twisticles
Registered user
I did the course 9 days ago on an F800GS, first time off road (although I did once park on the pavement in London).
If you had shown me at the beginning of Day 1 what I would be doing on that bike by the end of Day 2, I would have laughed in your face. Even gravel terrified me. But at the end of Day 2, riding up "The Big Hill" I felt on top of the world
As a regular road rider (london commuter) I was in the middle of the three groups and I found the pacing of the course spot on. Some guys struggled a bit (mostly the ones on 1200s who had to pick up a lot) and I think if your slow-speed control isnt very good you should spend more time in the lower group practicing that.
At the moment I would class my fitness as a little below average, but I didn't struggle from a fitness point of view at all. Might have been different if I dropped the bike a lot more, but I got away with only 2 drops and a spectacular 'off' over the 2 days.
The 800GS is AMAZING off-road, just point it at any kind of terrain at let it pick its path, don't fight it and it will stay upright. Skids easy too One guy grumbled about the clutch control - you do have to keep the engine spinning over 2k revs really to get the best out of it, but downhill in 1st gear it needs no throttle to keep a steady pace going. I guess riding an 800GS for the last 2 months on the road helped me know the machine before hand.
I have got to get me some TCK80s on my 800
I tried the X-Challenge and it might be fun but it felt gutless and breathy after the 800. But highly manouvreable. I also tried the 1200GS and to be honest it didn't feel like there was a whole lot more power there, it does feel heavier and require more work to move around, but the power rolls on in a very controlled, linear fashion. Just my opinion from the short blasts we had.
Don't worry about fitness level too much, unless you are obese and can't climb stairs without getting out of breath. And I wouldnt bother with a camelbak either - plenty of water there and stops to drink it, you can stash a couple of bottles on the bike no problem.
I hired the WOMBW gear, and the boots were good, as were the knee protectors. MX trousers over the top. The jacket was pretty poor with no armour, I would think about either taking my own lightweight textile jacket (must be very thin/breathable cos you will get hot!) or wear one of those armour mesh tops underneath.
All in all a cracking two days.
If you had shown me at the beginning of Day 1 what I would be doing on that bike by the end of Day 2, I would have laughed in your face. Even gravel terrified me. But at the end of Day 2, riding up "The Big Hill" I felt on top of the world
As a regular road rider (london commuter) I was in the middle of the three groups and I found the pacing of the course spot on. Some guys struggled a bit (mostly the ones on 1200s who had to pick up a lot) and I think if your slow-speed control isnt very good you should spend more time in the lower group practicing that.
At the moment I would class my fitness as a little below average, but I didn't struggle from a fitness point of view at all. Might have been different if I dropped the bike a lot more, but I got away with only 2 drops and a spectacular 'off' over the 2 days.
The 800GS is AMAZING off-road, just point it at any kind of terrain at let it pick its path, don't fight it and it will stay upright. Skids easy too
One guy grumbled about the clutch control - you do have to keep the engine spinning over 2k revs really to get the best out of it, but downhill in 1st gear it needs no throttle to keep a steady pace going. I guess riding an 800GS for the last 2 months on the road helped me know the machine before hand.I have got to get me some TCK80s on my 800
I tried the X-Challenge and it might be fun but it felt gutless and breathy after the 800. But highly manouvreable. I also tried the 1200GS and to be honest it didn't feel like there was a whole lot more power there, it does feel heavier and require more work to move around, but the power rolls on in a very controlled, linear fashion. Just my opinion from the short blasts we had.
Don't worry about fitness level too much, unless you are obese and can't climb stairs without getting out of breath. And I wouldnt bother with a camelbak either - plenty of water there and stops to drink it, you can stash a couple of bottles on the bike no problem.
I hired the WOMBW gear, and the boots were good, as were the knee protectors. MX trousers over the top. The jacket was pretty poor with no armour, I would think about either taking my own lightweight textile jacket (must be very thin/breathable cos you will get hot!) or wear one of those armour mesh tops underneath.
All in all a cracking two days.
