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I brought an XC home a couple of weeks ago but the arrival of baby Phoebe has pretty much prevented me from getting round to riding it much, modifying it or even posting any piccies on here. She is an 07 1600 miler that’s mostly road miles & has really only done some very light occasional laning. Its pretty much unmarked apart from some slight scuffing on the rad shroud graphics on 1 side and a couple of small dings on the can. She’s still on the saharas. I bought her off a fellow tosser. Thanks Martin ……still can’t believe you were daft enough to let me take her home without having actually paid for her.
I sold the DRZ-E and my 1150GS, a trusted 6.5yr companion that never let me down , to save a bit of dosh ( did I mention the baby ) and downsize to the X Challenge. I wanted something smaller for green laning but still capable of the occasional weekend away, GSer events and trips up to the Lakes or into North Wales. I don’t expect to get much more biking than that in for the next couple of years ( did I mention the baby
) so I’m hoping the XC will do me just fine.
The relationship didn’t start too well though.
My first ride was supposed to be an early evening spin round some local B roads to a pub to meet Lou for a bite to eat. It was a really lovely evening but I got as far as the petrol station 500 yrds away, filled up, and when I came out it just bloody refused to start , I killed the battery trying and ended up pushing it home.
The second ride was a short, wet,windy & dark night time ride up the M6, not the XCs natural habitat. I felt a lot more vulnerable mixing it with the lorries and reps in the dark than I did on the 1150. At least when I set off home again she fired up first time.
Then the 3rd ride last week on a beautiful sunny morning I decided to take the bike to work 20 miles away. 5 miles from work I stopped at a petrol station to pick up a can of Red Bull ( did I mention the bloody baby ) , came outside and the bike refused to start again….nothing would coax it into life, not even bumping it and another biker insisted on helping and killed the batt’ . A guy on a matt black rat CX500 and his mate on an R1 eventually came to my rescue by popping home and getting some tools and jump leads. I arrived at work 1hr 45 mins late.
At 5pm in the evening, with no way of charging the battery, I was surprised that she started again on the button.
Thoroughly pissed off I rang Paul Newman at Chester Motorrad the next day and I asked if he could get me in any sooner to have the batt’ recall done. Ever helpful he managed to squeeze me in the next day (last Saturday,) despite a 2 week back log in the service dept’, and touch wood the problem seems to have been cured . I stopped several times on the way home and she seems to be starting fine now with 14 to 14.3 volts showing all the time.
The bike is bog stock except for one tooth lower on the front. I have a few mods planned for the bike and I have been collecting some parts / bling over the past few months. Most of them have been covered on here or advrider before but I’ll be adding to this thread with a few piccies and info’ on parts etc over the next few days / weeks anyway. There is some goods stuff that I managed to pick up from the US at way below TT prices.
Hope to see some of you other XCers out and about soon .
Ian
I brought an XC home a couple of weeks ago but the arrival of baby Phoebe has pretty much prevented me from getting round to riding it much, modifying it or even posting any piccies on here. She is an 07 1600 miler that’s mostly road miles & has really only done some very light occasional laning. Its pretty much unmarked apart from some slight scuffing on the rad shroud graphics on 1 side and a couple of small dings on the can. She’s still on the saharas. I bought her off a fellow tosser. Thanks Martin ……still can’t believe you were daft enough to let me take her home without having actually paid for her.
I sold the DRZ-E and my 1150GS, a trusted 6.5yr companion that never let me down , to save a bit of dosh ( did I mention the baby ) and downsize to the X Challenge. I wanted something smaller for green laning but still capable of the occasional weekend away, GSer events and trips up to the Lakes or into North Wales. I don’t expect to get much more biking than that in for the next couple of years ( did I mention the baby
) so I’m hoping the XC will do me just fine.The relationship didn’t start too well though.
My first ride was supposed to be an early evening spin round some local B roads to a pub to meet Lou for a bite to eat. It was a really lovely evening but I got as far as the petrol station 500 yrds away, filled up, and when I came out it just bloody refused to start , I killed the battery trying and ended up pushing it home.
The second ride was a short, wet,windy & dark night time ride up the M6, not the XCs natural habitat. I felt a lot more vulnerable mixing it with the lorries and reps in the dark than I did on the 1150. At least when I set off home again she fired up first time.
Then the 3rd ride last week on a beautiful sunny morning I decided to take the bike to work 20 miles away. 5 miles from work I stopped at a petrol station to pick up a can of Red Bull ( did I mention the bloody baby ) , came outside and the bike refused to start again….nothing would coax it into life, not even bumping it and another biker insisted on helping and killed the batt’ . A guy on a matt black rat CX500 and his mate on an R1 eventually came to my rescue by popping home and getting some tools and jump leads. I arrived at work 1hr 45 mins late.
At 5pm in the evening, with no way of charging the battery, I was surprised that she started again on the button.
Thoroughly pissed off I rang Paul Newman at Chester Motorrad the next day and I asked if he could get me in any sooner to have the batt’ recall done. Ever helpful he managed to squeeze me in the next day (last Saturday,) despite a 2 week back log in the service dept’, and touch wood the problem seems to have been cured . I stopped several times on the way home and she seems to be starting fine now with 14 to 14.3 volts showing all the time.
The bike is bog stock except for one tooth lower on the front. I have a few mods planned for the bike and I have been collecting some parts / bling over the past few months. Most of them have been covered on here or advrider before but I’ll be adding to this thread with a few piccies and info’ on parts etc over the next few days / weeks anyway. There is some goods stuff that I managed to pick up from the US at way below TT prices.
Hope to see some of you other XCers out and about soon .
Ian
