EASY RIDER Being physically smaller , as well as very plush ( but I wouldn ’ t say soft ) and with a hugely tractable power delivery , the XTrainer conquers the tough stuff with ease . With the bike brand new , the test started at a very wet Riverhead trail ride . It was at the end of summer where the clay was rock hard , but heavy overnight rain had made conditions slicker than whale snot on an ice flow . The XTrainer just cruised around , barely breaking traction , never struggling in the deep ruts or slippery hills and often passing stricken riders quite effortlessly . It made the whole job easy and a total pleasure . At day ’ s end , a few riders came and commented on how easily and quietly it had got around compared to their theoretically superior machines . And to think that the rear tyre is a balloon style
Six Days tyre , and not a mud tyre , only adds insult to injury to the other bikes .
POWER DEPARTMENT The engine is a single cylinder , 293cc , liquid-cooled two-stroke fed by a 36mm PWK Keihin carb with oil injection – meaning it has an oil tank and is not premix . Actually , this is very convenient ... you know the drill , just keep the oil tank full and fill her up with fuel like a fourstroke – no gas mixing required – happy days . With an 8.5 litre fuel tank , range is good too . Looking at the motor , the only tell-tale sign that it is detuned is the small expansion chamber . It looks somewhere between an 85cc and 125cc by the size of it . The power delivery is linear with a little surge in the mid-range , but always very strong in the torque department .
KIWI RIDER 45