- Joined
- Feb 6, 2006
- Messages
- 11,701
- Reaction score
- 5,268
- Location
- Cape Town, deep in the lentils
- Bike
- KTM 990 Adventure
So let’s get the big elephant out onto centre stage;
It’s a 250. Adventure bike? Comeaaann! 250! Really? 250’s are for highly strung engines that power plastics and go-carts and have service lives measured in minutes, but hauling big arsed people around the back roads and trails? Hmmmm.
I come from the bigger bike culture and subscribe to the 100hp is a good start, more is much better type mentality. I know I was being a bit patronising when I heard this Honda was coming when I said somewhere that, “yes we need them to get more people into the outdoors”, but it was in my mind a stepping stone to the real bikes.
So one afternoon I picked up the phone to hear the gravelly voice of Hardy de Kock calling to ask if I would mind joining the media launch of the little bike and then writing what I really thought of it?
“Um, you sure? Cause, you do know I really am just a big bike aficionado and don’t have much small bike experience?”
“Perfect, it will be objective then”, he gravelled on. “We want to include people from the big adventure riding forums who can come with some experience and expectations and then to give their impressions”
“Do I have to pay to come along?” I wondered
“Jirre Englesman! I have some Scottish blood in me and I’m tempted just because it’s you, but no, I’ll even give you a beer at the end of the day if you’ll just give an honest opinion of what you experience”
“Ohhhh, alright then” I sighed, trying to play hard to get but actually feeling a bit like a rockstar.
I’ve tested bikes but only out of interest and never as part of a launch. This would be new. The decision was also made easier that there would some old friends and fellow forumites; Rynett, 2SDan, Justblipit and some pukka Print Media but also WD types – Luckystriker, Jaco being added to the mix. Then we had some royalty too, Clinton Pienaar and Glenn Foley.
And so it came to pass that I found myself not far from Ceres on a farm coming eye to eye with a line-up of very sexy looking red bikes…
There were the L versions,
but I only really had eyes for the Rally.
Ok, I’ll admit I have a weakness for rally lookalikes. This one traces its looks directly back to the factory Dakar racer, there's many design parallels
But…there’s still the lurking elephant!... 250cc’s… Okay, it looks good but…
We spent what seemed a polite amount of time kicking tires, sitting on it and saying hello to the proud Honda guys,
First impressions just looking at it were;
It’s a very very good looking machine! Ok, I am biased but a non-moving fairing and rally lines just do it for me. Nothing screamed cheap. The swing arm for example, it’s a formed, elegant looking thing suspended by a pro-linked shock. Not some box extrusion parts thingy.
All the wiring and routing are quality. The instrument cluster is super neat and compact and from the front, looks unique and purposeful. In the bright afternoon sun, the super bright lights stood out and promised excellent night vision.
All the controls were light, the seating position wasn’t cramped,
maybe the handlebars could go a smidge forward and higher but that would only need a spanner to sort out later. Here’s what they get to do that
They fit in here
Then with little fanfare were asked to go suit up and then to ride off to where we were going to spend the evening in the Cederberg somewhere.
It’s a 250. Adventure bike? Comeaaann! 250! Really? 250’s are for highly strung engines that power plastics and go-carts and have service lives measured in minutes, but hauling big arsed people around the back roads and trails? Hmmmm.
I come from the bigger bike culture and subscribe to the 100hp is a good start, more is much better type mentality. I know I was being a bit patronising when I heard this Honda was coming when I said somewhere that, “yes we need them to get more people into the outdoors”, but it was in my mind a stepping stone to the real bikes.
So one afternoon I picked up the phone to hear the gravelly voice of Hardy de Kock calling to ask if I would mind joining the media launch of the little bike and then writing what I really thought of it?
“Um, you sure? Cause, you do know I really am just a big bike aficionado and don’t have much small bike experience?”
“Perfect, it will be objective then”, he gravelled on. “We want to include people from the big adventure riding forums who can come with some experience and expectations and then to give their impressions”
“Do I have to pay to come along?” I wondered
“Jirre Englesman! I have some Scottish blood in me and I’m tempted just because it’s you, but no, I’ll even give you a beer at the end of the day if you’ll just give an honest opinion of what you experience”
“Ohhhh, alright then” I sighed, trying to play hard to get but actually feeling a bit like a rockstar.
I’ve tested bikes but only out of interest and never as part of a launch. This would be new. The decision was also made easier that there would some old friends and fellow forumites; Rynett, 2SDan, Justblipit and some pukka Print Media but also WD types – Luckystriker, Jaco being added to the mix. Then we had some royalty too, Clinton Pienaar and Glenn Foley.
And so it came to pass that I found myself not far from Ceres on a farm coming eye to eye with a line-up of very sexy looking red bikes…
There were the L versions,
but I only really had eyes for the Rally.
Ok, I’ll admit I have a weakness for rally lookalikes. This one traces its looks directly back to the factory Dakar racer, there's many design parallels
But…there’s still the lurking elephant!... 250cc’s… Okay, it looks good but…
We spent what seemed a polite amount of time kicking tires, sitting on it and saying hello to the proud Honda guys,
First impressions just looking at it were;
It’s a very very good looking machine! Ok, I am biased but a non-moving fairing and rally lines just do it for me. Nothing screamed cheap. The swing arm for example, it’s a formed, elegant looking thing suspended by a pro-linked shock. Not some box extrusion parts thingy.
All the wiring and routing are quality. The instrument cluster is super neat and compact and from the front, looks unique and purposeful. In the bright afternoon sun, the super bright lights stood out and promised excellent night vision.
All the controls were light, the seating position wasn’t cramped,
maybe the handlebars could go a smidge forward and higher but that would only need a spanner to sort out later. Here’s what they get to do that
They fit in here
Then with little fanfare were asked to go suit up and then to ride off to where we were going to spend the evening in the Cederberg somewhere.
eepwall:
