First ride: WK Trail 400

Adventure bikes have been amongst the best-selling machines since Ewan and Charley took their BMWs round the world, and some are big enough to make some cars look small. And sometimes small is beautiful (especially when dragging the bike out of the soft sand on Skeggy beach after Mau had the bright idea of photographing the bikes there. But that’s a different story…

The WK Trail 400 is small compared to most adventure bikes, but next to Mau’s WK RT125 Café it looks like a giant. I’m 6ft tall and I’m just about comfortable with getting my feet on the ground when sitting on the bike.

Looks

Visually it has all the elements expected from a serious adventure bike: wide bars, good ground clearance, windscreen and a belly pan. The distinctive adventure ‘beak’ also adds to the character. The test bike also had a headlight guard and aluminium panniers, which are available as accessories.

On the road

The bike’s height is much appreciated. I can see above the car tops around me, thanks to the impressive seat height of 890mm and the upright riding position.

There’s no red line in the analogue tachometer, but the rev-limiter kicks in at about 8,500rpm. Not that you need to rev it that high as the engine delivers most of its power in the low and mid-range. You just need to work up the five-speed gearbox slightly quicker than anticipated.

The bike has enough power to make it nice and easy to handle, with enough grunt to nip in and out of traffic. The top speed is just north of 70mph, making it a good bike for anyone who has a longer commute with some national speed limit roads to cover.

Finish

The dash has a nice big digital speedo, fuel and engine temperature gauge, odometer, clock and an analogue tachometer. It’s all laid out neatly and the design fits the bike’s trail look. The controls are simple and easy to use which adds to its’ carefree quality.

The more I got used to the bike’s power delivery and handling, the more I liked it. It would be great to see if it behaves itself as well on trails as it does on the road.

Reviewer: Mikko

Tech spec:

LICENCE REQUIREMENTS: A1

ENGINE: Single-cylinder 4-stroke oil-cooled 397.2cc
with internal balance shaft

MAX POWER: 20.1kW @ 7,000rpm

CLUTCH: Wet multi disc clutch

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed

FINAL DRIVE: Chain

BRAKES: Hydraulic discs front and rear

TYRES: Front: 90/90-21, Rear: 130/80-18

WHEELS: Aluminium

SEAT HEIGHT: 890mm

FUEL CAPACITY: 18 litres

COLOURS: Black or white

CONTACT: www.wkbikes.com

PRICE: £3899