Trail Bike Adventure Magazine

New Tricks/Old Dog

Sunday, 28 September 2008 23:30

Chris Haggarty Chris Haggarty

I missed last week's blog entry because it was deadline (again). It was the almost-final deadline this time, so I had to hook in.

Good news: Issue #24 is done and it's a feast for the dualsport guys. The Transalp, V-strom, F 800 GS, TE610, F 650 GS, and XT660R all get a guernsey. For the throttle jockies, BMW's 450 gets a run, as does our long-term CRF (not the one pictured) and a heap of the usual content.

But bad news: Virtually un-noticed, Chain Gang shut its doors and called it a day. This was such a sad occurrence I hardly know what to say. Paul Haggarty kicked Chain Gang off in the eraly 1990s and, thanks to a passion for excellence and a love of dirt bikes, offered a truly superb Australian product. Paul's son Chris took over a few years ago and continued the development of the sprockets and discs. I haven't spoken to either, but the gossip is the price pressure from imports was unmanageable. It may be a fact of life, but it doesn't make me feel any better or less angry and disappointed about it.

Good news: I pulled the top-end off the XR and found the problem.

Bad news: It looks as though there's a thread stripped from the block (not my doing).

Good news: The Laos trip is on.

Bad news: It's next frigging week. And when I get back, it'll be time to give serious thought to Longest Day. Ozzo has the DR650 at the moment, but I'll have to park the XR and start riding some of the Longest Day route whenever I can. This year's going to be a killer (I hope).

As food for thought this week, I was left wondering about where motorcycling's heading after the BMW launch a couple of weeks ago.

I feel as though BMW is doing its best to eradicate rider error as a factor in bike riding, and I'm at sixes and sevens as to what to think about that.

On the one hand, one of the most attractive aspects of motorcycle riding and racing for me is the opportunity to push to my own, and sometimes, the machinery's limits. Sometimes I get it wrong and crash my brains out, but it's the possibility of that crash that's part of the excitiment of riding.

BMW's representative - a very talented rider - showed us how good the traction control and anti-lock braking is on the 1200 Adventure. He was saying that even while overtaking in the wet a rider could sometimes feel the fluuter of the traction control as it made certain the rear wheel was providing the absolute maximum drive possible in the conditions. As much as I love the big Beemer, I felt like I was looking at a two-wheeled Volvo.

Initially, that sounds as though the fun is being taken out of riding, but those same systems allow the world's best racers to go like scalded cats, and the top riders all acknowledge those systems allow them to ride faster, so who am I to look down my nose at those same systems?

And I'm not bagging BMW. I'm a self-confessed fan of the German bikes, and I especially love the 800 and 450 I've just ridden, but somehow I feel as though thrill's diminished as the bike prevents me from taking a chance or doing something stupid.

I suspect it's me clinging to my outdated ideas, but it's going to be interesting to see where motorcycling heads over the next few years.

Even if I am still punting around on the XR