First Ride Report

[DoubleTrouble]

..."so you want to do a light trail?", Alan, (BunduBasher) asked.
Ken, (Calcaneus), and I nodded in agreement...

I had done a warm-up ride in the morning and had gotten left in the dust. Alan, and I then spent some time riding with his son, (my nephew), Jonathan, on his new JR80 in the kiddies area getting him used to the JR's clutch and me used to the KDX. When Jonathan tired we dropped him off at camp and Bundu and I headed off for some serious stuff.

The last time I rode was over 10 years ago and that was pretty mild compared to what I was getting into today. Well, whatever Bundu threw at me I tackled. A couple of deep breaths and here goes nothing and the KDX took everything in it's stride. Some of the hills we climbed I would have avoided at all costs before. We picked up the others tracks on one particularly gnarly section where the approach was very short and rock went straight up a couple of feet and then kinked right. It had been worn smooth and you could see the fresh tire tracks of the various lines etched on the smooth rock. Alan and his mountain goat Pampera barely broke a sweat climbing up it.

At this point we switched bikes and ended up riding around the obstacle. The Pampera climbs hills easily but the saddle is as hard as a plank and the foot-brake nowhere to be found. Where I had grown in confidence on the downhill's with the KDX the Pampera had me in a cold sweat. The uphills on the other hand were less frenetic to ride with the Pampera's low down power coming on smoothly and evenly. Overall the morning ride had gone well and I had a blast.

We returned to the camp and took the kids, Jonathan (8), Katie (12) and Hailey (10), out for a short ride. Man, these kids are something to watch. The area where we rode has some nice dips and little hills which are probably quite daunting for most youngsters to take but these guys tackled them with spirit. Upon our return the others had returned and we broke for lunch.

After lunch Derek, (TrailRider42) took the posse out again and Alan, Ken and I were left at the camp taking it easy. We then decided to hit out on a light trail. Bundu leading, me in the middle and Ken taking up the rear. After about ten minutes of some light trails Bundu pulls over and asks if it's light enough for us. Ken and I nod in agreement again. Whereupon Bundu takes off down this really, really steep canyon. It seemed like 50 yards straight down and I questioned if anyone ever rides up this monster hill/cliff. This is when you start asking yourself if it's this steep in, how steep is it getting out ? ...the question was soon to be answered...

...around the very next corner and some more down hill I met my nemesis. :moon: :uh:
I watched as Bundu reached the bottom of the hill switched right and then shot up the hill and out of sight behind the trees. This is when it all started to go wrong. I could not see the line to take and I was in third by the time I reached the bottom of the hill. As I switched right the monster took shape. It was a lot steeper than I initially thought and dust still hung in the air from Bundu's run and visibility was not perfect. I geared down, picked my line, the left rut, and tried to keep an even throttle. However, the switch right caused my weight to move to the left of the bike and nearing the top my front wheel jumped out of the rut and swung right. I kept the power on and kept the front wheel pointed to the top of the hill. Now on my own line heading for who knows where. As I crested the bash plate dug into the dirt and I jarred to an immediate halt.

The bike then toppled right and I dropped 6-10 feet straight down onto a grassy ledge. I felt my helmet hit hard then my right shoulder. Crunch. I was winded and the pain was immediate. I tried to breath but couldn't. The only way to get some air, relief and help was to howl 'Aaaaaaaaaargh'. I could not move and I could hear the bike idling not far from me. Soon Ken and Bundu arrived on the scene and helped me out of the predicament. Getting to my feet was an effort and I crawled to the top of the hill bewildered and in pain. I can only imagine both their thoughts at this time as Ken still had to hit the hill and Bundu was going to ride this monster again. No problem, Ken made it look easy and Bundu brought the KDX up.

"Hell AL, I thought you were taking us on a light trail ?!" - "I was, but I haven't ridden this section before !" :eek:

We continued on but the very next corner brought us upon another great hill but at least this time the line in was straight. I knew we could not go back and I also knew that I could not get Bundu to ride each hill out for me. I gritted my teeth and blasted on out. The twenty minutes back to camp had some nice trail riding but I suffered on each and every bump that I hit. Boy was I glad when I recognized the territory close to the camp. That last mile home was probably the most enjoyable section of trail I rode all weekend.

Eventhough I took a tumble I have to say that I had a ball the first time out on the KDX. This bike handled the trails with ease and extremely controllable 2 stroke power. The ergonomics are comfortable & cushy with the seat height just right and adequately padded.

