Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm only round the road from you in slateford Edinburgh. been here with work for nearly two years. You cant go too far wrong with an xtr, owned one for 4 yrs and put near 40k miles on it, currently own a z so goes to show I like the big single.

as to the forks yes they are known to be soft, good for off roading and keeping things smooth on rough roads but you get use to them. I'd say the forks could do with some new oil. if you want Ive a set of fork spacers from kev, bought for my r but never fitted them. There yours if you want them for the grand cost of a brew and a yarn.

give me a shout if you want to meet up for a ride.

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Plough on