Motorcycle Explorer Issue 6
brakes
Meaty is the word I would use as the Rally comes with ABS as we said but this can be switched
off. There are two four-piston monoblock callipers on the front on 320mm discs (standard, not
petal… shame as I like petal discs) and this works with a single calliper for the rear. The brake set
up was fine for the weight of the girl and I never felt that I had to grip like a gorilla to get her to
respond. There was plenty of meat in the brakes and granted I tend to look as far ahead as I can
and gear brake before I need to use any pad help I did forget the roadcraft for a few shots to test
the stopping power of the Rally. The forks dip well and the Rally is well balanced to stop in line
and well behaved as I gripped enough that the ABS just started to tickle on.
I was more than happy with the stopping power and what you have to keep in mind is that you'll
not be just you and the bike in future. What you want to be looking at when it comes to stopping
power is how this may react when you have a pillion at say 65k upwards and a hog load of
camping gear added to the base weight of the bike. Then you're not going to be stopping at the
lights in Blackburn but perhaps coming down the Stelvio or Alpina... that's what you keep in
mind for brakes. If a bike feels ok, with just you and spare set of socks it's not going to be getting
the job done when you use it for what it's supposed to be designed for.