She’s
big, she’s huge and boy can she corner!
On
cruisers, the chassis and suspension geometry are not known
to invoke wondrous handling. Rather straight line stability
is what affords the greatest pleasure on this breed of bike.
Come winds or road undulations, a cruiser is hard to shake
off the chosen track. But around corners, either the front
gives in or the tail seeks its own path before you start
grounding footpegs, side stands or even the silencers.
However before assessing handling let us work through the
geometry. The Aquila lists a tubular section dual cradle
steel frame which hooks up with conventional telescopic
shock absorbers at the front and a box section swingarm
with preload adjustable shock absorbers at the rear. Though
conventional, sometimes it is better to approach matters
on hand the old fashioned way rather than trying to reinvent
the wheel. Since the bike is intended to come in as a CBU
there has been no tweaking of the frame to add stiffness
since a steel frame is inherently stiffer than normal frames.
Even the stock suspension has been retained and the entire
set-up provides the most plush and comfortable ride experienced
on an Indian motorcycle. Nothing throws the Aquila off track
and steering feels sure-footed and solid.
The road to Ahmednagar offers a number of long stretches
with a lot of graduated corners, just the incentive to throw
caution to the winds and indulge in some serious cornering
to gauge handling. Though my knees were not scraped, the
footpegs definitely were, on occasion the silencers too
barely missing to leave behind a few deposits. The Aquila’s
low ground clearance (155mm), long wheelbase (1500mm), wide
130/90 section rear footprint from MRF, the stiff chassis
and able suspension all contribute to planting her securely
on terra firma, endowing her with distinction of being one
of the best handling bikes on Indian roads. Tight turn-ins
however require discretion and low speeds but on smoother
bends the Aquila stays glued to tarmac with the scenery
flashing past at extremely acute angles. Too much lean on
rough or broken road surfaces and the Aquila’s stand
and footpegs are prone to grounding, so beware. |
