OK, this is not definitive by any means, a short blat round the lanes in the freezing cold first thing in the morning was on offer so I took it.

How to sum up the wonder of the GS? Imagine climbing onto the top of a 1982 Range Rover, the one with the 3.5 litre V8 which made all of about 108 bhp, sticking some handlebars through the roof and riding it around, and that's about right.

Very tall, very wide, strange pokey out engine wobbling the whole bike around, odd fuelling lurching things about, shaft drive confusing the rear suspension.

Big issue with this one was braking - turns out this is an early 2007 model which has a strange system which means you mustn't start off until the bike is ready or the front brake won't work, or something daft like that. Anyway, they've taken it off for the 2008 model.

Starting off the engine seems grunty, although fuelling is not right. But it's just like an old Brit twin, when you go to give it the berries it just makes more noise and rattles, and lots more vibration, but no real increase in motion. Bit flat, partly because it must weigh a fair old bit.

Gearshift is very much early Guzzi, so big boots will be needed.

Suspension is a bit mad; there's loads of travel and front end is not half bad as the Telelever swinging arm design cuts out fork dive on the brakes and when cornering, but the weird shaft drive setup and bouncy shock make the back end flop about a fair bit if you throw the bike about in the bends. Shut off the throttle mid corner at your peril. Can be very crashy through potholes and rough surfaces as the unsprung weight overcomes the abilities of the springy bits.

Seat is OK but I guess they compromise the design so those with a less than extended inside leg can reach the ground.

Not sure I really see the point in this bike. As urban transport it's not manoeuvrable enough and too wide to fit comfortably between lines of cars so progress is definitely slowed. On the open road its speed is limited by the restricted power and compromised handling. Good for ambling down country lanes perhaps, with it's high riding position giving good visibility, rather like the Range Rover in fact. In the Sahara it's gonna be a pig to pick up when you drop it.

In short, probably mighty impressive if you've just swapped from your CB500 or some trailey thing, but it will confuse a sportsbike rider, unless you've got a Ducati perhaps. Not really fair for us to criticise it, it fills a different role ... whatever it is.