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I purchased the bike from Redline Motorcycles in Loughborough (01509 230001)
My first impression of the bike was “By god its tall!” LOL its so tall in fact it barely fits in my Ford Transit!
I couldn’t ride the bike as it wasn’t legal until today so it gave me a chance to admire its WP suspension and humongous rear sprocket
The bike is a competition enduro bike made road legal rather than a stylized road bike made to look like an off roader, so it is unfair to do just an on road review so will update this as I have more experiences to share.
I finished work early today and thought best stick some miles on the virgin engine and begin to run her in.
Its a real struggle for me to get on the bike and is comical when I need to stop at traffic lights, junctions etc as I wobble all over the place trying to get a toe down [:o)] but when on the move it is not an issue. At the moment I have to get on it on the wrong side after lifting the side stand and putting it in gear with my left hand while my right holds the clutch in, then swap hands and clamber on, I am sure after a few more miles I will get more used to the bikes height.
As I am running the bike in I am short shifting what is already a VERY close ratio box thanks to the enduro sprockets fitted and this means I am in 3rd gear by the time I have traveled 10 meters, my max speed at the moment in top seems to be about 55mph and although when looser it will be capable of around 90mph it is quite fast enough with knobbly tyres and a high front mudguard, thats not to say the bike isn’t capable its just that so far I am not as it was rather windy today and I was getting blown all over the place. The bike responds instantly and after having to give it some as I misjudged an overtake, the bike is gonna have so much poke when run in its gonna be silly I think![
]The knobbly tyres really arn’t at there best on tarmac but I didn’t have any scares even tho on one bend I had the rear power sliding the bike round it! (unintentionally)
Being so tall on the road is AWESOME!!! Not only can you see over cars etc but you can see over hedges too and as you are traveling a bit slower than the average GSX-R rider would be normally[
] you can admire a lot of scenery that I didn’t even know was there! []I am gonna be limited on the road use the bike gets as it needs an oil change every 3-5hrs riding and other bits will need doing too a lot more regularily than on my GSX-R
I can see myself having a fantastic love affair with this bike, I wonder if it will ever make me leave my current wife… the gixer?
Am not sure when I’ll be able to try the bike off road just yet but rest assured I will keep this review updated [
]I can’t see the pics Pete,but good early impressions. If you are having trouble with the seat height I would dread to think how I would get on as I have the inside leg measurement of a centipede! You have got to get it muddy soon, look how well Max is getting on with his Adventure on that score!
Wow, that’s a beauty Pete.
I can’t understand how you get on the bike, seems very strange! Small price to pay for big grins though. True the riding position is great on these things, makes you feel a real street warrior. Hope you have great fun on it, my 625 seems like a distant memory now but the rides I had are etched in the brain for a while yet.
Ahh, you may need a facebook account to view the phots, I shall see if I can make the album fully public which may remidy the problem. Either that or I’ll upload them to photobucket or somit. Will investigate….
Right have hosted the pics on photobucket and added some more as this puter is easier to use than me notebook
The bike has now done its first 3hrs running so needs its oil changed and various bits and bobs doing. I am hoping its all gonna be dead simple to work on! To make you laugh I shall post up the service schedule if I can find it… Am gonna be spending more time with a spanner in me hand than with a helmet on me head!
LOLCan see the pics now Pete, cheers!
That is some maintenance schedule! I think the word “Periodic” should be replaced with the word “Constant” at the top of the sheet though, lol!
What if the the 3 hours comes mid lap at a motocross meet!!!??
LOL thats the 1st 3hrs! I think it goes to every 3-5hrs after that, or each race whichever is sooner!
Am gonna be busy no matter what tho hey!
LOLI was riding down to Captain Jaspers on the Barbican yesterday and blimey, considering its a bike haunt so the locals are used to bikes you would not believe the resonse this bike got from the younger generation! (especially when I did some constructive use of space when a bus was stopped in me way! LOL
God this thing is manouverable!I actually need to look at the 2009 service schedule or phone a KTM dealer coz by the looks of it they are saying oil change every 20hrs or 1 race in the above schedule not as regular as I was led to believe on the road!
Wow, that’s some maintenance schedule. With oil changes that frequent it becomes a pricey business.
Maintenance things like “check headlamp setting” etc are not really an issue though so you can skip a few things I guess.Well did the service today, only bit I’ve not done is check the valve clearences as the book don’t show how to do it or state what to set them to. Gonna have to do some tinternet surfing to try and find out but at least with the oil changed I can now do 75% throttle!
The bike seems incredably easy to work on even for me in a dark garage in the rain! LOL
Went out today in the rain for a couple of hours exploring some of the tighter steeper narrower lanes locally, WOW, this thing is Sooooooo much fun! It has engine braking coming out its ears! LOL was going down one hill and dropped down a gear to control my decent and proceded to then have a rear wheel rotating slower than I was travelling all the way down the hill!
was exciting in polite words! LOL seriously tho this bike is friggin cool, the engine is loosening up now and I’m allowed upto 7000rpm (not that it has a rev counter) and it seems to act a bit like a 2 stroke as it feels like a deffinate powerband cutting in as I reach the revs I think are around 7k.Only another 8hrs riding and ~I’ll have full power!
] you can admire a lot of scenery that I didn’t even know was there! [
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