20260119_153051 by gary boy, on FlickrDisappointed with the weather .. like everyone else .. and not been able to get out on my crf250, hardly at all.
I went out local for a couple of hours, 2 days ago.
It was to check the local bad gate (see above) installed by the local troublesome farmer .. though, tbf, in this instance he is trying to protect his livestock from destructive idiots, mostly on 4x4s.
I was very pleased with the performance of the bike.
It still felt tall, but after a while it felt fine, and I was glad of the clearance.
Where I was shiteing before, I just simply rode over stuff. The tyres felt good, with no sign of side slip at muddy edges .. phew .. much more planted and confidence-inspiring .. its just that i got caught in a minor rut, the back wheel slipping like a good 'un.
This is where my extensive recent physical training came into play. I have been practising weight etc for 2 or 3 minutes nearly every single week,
unless I have recently guzzled 2 large apple pies, of course, as per usual.I was able to bounce and physically haul the front end back into the best forward line, rev the back tyre and see the bike slowly spin-grip out of the hole.
Normal, you say ... well not for me it wasn't.
I couldn't lift the front at all really, at standstill as the front tyre was staying planted, the suspension simply raising up without the bike, if u see what i mean.
The RR cartridges have firmed the front up in ways that seemed to affect all aspects of the bike.
No wonder I couldn't ride it like other people do. The front was basically a weak lopsided kids' pogo.
The RR has 2 weak springs, to give the same resistance as one stronger spring, so the stress is ..even, ..both sides., and somehow seems to much more solid and planted. (the fork is actually 40mm shorter now.)
At another part, I was reluctant to go through some slippy muddy whoops, dips with water, so I went through the alternative, made of very uneven rocky trail, the original route, with quite large stones in general.
I was shocked ... couldn't even feel the stones.
I thought i may have just been lucky, but it was 150 metres long, so it must have been the forks doing their job.
I haven't tried the bike yet on tennis ball sized loose stone, used as `grading`, hah, but if that's ok .. me not bouncing wildly to the sides, all a mess, feet dangling petrifyingly hopeful .. then it will all be sorted .Sorted.
I looked at the old cartridge, the casing diameter is 20 mm .. not much to let the fork oil do its job on compression, and specifically, dampening.
RR is 35mm diam.
says it all.
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I know I'm out of date with anything on a crf250Rally.. passe
its because I lost, or gave, 7 years of my golden years of retirement.. digging and building landscaping to the sloping mountain garden of a family person,.. who did not even appreciate all my sacrifice of time every and money..
I'm glad I did it though.
It is done now.
But my health has deteriorated with effort and time.
That is why I'm old dinosaur lol.
The Chinese bikes have improved and now are surpassing the Japanese bikes, which once changed the world by surpassing the established British bikes.
The rieju 307? and Kove 800adv look good.
It's all new to me.
Plus I think I've had brain fog since covid?
With dementia starting .. but not too bad yet.
I notice it when trying to use simple arithmetic.
Strangely, my brain feels a lot clearer these days.
And I'm more certain in my mind.
Perhaps my frontal lobes were drilled out one night while I was sleeping?
