IF you are prepared to do some work on the suspension as well - not bad.
Needs firmer springs and a fork brace minimum (2-300$ AU), emulators in the front make a huge difference but the rear shock needs to be rebuilt or replaced to work really well.
The only motard I've ridden against reasonable seriously was a Husqvarna, the DL was a lot quicker on the more open corners (80-120kph) (I was entering the corners faster and could start winding up on the throttle as soon as I could see the exit) but he walked away in the really tight stuff, I just couldn't flick the DL from side to side the way he could - since the Husky had at least as much power as the DL and weighs a lot less the DL did pretty well.
The one point I would make is that the DL can almost keep up with a motard even on quite tight roads but - it's a lot heavier and less forgiving - screw up your lines and it's more likely to result in a crash. I did however find out that it is possible to drift a DL into a corner (with both wheels sliding) without automatically crashing
I have outridden litre sports bikes in conditions where handling rather than power was the decider - the wide bars and neutral handling make it quite a quick bike on the right roads.
Pete
Needs firmer springs and a fork brace minimum (2-300$ AU), emulators in the front make a huge difference but the rear shock needs to be rebuilt or replaced to work really well.
The only motard I've ridden against reasonable seriously was a Husqvarna, the DL was a lot quicker on the more open corners (80-120kph) (I was entering the corners faster and could start winding up on the throttle as soon as I could see the exit) but he walked away in the really tight stuff, I just couldn't flick the DL from side to side the way he could - since the Husky had at least as much power as the DL and weighs a lot less the DL did pretty well.
The one point I would make is that the DL can almost keep up with a motard even on quite tight roads but - it's a lot heavier and less forgiving - screw up your lines and it's more likely to result in a crash. I did however find out that it is possible to drift a DL into a corner (with both wheels sliding) without automatically crashing
I have outridden litre sports bikes in conditions where handling rather than power was the decider - the wide bars and neutral handling make it quite a quick bike on the right roads.
Pete