Snoozin

Would check your gearbox mount with certifier, when I did my version 1 mount which was offset forwards from the mount on the gearbox and picked up the factory mounts in the floor, @cletus informed me that if it was offset like that it needed to use 4 bolts in the floor but if in line with the mount on the box, then 2 was fine. I ended up welding new pickup points into the floor.

So yeah - since that last ride update, there's been plenty of others, mainly just local stuff, here there and everywhere - I have pics from all of them but really, seen one seen em all? But what DID happen, about 10-11 weeks ago, is I was arsing around pretending I was a flat track guy or something, on the beach following a group ride through the coastal forests around Himitangi/Foxton area. Arsing around you say? Doesn't that potentially lead to mishaps? Well, yeah. It did. I was in third, with the bike cranked over sideways when I think I just leaned a bit too far, the front bit in and the bike stopped but I didn't. I went sailing through the screen (which disintegrated) and landed on my left hand with arm outstretched. Got up, thought "nah this isn't good" as my shoulder was instantly locked solid, and a bit painful. Said a hurried goodbye to everyone thought gritted teeth, then rode back down the beach for a while, then 30km or so to my folks who took me into ED at Palmy Hospital. Sat around for a few hours, got an X-ray and yep, dislocated. By that stage it had really started to hurt a bit but hey, a bloke came in who'd just mashed his arm in a woodsplitter so my mishap was relatively minor in the scheme... got hauled into whatever they call the place they take you into for a quick fix or assessment or whatever, and the doctor proceeded to tell me I'd done a great job on my dislocated shoulder, there didn't seem to be any bone damage and they "should" be able to pop it back in. I couldn't actually get my jacket off without a bit too much pain, so the doc thankfully produced a little trolley with a cylinder of N2O and of course I huffed enough of it 'til I was 'comfortable' removing my jacket - the alternative was chopping it off, and I wasn't having ANY of that... The doc then instructed me to huff as much as that shit as I needed to either not care enough, or not hurt enough and tell them that, so they could have a hoon on popping my shoulder back in, and once I'd asked them "let's just send it now" the process involved the doc and a nurse and a good amount of what seemed like brutality to make the shoulder go back to where it ought to be. Instant relief. A sensation that is up there with some of the best I've ever experienced. Anyway - about 6 or 7 weeks later I sat and attained my restriced license (on the DRZ, with a repaired screen), and haven't really ridden since - until yesterday. So, if you've binned a 400cc Suzuki with a moderate level of power and hurt yourself, what's the best plan of action? Buy a more modern, more powerful, way faster motorbike over 500km from home and ride it back. Introducing the latest folly, a 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R. About a month ago I sealed the deal on this, it's a Japanese import and I'm the first owner. 6500km on the odo, a few little extras like the bash plate, a weird little auxiliary display that shows gear selection, crash bars, RPM, water and ambient temps, and that's it really. Jamie kindly picked it up from the dealer and stashed it for 4 weeks or so, while I waited for an opportunity to get to Christchurch and pick it up, between work weekends and that. What a bike though! Gobs and gobs and gobs of torque, involuntary wheelies, a QUICKSHIFTER (oh my lord, what a giggle), brakes better than anything I've ridden to date, selectable maps (mild and certifiable)... just lots of goodness. Although I didn't take any photos (too busy enjoying myself) the ride home was immense. The sun cranked up as I hit the coast road around Kaikoura, I had some belter tunes playing through the Cardo and it was one of those moments when everything is just perfectly aligned, almost euphoric. The 690 hums along at 120km/h with no drama, more than I can say for the DRZ (and the XT even) and that twin-counterbalanced single is surprisingly smooth. Throttle response is manic when it's in MAP2... But I got home after riding it 559km, and duly gave it a clean the next morning, partly because I'm obsessive with cleaning vehicles, and partly because I'd had a month to collect a few bits for it and couldn't wait to bolt them to it... 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (1) by Richard Opie, on Flickr But first, a few average beauty shots before I fall off it and scratch it. 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R-20 by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R-1 by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R-8 by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R-25 by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R-23 by Richard Opie, on Flickr Then straight onto the wee scissor lifty thing in the shed... space is getting tight in here and I need to move cars out to actually work on bikes. 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (3) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (4) by Richard Opie, on Flickr First port of call was to install the AdventureSpec nav tower/screen. With no real wind protection to speak of, my torso took a good hiding all the way home. There are a lot of VERY expensive rally tower options available for the 690, usually featuring LED lighting and price tags of $3500 upwards, but these were absolutely not in the budget. AdventureSpec offered this simple alternative, with a robust nav mount (and room for a switch or 2) which features an adjustable screen. Looks a bit weird I'll admit, but is budget friendly and superbly functional. Bolts on easily via the top triple clamp bolts. 