piloot.smugmug.com/gallery/2043016
3 pages total, Triumphs on page 2 and 3. Slideshow feature (button
in right top corner) is always recommended :-). Enjoy,

Emile
www.piloot.com


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