A dirty day on the Plain

[Hooky]

I thought about this report on my day out.
How is it possible to make it a little more "interesting" (+ 1 x porkie pie )

So here goes, /

My old KTM lc4 egs (1997), bought as a non -runner from flea- bay for £600 (only 2000 miles on the clock)

There is a good reason for little mileage on a 11 year old bike, OK the engine would "run" but it produced the same power as a clapped out 125 she is meant to to be 609 cc 54 bhp )

She had gone to pretty much every dealer on the south coast (taken by the 6 previous owners) with little on no joy.

There was only one thing possible ( apart from scrapping it) It was time to take her down to Plymouth to go see the famous "Swampy Marsh" ( He has build and run pretty much built all the KTM factory enduro and supermoto machines for the last 13 years )

I took at least 2 Min's to diagnose the problem, - fault from the factory in the crank- case, causing oil to back up behind the oil feed :o

Four months later shes on her way back home ;D along with a set of moto wheels ;D. ( engine fully "swampeyed") with a dyno sheet, basically a brand new blue printed motor (and the bill was very reasonable)

Time to take it across to France to go see the GP
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700 miles in 45 days, no problems but things change :

Autumn approaching, off with the road wheels, stick on the enduro rims along with some BF Goodridge Crossn Goes its time for some laning

First trip "FAIL" (PUNCTURE ???) Second trip hole in case, third puncture, fourth trip crashed, broken rib fifth :-X :-/ :'(

Moving on to Friday 21st Nov
Bright but a little cold, starting outside Verwood, time to give the 14/48 gearing and bar risers a go
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Problem, she feels bloody weird, out with the tool kit, 10 Min's later with the suspenders softened up ( was still on road setting ) all was fine and "dandy" in fact d**n fine !

Small road ride, onto a few little ucrs (and a very little used railway track) it was on the first Boat to Whitsbury.

Time for the first deep water crossing, no messing, straight through. very deep , then a right turn at "the junction"
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The thing to remember about these beast is the weight + the power, these type of bikes are NOT suited to little slippery lanes but really come into there own on open dirt tracks

I bought my dream bike last year a 525 exc, the dream didn't last long, she got sold 4 months later, simple reason, I'm not going to ever ride fast, I just love to stop , take in the view, have a smoke and relax a while, this is a fun hobby , not a enduro !

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Up onto Whitsbury, down to Stratford Tony, Salisbury Racecourse, down to Win-Green.
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I even managed to get a shot of the famous Wild Whitsbury big cat, made me sweat for a while.
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Time for a little road ride, time was moving on fast, time for my all time favorite Stapleford , the big byway up onto the Plain

This is where the big lc4 makes more sense than the 525 IMHO, the road ride was around 16 miles , top speed on this gearing around 60 ish in comfort, a case of"horses for courses"

No-one around at all . nothing, just the cows moaning and the deer moving in the bushes.

A little bit about gear. Lidl thermals gloves and helmet, ex- army gortex trousers, Shark -Skins, bin liner inserts, Fox knee guards
and some brilliant e-bay gloves , Richa armored jacket, HG MX boots, ATGNI ;D
Sat-nav is a Garmin Street pilot 111, (no floppy maps for me ) camera Fuji f650.

Normally I would NEVER consider riding alone on a big old beast "just in case" but for some reason I was feeling lucky.

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I have AA cover and a nice big van should the worst happen, i would never go out on my own without a plan B +C so to those out there on the inter web thing dont be fooled thinking these little trips cant bite you hard if riding alone - OK

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The Plain is a bloody big place, I went up past the "German village, past the Busted inn and out towards the Chalk -pit I ended up on the outskirts of the Plain err somewhere :

The ride home was as good as the dirty stuff, it was getting dark and very COLD.
Mileage today 167 with 92 of it off road, no problems or dramas

Just a few last images, I think we are soooo lucky down here, there is NO better place in this country to explore, hope it stays that way

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Sub note; please dont ask me for grid refs etc. i haven't go a clue, I know where to ride legally after much research and time, so

[The999Kid]

[quacker_boy]

Cheetah in England? I thought they were native to Africa
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wizzzard wrote: Imagine God just stopping by, tidying your front room up and then quietly letting himself out again. Statisticly more likely to happen than Korn being on here.

[Charlie]

God damn that looks good, I really do need to get an off-roading bike of some sort.
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Past: Honda x8rs, Honda City fly, Honda Hornet 250, Honda VFR750, Yamaha xt600e.
Current: Honda CBR929RR & Yamaha XT660Z Tenere

[Moonie]

He did say 1 porkie
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Don't practice it until you get it right, practice it until you don't get it wrong.
Presenting the one and only Chinkmobile

[The Shaggy D.A.]

[Hooky]

[andi]

I want an off roader now
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Before: Suzuki GT 185. Honda Superdream 250. Yamaha RD350LC. Suziki RG250. Yamaha FZS600. Honda CBR600F3
Now: Honda Fireblade 929

[MugenSeiki]

Cool pics man
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www.dt125.co.uk

[Sparks!]

Balls to the riding, I want to know more about the cheetah! did you pass a zoo or something?
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Hooky]

[Yazta]

This salisbury plains?

[Hooky]

[Yazta]

Ahh. I live in one of the local villages =]. We should go out for a ride sometime. The seven sisters is always worth a ride up. (no pun intended!).