Suitable upgrades to the common or garden Mille include a rather large helping of the previously mentioned Ohlins goodies. Starting with the front forks and the stuff legends are made from, we have the de rigueur Titanium Nitride lowers with the traditional 3-way adjustability for our riding pleasure. The rear too, has a piggyback Ohlins again offering 3-way knob fiddling potential. The wheels? Snazzy show with added go, super lightweight OZ alloy wheels that continue to look better and better the more you look at them. Steering has been improved (sic) too from last years bike by increasing rake to compliment a revised engine position.

Rake aside there are a further 170-odd changes to this years dish from last years, everything from weight savings to aerodynamics. Us sporties love our carbon fiber so it's no shock to see some luvverly pieces attached to the R to help satisfy our craving. Amongst other bits scattered here and there, this Mille R boasts front and rear fenders made of the tricky stuff so you won't need to be spending more of your hard earned.

The engine has not been ignored either. From knowledge garnered at WSB level, it's been raised 5mm to aid handling. The rear swingarm too, has been modified (raised 3mm) to aid traction. Things haven't been ignored in the beans department either with the airbox receiving some slicing and dicing to further help with... err, slicing and dicing? Our R had a nice titanium end can that let out some tunes rivaling Andrea Bocelli. I'm not sure if my neighbors appreciated the operatic tunes on a Sunday morning pre-ride warm up but hey, what are homeowners association dues for anyway?