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We’ve all seen those professional riders turn up at a road or off road race with a gearbag in one hand, a supermodel in the other and a perfectly prepared bike raring to go right? Well yesterday was about as close as I am going to get to this nirvana.
Gearbag – Check
Perfectly prepared bike – Check
Supermodel – A big bloke in a custom painted helmet they call the Trail Boss was going to have to suffice.
The Bike – 2014 rideadv.com.au prepped Yamaha WR250R
Most of us on here have seen the transformation that the twin WR250R’s have undertaken. I didn’t quite know what to expect to be honest. I’ve owned a few WR250F’s over the years and loved every one of them as a trail bike. While the R is no F I soon found out it was just as capable on the trails as it was on the open fire roads. For $8999 ride away from your local Yamaha dealer what a package.
Here are a couple of things that made the bike stand out.
Seat Concepts Seat – With over 400k’s under our belts on the pre run this is a must have item for any adventure bike.
See them here at adventuremoto.com.au
Fastway Adventure Footpegs – Although my riding partner swears by them my last bike ran Pivot Pegs and I found they weren’t really my cup of tea. The R ran these super wide lightweight billet alloy pegs giving a sure footed ride especially when standing up through the tighter technical terrain.
See them here at adventuremoto.com.au
Barbusters BBZ Handguards – I knew it would be cold in the morning and afternoon so I was glad to see that the bike was fitted with the all new BBZ handguards. I wasn’t quite sure if having an obstructed view of the controls would be problematic. About an hour into the pre run and I realised I hadn’t even given it a second thought. I think the key is that the BBZ Handguards have a self supporting design that means no flapping from the wind and very easy access. You will regret not
having these for the Mittagong / Oberon ride especially for those early morning starts.
See them here at the Barkbusters Website
Teknik Suspension – I’ll admit it, I’ve been a tight arse when it came to suspension on my last few bikes. A few clicks here and there and she’ll be right was my theory. Meanwhile I spent my hard earned on some sort of unnecessary anodised bling. Well I’m an idiot because what Nick Dole at Teknik has done to transform this bike is amazing. The bike felt planted to the trail the whole ride. Valved to perfection it was plush over the small stuff and never bottomed when pushed to its limits. This was highlighted when flying down a narrow fire trail I came to a tight right hander that started to head down hill. Just after the apex of the corner was a huge erosion mound. I had half a second to either pin it or bin it. Luckily I chose the former and launched the little adv bike as far as it could go. I was expecting the crunch and clang of plastic on tyres and bash plate on ground or to be rebounded off the track and into the native flora and fauna. Neither happened, the WR250R just soaked up the flat landing and continued on its merry way. I am a believer…
Click here to visit Teknik’s homepage to see what services they can offer you.
The Ride – Hampton to Oberon
I’ll keep this brief as I don’t want to ruin the surprise for everyone. The day was started up in the back country of Hampton at the Ballard Ranch.It was out of the driveway and straight onto the trails. 3rd turn in and I had already lost TB. Not a great start I thought. A mix of open fire road and flowing single and twin trail was the order of the day. Dust was a little bit of an issue on some of the logging roads but overall not too bad. A fair few creek crossings were completed but nothing to challenging.
Highlights of the day included TB testing the floatation capabilities of the WR250R through a huge puddle on the backside of an erosion mound. Note: They don’t float. Some amazing trails through the pine forests of Oberon. Having heated grips at 5 O’clock in the afternoon.This pre run was also an eye opener to the amount of work that goes into every ride. For every trail that is on the nav ride there are probably five that TB has ridden down and mapped then been obstructed by a tree or a locked gate etc. Then the monumental task of putting all those maps together for us lucky punters to enjoy in a readable gps format. $65 a day you don’t get much better than that.
Thanks to TB, the rideadv.com.au crew and Yamaha Australia for the opportunity.
TrailBoss wrote:Factory “D Rally” on his factory XR650R ride. Its NOT FOR SALE DAVE :S
TB
Hey TB, I just direct debited a whole bunch of money to some guy who looks just like Charley Boorman… Gotta great deal too…
