BACK-ROAD BRAWLER

Yes, it has an Italian name on it, but I know a lot of you are thinking they are made in China now, so they must be junk. There’s no doubt some of China’s past attempts at producing a quality motorcycle have delivered an over proportionate amount of cheap and unreliable machines. But unless you’ve been living under a rock, or just dismiss the idea of even looking at a two wheeler built in China, you’ll know that for the most part the quality, workmanship and styling has improved immensely over the last few years.

There’s a bunch of Chinese manufacturers currently promising to be developing the bike that China finally gets absolutely right. But nearly everything that has crossed my path in recent history is undeniably better than the generation before it. Better, yes, but not enough to shake the feeling that, for the most part, just lacked that little something. Perhaps it’s the paint that