I friend of mine was kind enough to make two sets of those spacers and gave me one of those sets.

We installed it in both our XT's

He loved the stiffer suspension, and raved about it, so I was next.

This brings me to my impressions.

To be honest, I am in two minds about this mod.

Please don't get me wrong, not trying to say it is bad, I just personally need more time with this mod to grow on me.

Here are my impressions.

My stock XT felt very nimble and required very little force to make the steering go where I wanted it to go. The bike felt very light and I loved that feeling. My rear suspension was set up to the softest setting. The ride was very plush.

With the spacers, besides the harder ride, I get the impression that I need to use more force to turn the bike. The bike also feels a lot higher, and even the handlebars feel out of place, even thought I made 100% sure they go back the way they came out. With the mod, I even had to adjust the mirrors, so there was quite a bit of change to the front setup.

So, in one way the bike now feels heavier to ride and takes more effort to corner, if you understand what I am trying to say. This is what bothers me. Not sure if I like the new feel of the bike, maybe I am just being crazy here.

A day or so after fitting the spacers, I made the rear also 2 clicks harder. The good side is that the bike feels more stable at high speed now. Maybe it is a result of the "heavier" steering. I still get a slight twitch at 140 to 150 Km/h, now and then, but for the rest, I get the impression it is more stable.

It also feels better under breaking, with the nose not diving so badly, so that I also like.

So, that’s my verdict. It's a bit of a gain here and a loss there kind of thing for me personally.

I have not taken the spacers out, and will give it a few weeks to settle in. Maybe I just have to get use to the new feel of the bike.

That heavier steering just feels wrong to me at low speeds, but it could be a good thing at high speed. I just have to get my brain around it.