Since it was an RDO today I thought it was time to devirginise the RM175EF
I gave my mate a call this morning to see if i can tear up his 5 acre property in keysborough and do some sorting out.
The property is just a cow/sheep paddock so its pretty flat with just a few ruts and crap thrown in.
First thing i noticed about the bike is that nearly 30 years ago my PE175X "felt" fast.
Roll on 30 years to today,my recently departed 06 WR450F felt and was fast.
Getting on this RM175 and taking it on its first ride made me realise...this thing ain't no 450!!
Felt like someone put kryptonite under the seat....i was waiting for the power to hit....waiting,waiting.
It never hit,the power was so smooth and once i re-learnt how to ride a 2 stroke (as in scream the mother trucker!) it all came back to me...2 strokes are an absolute blast to ride!
I had a ball,i could tip the bike into corners and it would stay there,hold its line into and around the corner a slight feather of the clutch and fist full of revs and bang out,all in one motion.
My WR you would have to think about the corner,you chop the throttle,the front would dive from the engine braking and totally f@#k up my cornering to the point of having no idea what the front was going to do next...then as you "try" to lean the bike in,the top heaviness and engine braking to the point of slowing you down too much would make the bike want to fall down into the corner.
I have NEVER felt confortable on the WR since the day i've owned it and its been the cornering of that bike that i've hated all along.
Next thing....FULL FLOATER.....never ridden one until today.
2 words HOLY F@#K!
Now i know why the magazines raved on about them in the 80's.
Deep down i was a late 70's early 80's Yamaha YZ fan and Monocross diehard.
In the first 5 minutes of riding the bike and getting used to how well this thing corners and holds its line,i noticed the rear end stayed put under power out of the corner,then across a few deep tractor ruts with the throttle pegged.....a small kick in the butt,but it held its line beautifully and i could hit those ruts faster and faster at 60-80 KPH showing on my GPS strapped to the bars.
Nothing broke or fell off the bike.I still have to sort out the jetting,mainly a bottom-end fluffiness.
Started out with a 35 pilot then tried a 30 but thought the 35 felt better.I'll give a 40 a try next time and see what thats like,i'm not sure if its because of the 34mm flatslide.
Another thing that has to go is the throttle...my elbow nearly touches the front wheel with the amount of throttle turn! What were they thinking??
Might have to raid the Magura on my RM125T...short and sweet.
The only thing that stopped the bike today was FUEL
i ran out! Another flashback to riding 2 strokes,thirsty buggers!
Sorry for the long post but i thought i'd give you a run down on its first outing.
I had a ball and that was just in a paddock and it answered my own thoughts....i cannot ride 4 strokes properly/comfortably mainly because of their weight and height.
2 stroke enduro engines in a MX chassis or more to the point,light air cooled 2 strokes in a good chassis that don't tire you out are a blast!
