High time I did my "review" of my new steed!
I collected my XT in Jan the Temp was minus 7 and I thought what hell am I doing this for? Bye Bye to the Gixer Thou and picking up a single cylinder "tractor"! mmmm I wondered if the right move had been made.
The weather meant no real run till Le Mans so off I went in a group of Ktms and another Yam.
I had already sussed I could throw the XT around alot more than the sports bike and was having far more fun. Road handling although bumpy was far more forgiving than my previous bike. The boots were fine on road what would happen later on the trip would expose the weakness!
We plodded across the French flatlands and I stayed right up the tailpipes of the bigger KTM's. Then we went off road. Initially the XT romped up the forest shingle/mud clay firetracks.Then came the wet stuff and the factory fit Tourances proved to be well short of suitable! So much to the amusement of the Orange boys I spent the nest few stages sideways! Even with this the bike still had to poke to do the job asked of it.
We came across a flint hill steep but with care "do able" down then mmmm up bloody tyres! Halfway up bumped in to a deep gulley and the new toy was on the floor. Hey ho my fault. Rolled back down , faster and more aggressive gets the job done!!! more firetracks and more road sections and the confidence was returning.
A couple of days at Le Mans then the return trip, the other Yam rider wussed out ( you know who you are! ) Due to a sleeping injury!!! This time it was belting down. Bloody tyres ( I thought again) The ride back was bloody hard and I struggled to cope then it happened , rain, puddles, deep gullies and grass. An "off" I was stuck under the bike with my ankle facing all sorts of wierd angles! Never mind it gave the others a giggle!
I learned a few things about the XTR change the boots, and get some hard luggage boxes to lower the weight. But my overall thoughts............ so Glad the Gixer went,, This bike is fun and I really enjoyed riding it.
A good move and a happy man!!!

__________________
Silverback