So to further expand my knowledge of how the adventure behaves, I persuaded Timolgra to take me out for a gentle bimble around the lanes of his locale. To be honest, he didn't need much pursuasion, just a new handle for his downstairs loo. 
I called round on the GS on Saturday afternoon to convince him, just as he and Tina were about to leave to look at a new passion wagon, to see if he was interested. At this point all he had on his mind was VW transporters, but he graciously agreed. Game on.
My long time friend Andy (of pointy stick fame, earlier) is "between bikes" at the moment, so I offered him the Honda for the day, and he and I rolled up at Tim's at 10.00. It had been persisting it down most of the way, so my re-proofed gear was due a test. Swift brew and change later, and we are out into the wild and windy countryside.
At my request, Tim took us on some of the less taxing routes, mainly so that I could get used to the handling and suspension without getting into any serious stuff. One particularly rocky gateway saw me struggle for grip to get through, but that was owing to trying to set off in first, when second would have given me more traction. I altered the rebound one notch, as it seemed to be coming back a bit swiftly, and from then on the ride seemed very plush. The weather had relented, and we had bright sun for the most part of the day. The wind on top of the Wayfarer's was too strong to light a fag though, so we had to go a little further down.
After a coffee in the pub, Tim offered his "mistress" to me. Well, it would be rude not too! Setting off up the hill after Tim, I was amazed by just how much grunt it has, far in excess of any 650 Dakar I've ridden, and a fair chunk more than the KTM. Stood on the pegs, the bike feels narrower than the Katoom, and ever so slightly slower steering. The suspension is firm enough to travel very swifly over quite rough terrain, albeit a tad too harsh for day to day use. I wouldn't mind giving it the berries through the special stages of the Cambrian though.
Swapping back at the next gateway, I let Andy ride the KTM, and I rode the Honda. After the two bigger bikes, the CRF feels as heavy as a push bike. The stony track simply floats under it's wheels, and changes of direction require only a nudge on the bars, or a push on the pegs. Andy, meanwhile has headed off into the distance, with a manic grin on his face.
Tim switched over onto the Honda at the next gate, and let Andy ride the BM. I tried to get a photo of Tim on "Denise", but he tried to hide so that he wouldn't get abuse for riding a Girly Bike
Turning back towards Corwen, the weather finally gave up on us, and started to rain steadily. With the wind blowing it into our faces, Tim set off at a fair lick through some puddles, seding a bow wave from one nearly over his head
Tina had the kettle on when we had changed. She had been unable to join us as she had too much work to do, though we could tell that riding the bike would have been preferable.
After more testing, more conclusions. The tyre change has made a big difference, Michelin Desert front, Baja rear, running with rim locks, heavy duty tubes with "slime" in them, at 15psi. We now have grip, where before there was none! I think the suspension is pretty much dialled in now. I will get the final verdict when Rob is next up to check it over, but I was happy with it myself. Handling is a lot better than it looks like it ought to be. Compared to the Honda, the steering isn't as quick, and changing lines needs more effort, but this is to be expected with the size of engine. Pity I have no more free weekends for a while, I need to get a bit more time on this before next years events start. Thanks to Tim for leading us around his back yard, much appreciated.
Mark
Mark
I called round on the GS on Saturday afternoon to convince him, just as he and Tina were about to leave to look at a new passion wagon, to see if he was interested. At this point all he had on his mind was VW transporters, but he graciously agreed. Game on.
My long time friend Andy (of pointy stick fame, earlier) is "between bikes" at the moment, so I offered him the Honda for the day, and he and I rolled up at Tim's at 10.00. It had been persisting it down most of the way, so my re-proofed gear was due a test. Swift brew and change later, and we are out into the wild and windy countryside.
At my request, Tim took us on some of the less taxing routes, mainly so that I could get used to the handling and suspension without getting into any serious stuff. One particularly rocky gateway saw me struggle for grip to get through, but that was owing to trying to set off in first, when second would have given me more traction. I altered the rebound one notch, as it seemed to be coming back a bit swiftly, and from then on the ride seemed very plush. The weather had relented, and we had bright sun for the most part of the day. The wind on top of the Wayfarer's was too strong to light a fag though, so we had to go a little further down.
After a coffee in the pub, Tim offered his "mistress" to me. Well, it would be rude not too! Setting off up the hill after Tim, I was amazed by just how much grunt it has, far in excess of any 650 Dakar I've ridden, and a fair chunk more than the KTM. Stood on the pegs, the bike feels narrower than the Katoom, and ever so slightly slower steering. The suspension is firm enough to travel very swifly over quite rough terrain, albeit a tad too harsh for day to day use. I wouldn't mind giving it the berries through the special stages of the Cambrian though.
Swapping back at the next gateway, I let Andy ride the KTM, and I rode the Honda. After the two bigger bikes, the CRF feels as heavy as a push bike. The stony track simply floats under it's wheels, and changes of direction require only a nudge on the bars, or a push on the pegs. Andy, meanwhile has headed off into the distance, with a manic grin on his face.
Tim switched over onto the Honda at the next gate, and let Andy ride the BM. I tried to get a photo of Tim on "Denise", but he tried to hide so that he wouldn't get abuse for riding a Girly Bike
Turning back towards Corwen, the weather finally gave up on us, and started to rain steadily. With the wind blowing it into our faces, Tim set off at a fair lick through some puddles, seding a bow wave from one nearly over his head
Tina had the kettle on when we had changed. She had been unable to join us as she had too much work to do, though we could tell that riding the bike would have been preferable.
After more testing, more conclusions. The tyre change has made a big difference, Michelin Desert front, Baja rear, running with rim locks, heavy duty tubes with "slime" in them, at 15psi. We now have grip, where before there was none! I think the suspension is pretty much dialled in now. I will get the final verdict when Rob is next up to check it over, but I was happy with it myself. Handling is a lot better than it looks like it ought to be. Compared to the Honda, the steering isn't as quick, and changing lines needs more effort, but this is to be expected with the size of engine. Pity I have no more free weekends for a while, I need to get a bit more time on this before next years events start. Thanks to Tim for leading us around his back yard, much appreciated.
Mark
Mark
