| I won't try to tell Mello-Yellow he's wrong in his opinion. but I don't understand his (and others') comments about a lack of "rawness" or the 999 being too smooth. This isn't a challenge, I'm genuinely puzzled.
The 999 isn't a neutral-steering bike in the same way many Jap machines are (thinking GSXR's here), you have to work it a bit to steer it quickly (plus get it set up right), but the 999 does provide you with a machine you can express yourself on. I don't like a bike that dictates to me how it wants to be ridden - I like to do the dictating! If I want rawness, I'll create it myself by riding it hard (preferably on the track). I don't want to have to fight a bike's character all the time - the 999 enables me to thrash it when appropriate, but also to tour on it and cover big miles, if not in perfect comfort, then with a minimal amount of spine-crushing pain. Obviously, this is my opinion and others have their own take on it.
Anyway, enough rambling ... my question - what is the rawness that the 996 had that the 999 lacks? Thanks.  |