I'll try to do it brief.. But first, you should know that what I rode is a 33 BHP version (25 KW if I'm not mistaken), this is because some clerk has yet to pull his thumb out of his arse and match the licence restrictions to the updated one in Europe, where the middle class grew to 47 BHP (32 KW?). It's done by a different map and not mechanically. It retains the same torque figures and I'm pretty sure it has the same rev limit, though couldn't confirm it.
So, basically, same bike as the 125 and the 200, rolling chassis wise. The differences between the bike (aside for the engine displacement that grew thanks to bigger stroke and bore) are:
1. Same suspension but slightly firmer (weight has gone up 9.5 Kg's compared to the 200)
2. Bosch's EXCELLENT 9mb ABS system (switchable, thank god)
3. Metzeler M5's instead of that rubbish Indian Durex.
4. Great color scheme and orange wheels. Hooray!!
Overall feeling, just like with the 200, is that it's not a full blown KTM. Most KTM's, who are made in Austria feel proper and high quality. The smaller ones are, well, premium Indian products. They're OK, but that's it. Slight feeling of cheap around the usual stuff - levers, pegs and such.
It's a small bike. I reach with both feet easy while towering to a midgety 170 cm's. But with a gigantic cock. I'm kidding, it's small as well.
Still, of the new crop of A2 bikes (Ninja 300, CBR500, CB500f) this is the lightest (by a mile, 20 kg's less than the Kawi, and stronger when it's not restricted) and perhaps the most fun. It's the sportiest (don't know what British magazine imagine as sporty when they describe the Honda as such) and the one that feels most natural for acting stupid on. It feels small and toy-ish compared to the Honda's, pretty much like the Ninja 300.
In town it's great, just like a scooter and you can go on and slot into the tightest gaps.
Don't know how it's priced in your places, here it's fooking expensive and about 40% more than the 200, which makes it kind of ridiculous.
