Surrey, UK

228 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by steve, 28 d ago

steve

Discussion Starter · 29 d ago

I've had the DX since Oct 2022. I ran it in on Salisbury Plain, Peak District and the North Yorks Moors on the STR tyres and was pleasantly surprised by how well they coped with ice, light mud and some wet sand.

Swapped to TKC80s for a trip to ACT Portugal. A great trip and the bike is made for the combination of twisty tarmac, fast gravel and slightly more nadgery off road. However, the rear tyre is pretty much toast after 2.5k miles. I plan to put an E07 (50/50) on if I can find one.

As I'm 6'4" and over 110kg kitted up, I had to wind on almost all the rear preload to stop the rear bottoming out on almost every 'flight'. The front only bottomed out a couple of times when I was clumsy on drainage gullies.

My biggest issue with the bike is the short gear lever and while I haven't helped this by adding Pivot Pegz, I do need to find something longer.

I strongly recommend tank paint protection to avoid sand marks from gripping with knees and boot scuffs from unintended dismounts.

I may use the bike for the Kielder Dark Skies event in October.

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BigPappa

· #2 · 29 d ago

steve said:
I've had the DX since Oct 2022. I ran it in on Salisbury Plain, Peak District and the North Yorks Moors on the STR tyres and was pleasantly surprised by how well they coped with ice, light mud and some wet sand.

Swapped to TKC80s for a trip to ACT Portugal. A great trip and the bike is made for the combination of twisty tarmac, fast gravel and slightly more nadgery off road. However, the rear tyre is pretty much toast after 2.5k miles. I plan to put an E07 (50/50) on if I can find one.

As I'm 6'4" and over 110kg kitted up, I had to wind on almost all the rear preload to stop the rear bottoming out on almost every 'flight'. The front only bottomed out a couple of times when I was clumsy on drainage gullies.

My biggest issue with the bike is the short gear lever and while I haven't helped this by adding Pivot Pegz, I do need to find something longer.

I strongly recommend tank paint protection to avoid sand marks from gripping with knees and boot scuffs from unintended dismounts.

I may use the bike for the Kielder Dark Skies event in October.

Welcome Steve!

I’m right there with you at 6’5”! I feel like the DX is a great bike for someone my size. Haven‘t had to add bar risers, and the wind issues aren’t really a problem for me Like they have been for several others on here.

As for tires, I HIGHLY recommend the Motoz RallZ tires as they are phenomenal off and on road and they last much longer than a TKC 80.

I haven’t had the problems that you’re having with the shift lever, however, I wonder if switching your foot pegs to something like the new Black Dog pegs would help? They drop the peg height by .05 inches. Might not fix your problem, but I figured it was worth suggesting.

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SteveB

· #3 · 29 d ago

BigPappa said:
Welcome Steve!

I’m right there with you at 6’5”! I feel like the DX is a great bike for someone my size. Haven‘t had to add bar risers, and the wind issues aren’t really a problem for me Like they have been for several others on here.

As for tires, I HIGHLY recommend the Motoz RallZ tires as they are phenomenal off and on road and they last much longer than a TKC 80.

I haven’t had the problems that you’re having with the shift lever, however, I wonder if switching your foot pegs to something like the new Black Dog pegs would help? They drop the peg height by .05 inches. Might not fix your problem, but I figured it was worth suggesting.

Thx for the suggestions. I have 15mm risers on using the Iconic bar clamp. The new clamp allows me to mount a roadbook holder or a tablet using a ram ball. I’ve used Rallzs on a smaller bike and thought they were very good. The next ride may be ACT Italy so the E07 or E07+ may be better suited to the long haul through France. To some extent, I have to go with what I can get. MotoZ tend to arrive in the UK in batches so can’t always be bought. I’m experimenting with a screen extender which has reduced buffeting but the main issue is my helmet peak which I should remove for long highway stretches.

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BigPappa

· #4 · 29 d ago

The E07‘s come stock on the new 2023 KTM 890 R… a buddy of mine just bought one… he found it to be great on road, but in slicker conditions, like wet grass or mud, he didn’t like it and switched it out for a RallZ immediately as we tend to ride off road more than on road. Not trying to talk you out of the E07 just passing along his experience. I have to say, a ride through France sounds lovely! Best of luck getting everything setup the way you like it!

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steve

Discussion Starter · #5 · 28 d ago

BigPappa said:
The E07‘s come stock on the new 2023 KTM 890 R… a buddy of mine just bought one… he found it to be great on road, but in slicker conditions, like wet grass or mud, he didn’t like it and switched it out for a RallZ immediately as we tend to ride off road more than on road. Not trying to talk you out of the E07 just passing along his experience. I have to say, a ride through France sounds lovely! Best of luck getting everything setup the way you like it!

Thanks for the feedback. I can't get E07s just E07+ at the moment. I'm working on the basis none will last too long on this bike so I may as well try whatever I can get. Next potential event is either a rally in Wales with plenty of gravel or the ACT Italy trip with the long highway prologue in October.

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