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (5) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (6) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (7) by Richard Opie, on Flickr I'll wire the power feed in for the Garmin at a later date, as I also want to add grip warmers like I have done on the DRZ too (better actually make that update). The next port of call was to replace the OEM fuel cap/filler. It's a keyed type fuel cap, in a recess that is notorious for filling up with dirt/mud etc which has the super excellent result of then dropping aforementioned muck into your tank when the filler cap is removed. For those playing at home, the tank is under the seat - and also does double duty as the subframe on a later model 690. There is an expensive USA brand of this unit, I chose to buy the not very expensive Aliexpress knock off. After all, it's just a bit of alloy with an O-ring groove in it... 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (8) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (9) by Richard Opie, on Flickr A good view of the tank setup here. She's a complex bit of moulding. 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (10) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (11) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Next up? Muffler. Primarily, for noise (because who DOESN'T love a loud pipe) but also, the stock muffler contains the catalytic converter, is very heavy, and gets very hot. Hot enough, that when carrying rackless type luggage (like the Kriega OS system I use), it has been known to get hot enough to melt the tank/side panel. And that ruins your day. So I elected to replace this behemoth... 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (12) by Richard Opie, on Flickr ...with this svelte Wings titanium slip-on unit, with an extra silent baffle just in case I get tired of a slightly noisier bike. 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (13) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Installation wise, a fairly straightforward prospect. There is a small link pipe that connects to the OEM header with the OEM donut gasket in place, align the hanger and she's good to go! 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (14) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (15) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Bit of a skeleton looking thingo. The packaging and ease of accessibility to everything on the bike is spectacularly good. 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (16) by Richard Opie, on Flickr A pretty simple but crucial upgrade. These things use a pleated paper filter like a car from stock, which are notorious for being overcome by dust, not filtering properly and causing catastrophic engine damage. Cue, a UniFilter 2-stage foam unit in it's place. 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (17) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Another item commonly knocked off and available on Aliexpress is the PerunMoto rack. I chose the genuine article this time, as it was only $40 more than the Ali version. A bit nerve wracking to fit, as you need to drill the holes in the plastics that would usually suit the optional OEM grab handles. The problem is, the telltales/template markings on the bottom of the side panels are known for not being in the right place, so you need to drill a tiny pilot hole to first see how far out of alignment you are, then make an informed guesstimate to drill an 18mm hole in either side to accomodate a bush/spacer, and align the bolts with the OEM thread inserts in the tank/subframe. I got it kind of right the first time, with a slight Dremel tickling on the right hand side to allow adequate clearance. A great looking rack, though, that doubles up as a grab point in case of being stuck etc. 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (19) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (20) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (21) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Another couple of PerunMoto parts made the grade, namely the heel plates to use as attachment points for luggage, and the rear brake master cylinder protector, as it hangs out in a pretty exposed spot. No pics though... because. After about 170km on the journey home though, my arse was screaming "enough is enough" from the absolute punishing it was taking from the factory seat. Which is less of a seat, and more of timber by-product. Thankfully, I'd scooped up a deal on Trademe (before I actually paid for the bike...) and nabbed a Seat Concepts seat, the same brand as I have on the DRZ. Absolutely brilliant product, would recommend. No real install required. Toolless. 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (27) by Richard Opie, on Flickr So this is where we are at! I've since learned this bike has a bloody short spring kit in it, which KTM offers as an option. Makes sense being a Japanese market bike maybe? Anyway, this will be on the agenda to sort, so I'll make some phone calls and see what the best action plan is. Perhaps a valving change is in order, the short, sharp hits are very harsh on this bike, but will discuss with people who know a bit more than me about this WP suspension. The DRZ isn't going anywhere, I still intend to use it on tighter stuff, although the 690 feels like it should be pretty capable. I just think at this point, I am more comfortable with the somewhat more mild power delivery of the old Roota... 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R Phone (26) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Thanks for reading. That's a bit of a chore no doubt, but I'm really excited to put more KM on this thing (and the DRZ). A 3 day ride coming up in November which I'll take the Suzuki on, so expect an update then.

