Picked up a loan Divvy this morning courtesy of last weeks SMIDSY driver's insurance. She initially tried the
he appeared out of nowhere line but didn't have much choice about accepting liability when a witness pointed out I had been stationary at the time she executed her U-Turn
Fortunately minimal harm to me (bruised finger) and only damaged plastics and bent tank on the bike (not cheap mind you), so I have still been riding it.
They initially suggested a Bandit but I asked for something smaller and lighter so got the Divvy instead. Great chance to try a bike I could never own (at 6'4" I could never live with it long term). It looks just the thing for a city bike. Walking around the bike it still looked like just the thing. Did notice the swingarm looked to be rather on the budget side - and since there is no visible exhaust can I would probably have preferred a single sided swing arm.
First warning that I was going to be disappointed was when I sat on it and the seat dropped by 6 inches. Suddenly I felt like I was on a chopper with the front way too high, and I hadn't even started the bike yet. I also noticed how wide the bars were. Can't say for sure but they seemed wider than I remembered on my Gen 1 Thou. I have been really impressed at how narrow my own bike is and how little room is needed for filtering. The Diversion is much narrower and feels like half the weight but those bars meant I actually avoided gaps I would have sailed the slightly overweight Trumpet through.
On the road the motor was predictably good. Good fuelling with a better midrange than I expected, reasonable acceleration and more than enough for the empty motorway stretches. Not blinding performance by any means but if I had a city bike / winter hack I could live with it and still have fun on the weekends. Handling was predictably not great. As they say in the classics: Looks like a fish, moves like a fish, steers like a cow. Ok I'm probably heavier than their target market but the suspension was way more budget than it should have been. Definitely no temptation to test the cornering limits - maybe just as well as the rear tyre was brand new, they even stuck a note on the tank to warn me.
Major niggle as a taller rider was the length of travel on the gear lever. I was already cramped up and it was a real effort to get my foot down far enough between upshifts. The upright position meant that my top half didn't feel particularly cramped. Fairing, well its really just plastic covers and I wasn't expecting any protection. Felt like I was on a naked bike, which is fine for a city bike. Once I got into the city I really did appreciate the light weight and short wheelbase. This made it very maneuverable and flickable, but the bars are too wide to get the benefit in traffic. Oh and moving it around the car park was an absolute doddle.
Still think this could have been a great city bike - but they spoiled it by cutting too many corners.
