Not much of a ride, just a few laps around the farm to bed in the revalved suspension. The bike's got to pass it's MOT (UK's annual certificate of roadworthiness) before I can venture out and about, but I'll get that organised in the next few days. The suspension feels good - the farm is bone dry, with plenty of ruts and rocks - and the bike just soaked them up without kicking the front end about. It's pretty slippy on the dry grass too (and my rear tyre is fubar'd), but it's steering neutrally in the turns and slides progressively, no nasty surprises. Apologies for the knackered tyre and the amount of cow dung everywhere! On top of the world. The wide blue yonder. BTW that's not an airbrake, it's the UK legal size licence plate. It'll be replaced with something more dainty after the MOT. The blinkers will be coming off too. Old iron... Then the cops showed up. No, really. Nothing to see here, guys... I don't think the bike's ever been so clean. Arrow sticker on the silencer is covering up some nasty rock rash! I picked up some 2-stroke rad shrouds for cheap and kind of like their angularity. On a clearer evening the sea would be visible from here. A few more laps 'til the sun went down... I love this bike.
Nice looking machine! I really like the blue and yellow. Looks like a nice place, too. "Air brake"... WoodsChick
Yeah, it's beautiful around here. I'm really lucky to have so much space to ride in - England's rather "compact" and suburbia is never far away! Getting the suspension sorted is the best thing I could have done - it's transformed the bike completely. The harshness in the forks (mine are the old 45's) is completely gone and it just makes the bike feel much lighter and more nimble. It's much more stable on the rough stuff so I can have razor sharp steering without instability. The guy I hired took an absolute age (he kept disappearing to go racing) but he did a good job. The rear shock's even more supple now too. The bike's a nice balance of everything working sweetly but it's not so shiny that I'm afraid to scuff it. I just need those rad braces now!
Love those rolling hills in the background! Looks like a good time. Good luck with your inspection, mate.
Thanks mate - it passed today, so legal for another year. I got a new Pirelli MT43 trials tyre on the back too - perfect for all the rocky climbs round here. Now I can get the bike properly dirty!
Seems like a good place to ask a suspension question. I have 06 te 450 and was feeling like the front forks could use improvement. When I hit square edge rocks at high speed the forks feel like they are non existent. Is this what they call mid range spike?
