weightwatchers

BIGGER AINT NECESSARILY BETTER

Despite what the advertisers would have you believe, size does matter-but not as implied;
On the piste or in the dirt-SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL.
This post concerns offroaders-big blokes on little bikes-the sensible option..To illustrate my point I,ve included below, a photo of my John Banks Replica Honda(taken in 1983)
A simply superb piece of kit-it wouldnt look out of place in the lounge on a pedestal!
Chrome CCM frame(Reynolds Tubing) with banana swinging arm,
Ohlins shocks,
underseat exhausts(a decade before the 916 Ducati launched the fashion for this style.)
A stonking tuned XR500 motor-in its day,and on paper,a WINNER
A winner in the right hands-but not mine-David Knight,Arthur Browning,even diminutive Paul Edmondson would have lifted trophies on this bike…not me I couldnt even lift it up when I fell off it-a regular occurrence!
I could not keep the bike vertical.
Kicking the beast into life demanded a beer crate ,or a fallen log,to stand on just to reach the kickstart.
Once on board it was like sitting on top of a horse-the ground seemed an awfully long way down.
I did the Kerry Enduro in 1983 on the Beast.
I arrived early Sunday morning after a 2 hour drive from the Midlands.
Unloading the bike from the old Klinn trailer(remember them?) a large crowd of admirers soon surrounded us.

”Cor what is it?””What a beauty””can I take a photo” etc-I basked in the reflected glory.
But life likes to bite back,dont it?
Crowd watches wheel spinning start from the line-Amazing cheer from the fans.
JBR, with me hanging on, roars down the start straight,leaves the paddock area,turns into the first ditch as directed and(still within sight of the start) stalls the motor and falls over-another amazing cheer from the fans!
Beaten before I started-this set the pattern for the rest of the day-More often prone than erect.
By now the bike had won.
I was no longer in control of it-It was in control of me!
Like a horse it could smell fear and rewarded that t sign of weakness accordingly.
Blisteringly fast on road sections,it was just too big and too powerful to ride slowly.It demanded skill and confidence-if you were lacking in either,you were duly punished.

A few trail rides later,I had had enough.The Honda was sold.(wonder what it would be worth now?)

By this time my friend Trevor-all 6ft 4in of him-had bought a diminutive imported Prolink Honda XR200.

My how we chuckled!

”When are you getting a real bike-one that fits?”and other wry comments referring to the tiny 4 stroke.
Light weight,nimble handling and a very predictable power delivery,aided by phenomenally frugal petrol consumption resulted in some respectable enduro results for Trev in the clubman class that season.
Yes I bought one,and yes my confidence and success improved overnight.

After the XR200 I went through a green phase-every model of Kawasaki,s KDX200 and even a KMX200;
Similar idea but a better bike-all the power I could handle but allways predictable.
Light enough to wrestle through the bogs,quiet and reliable,good fuel consumption(fewer fuel stops)Nice gentle brakes-PERFICK

I love little dirtbikes.

I love 2 strokes.

I dont hanker after any bike over 250cc.
Riding a traillie should require very little input.
Your total concentration is focused on that strip of ground 10 feet in front of you.
You shift your weight;
You turn left or right avoiding ruts,stones-automatically achieved with a split second decision-total involvement.
If you are master of the machine,it responds instantly to your every command,without fuss or objection-a bit of power here,a change of direction there.

In other words unobtrusive ,allowing you to make safe unfussy progress.
Dont get me wrong.It is nice to ride a fiery machine now and then.
I love to ride my GasGas EC250,but it is more tiring.

It demands more input.

It is easy to get sideways.

It loves to lift its front wheel,it spins up at will.
A bit like the tortoise and hare,when running alongside one of our Green Mountain Honda CRF230,s the gasser only seemed to arrive a few seconds before the 4 stroke,with the pilot often perspiring freely!More haste, less speed as the saying goes.
For those unfamiliar with the CRF230;it could be described as a modern day XR200 but with better suspension,a little more power,way better brakes-everything the XR200 needed to make it the perfect allrounder in fact!

In a later post I,ll give my impressions of the CRF230.
With Green Mountain Tours we ran 4 Hondas as client bikes and can highly recommend the little red bike..

Before I sign off I,ll just say a word about my brother in law Paul Robson and his YZ490 Yamaha crosser.
Paul went from absolute beginner at 16 on a CZ250,to AMCA expert class in a matter of months.His youthful advantage -NO FEAR -saw to his meteoric rise through the ranks.
The 250 saw him good service but he was duly seduced by the aircooled monster Yam.
Well,he was a full season before he actually used 4th and 5th gear during a race-the monster power made it almost an automatic to ride!When I had a go I never got out of 2nd gear!

What a great motor for a roadrace bike-SOS or supermono series anyone?

A good bike mechanic once told me,when asking advice about improving performance-”unless you can hold it wide open in top gear,you dont need any more power than youve already got”

Well I guess thats me put in my place.

Bye for now.