All I can say is this is one great bike which I going to enjoy for a long time to come. The Amarillo Spodefest was the perfect place to try out a perfect bike with a bunch of perfectly nice people.

Cheers,
Neal (DoubleTrouble)

:aj:

 

[Timr]

Cool! I'm glad you like the KDX. Bundu's version (of your ride) made it sound like his little girly bike was suppior to the KDX in everyway. Personally, I think Bundu has spent a little too much time hangin' out in the woman's forum. It must be clouding his perception of reality. ;)

Neal, are you coming with Alan to Lorretta Lynn's in 3 weeks?

 

[DoubleTrouble]

In three weeks time...

...I'll be riding the Valley of 1000 hills with Alfie Cox - Check it out
http://www.alfiecox.co.za/Local Adventure Tours/local tours.htm

Tim, I hate to admit it but the Pampera is a great trails bike and a real mountain goat. For the inseam challenged it's a viable alternative to the KDX but it's not my cup of tea.

 

[KelvinKDX]

Keep it up. The KDX is a great bike.

Alan says that he's coming to LL's in April. Hope you (DT) are coming with him.

My wife is looking forward to riding Alan's beast (the bike!!) as she is saving up for one of her own.

 

[BunduBasher]

Neal will be in South Africa in April riding with the great Alfie Cox (2nd Paris-Dakar 2002)

At least you get to ride a KTM200 in the Valley Neal :p

Tim, lets just say, that the Pampera as a hill climber is probably superior to most enduro bikes, mainly because of the trials engine, and low seat height. These two factors make it very easy to climb steep technical trails. I got to rely on that low down torque, and could attack some really long and steep hills in 2nd or 3rd, if the revs dropped, I could just keep the throttle on, and the bike would just pull on up, no bogging, no stall. The one time I did get to ride the KDX, I bogged out and stalled trying the same style of riding. The Pampera is very 4 strokish in its power delivery, and allows you to get out of trouble on a big rocky hill. When I rode the trail backwards by myself on the Sunday I was going up drop offs, and rutted out extremely steep hills without a problem. The KDX may have struggled !

That been said, the KDX puts down the power really well, did not have to ride in the powerband, and could lug it in most situations, having the right gear when riding a hill is a must, the KDX is not as forgiving as the Pampera. On the otherhand, the Pampera is no race machine, it does not have the suspenders for all out racing or big air of any kind, still it would be fun on an enduro or hare scramble.

Now to find me a KDX seat, my butt is still sore from that hard as a plank thing they call a seat for the Pampera :moon:

Wendy will love this bike, she needs to get her 250 asap, maybe trialswench can sell her a demo 'cheap' - If you love tootling around on the ttr, you are going to have a blast on the P250 - Wendy may just end up kicking your butt when it comes to climbing steep technical hills :eek:

I am still contemplating the LL trip, will have to do about 800 miles to get there, will decide in the next week or so.

 

[Timr]

Alan,

I was just poking fun at ya. I'm sure that the Pampera is a great bike. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to call it a girly bike. :) :) I hope you do make it to the LL ride. I'd like to swing a leg over the pamera and check it out.

You've really left yourself open to some jabs by becoming the pampera expert and by haning out in the women's forum. ;)

I'm glad you got a scooter that you feel so pationate about. Nothing like making a purchase and then being totally satisfied that you made the right choice. Actually, that's the way that I felt after I got my first KDX back in '96. I went from a KTM 300 EXC to a KDX 200. I almost immediately dropped an average of 10 points off of my enduro scores.

The big KTM was just tireing me out too much. I couldn't ride fast in the last sections of the race. For me, I could just ride the KDX faster for longer. I went from average finishes in the Open C class of 7th-10th to 3rd-5th place finishes in 200C. Then after one season, it was up to the B class.

Now me and my KDX crack the Top 20 in the B class on a regular basis.

Each bike works differently for each person. I've given a little thought to a KTM or Gas Gas 200, but I still really like the KDX so I'll proabably stay with it until I'm (We're) forced to ride a diesel pig! :p

 

[BunduBasher]

No offense taken Tim, besides this is a pretty cool girly bike :cool:

Now, when are we going to have a ride report on kelvinKDX's new 225 conversion !?

 

[KelvinKDX]

... ah hem. No report until KelvinKDX takes the stuff out of the box that EG sent him and puts the KDX back together again.

I did stop by the bike shop on my way home tonight and pick up a new wrist pin bearing. So now i really have no excuses.

OK .. maybe one. You do not even want to see my garage right now. There are Peugeot parts everywhere. I need to get that 1977 103 SP back together first to get it out of the way.:confused: Just so much to do.