Porthos1
Guest
Raced my G450X at Rendlesham Forest yesterday as part of the TBEC Enduro Series. The race was a 3 hour Hare and Hound event through very tight forest tracks and occasional firebreaks which offered a slight rest. Feedback as follows:
The bike was set up as standard and I ran it at 40Bhp which was more than enough given the tight terrain. It was absolutely chucking with rain all day and by the 2nd and 3rd laps the course was extremely rutted.
The bike did not miss a beat all day. It was an absolute dream to ride and my initial concerns of weight (having come from a KTM 250SXF) and steering lock were completely alleviated within about 10 minutes of racing.
I dropped the bike a couple of times during the latter stages of the race, but I found picking it up fine and it started first time every time. The majority of the race was spent in 1st and 2nd gear through the tight forest areas and I was worried about the engine needing to be ‘opened up’ occasionally to shake the low rev cobwebs! To be fair, every time I needed to squirt it down a straight, the power was there and again the responsiveness was first rate.
At one point on the course we had to clear a concrete pipeline running across the track. Several were talking of their bike bottoming out but I can happily say it cleared it with ease. Unfortunately I did not have any handguards fitted which meant a couple of my fingers are worse for wear today having clipped several trees!!
It certainly caused a topic of conversation in the paddock and everybody was keen to know how it rode. Some had already taken a test ride from a local dealer and were generally eager to know how it raced.
There was one other G450 racing (bought from Northampton BMW). He was a good rider (did not catch his name). He was riding with the switch to flick from 40-50Bhp but said he spent the majority of the race set at 40bhp. He did complain of the bike cutting out on him during the race but did not seem to worried and said it re-started easily enough.
In sum, I am thrilled with how the bike rode. If I were to change anything, I would have let the tyre pressures down and maybe softened the suspension a couple of clicks……all minor tweaking stuff.
Unfortunately the bike is now sat in my garage at home still covered in mud as my sodding car broke down on the way home and I had to be towed back by the AA. The recovery man had is priorities right as we recovered the bike first and then back for the car!!
The bike was set up as standard and I ran it at 40Bhp which was more than enough given the tight terrain. It was absolutely chucking with rain all day and by the 2nd and 3rd laps the course was extremely rutted.
The bike did not miss a beat all day. It was an absolute dream to ride and my initial concerns of weight (having come from a KTM 250SXF) and steering lock were completely alleviated within about 10 minutes of racing.
I dropped the bike a couple of times during the latter stages of the race, but I found picking it up fine and it started first time every time. The majority of the race was spent in 1st and 2nd gear through the tight forest areas and I was worried about the engine needing to be ‘opened up’ occasionally to shake the low rev cobwebs! To be fair, every time I needed to squirt it down a straight, the power was there and again the responsiveness was first rate.
At one point on the course we had to clear a concrete pipeline running across the track. Several were talking of their bike bottoming out but I can happily say it cleared it with ease. Unfortunately I did not have any handguards fitted which meant a couple of my fingers are worse for wear today having clipped several trees!!
It certainly caused a topic of conversation in the paddock and everybody was keen to know how it rode. Some had already taken a test ride from a local dealer and were generally eager to know how it raced.
There was one other G450 racing (bought from Northampton BMW). He was a good rider (did not catch his name). He was riding with the switch to flick from 40-50Bhp but said he spent the majority of the race set at 40bhp. He did complain of the bike cutting out on him during the race but did not seem to worried and said it re-started easily enough.
In sum, I am thrilled with how the bike rode. If I were to change anything, I would have let the tyre pressures down and maybe softened the suspension a couple of clicks……all minor tweaking stuff.
Unfortunately the bike is now sat in my garage at home still covered in mud as my sodding car broke down on the way home and I had to be towed back by the AA. The recovery man had is priorities right as we recovered the bike first and then back for the car!!