So the GFs keen to come on a road trip with me, but not so keen on the Ducati. To be fair, the blazing hot exhausts directly under the passenger seat don't make for comfort. And while she's a lovely bike, she's a torture machine for the rider after anything more than a couple of hours. So I've decided I need a different bike if I'm seriously considering touring.

I don't want to stray too far from sports bikes though and there isn't a lot of choice when it comes to traditional sports tourers - the rising popularity of the "tall-rounders" is killing the market a bit. So I took a Sprint GT over to the Suffolk coast for a trial. It's quite a change from the Duke, with a longer wheelbase and an extra 100kg. Still handles nicely though once the rear suspension has been tweaked a bit. And the engine is a delight, this triple may be the sweet spot. Power right the way through the rev range unlike the Honda but happier at low revs than the Ducati twin. I think I may have found my next bike.