Any moment with an M series is arguably fraught with danger.... danger to headgaskets.

I've got zero constructive input into this, but great adventure yarns and I hope future updates continue to get even more sendy.

Power.

Re: shifters, K40 and K50 are definitely different. In an AE86, a 4AGE is canted slightly, so if you've mounted it flat in the car then your shifter is going to angle to the right a little. It'd be easy as to heat and bend it slightly, it won't take much to do.

Siiick, I've been looking at the prospect of an RS265 myself....

Reid and Twiname would be a good local option

Somewhere, there's some 68 year olds having the same yarns about spinning Imps around on a whim during their misspent youth....

Cheers! I'm not much of a motorcyclist TBF, seriously lacking in skills with a bike that is probably still too much for me but I do my best to sound like I know what I'm doing!

So, as I left off on the last post - I'd signed up for my first crack at a multi-day adv ride. Basically it was a run from Napier to Masterton via tar seal, gravel roads, farm tracks, paper roads and the like. I didn't have much of a tool kit (and a less than enviable record of getting punctures) so I figured it might be a plan to piece something comprehensive together. Maybe overkill, but this is what I ended up with and it's not too crazy heavy. The pump I handily already had, it's a double-action jobby so makes relatively light work of smashing air back into a tube. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (55) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (56) by Richard Opie, on Flickr And so off we trekked, I elected to trailer the bike over to Hawkes Bay as the expected return time on the Sunday was going to be around 3-4pm to Napier and I reckoned I'd be pretty much a solid CBF riding home after the mandatory beer and a snack - not to mention the 1100km plus of riding we were scheduled to do over the three days! 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (90) by Richard Opie, on Flickr I was pretty apprehensive. Essentially, Blake and I were meant to be doing this but his unfortunate mishap (while mapping part of this ride) and subsequent injury meant he wasn't able to make it, so here I was flying blind into a group of folks I'd never met, with a repertoire of riding skills that - well - are VERY loosely worth describing as "skills" should we say. Not to mention a little bike compared to the parallel twin behemoths and fast-as-fuck KTMs etc. Was I gonna be left behind? Would I be a burden to everyone else? Overthinking was real, and I nearly didn't go. I also had no GPS, so it was going to be essential that I had a riding buddy, lest I get lost. Turning up for registration the night before, a chat with the organisers sort of put me a bit more at ease - I could ride with the sweep guys at the back if I really needed to. But here's how it sort of went. At 7am on the Friday morning, we set off from the Westshore Beach Inn in Napier in groups, and wound our way South via Hawkes Bay farmland and ended up on Kairakau Beach. I rode with Scotty (from MotoSR who did my suspension for me) and maintained a reasonable pace through a bit of slippery-ish farmland, so it was a bit of a confidence booster for sure! 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (91) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (93) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (95) by Richard Opie, on Flickr From here it was back inland, then doubling back onto the coast for a bit and a hoon down the beach, which was a good time, on hard-packed East Coast sand, and hitting the bit undulations tapped out in 5th was exciting to say the least. Hang on and keep up it was the order of the day, despite it feeling less than comfortable for me. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (97) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (99) by Richard Opie, on Flickr We'd end up at Porangahau for a ripper coffee, and a quick fuel top up for anyone who needed it - I elected to take on some fuel at this point, and we'd all filter off in groups, back into the Hawkes Bay high country for some killer vistas from some of the coastal stations we'd been able to access thanks to the organisers. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (100) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (107) by Richard Opie, on Flickr This would see us descend into Pongaroa for lunch at the pub - pizzas and cold beers were the order of the day. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (109) by Richard Opie, on Flickr The rest of Day One entailed mainly gravel roads - albeit enjoyable, especially Spur Rd near Pongaroa which I'll absolutely have to remember for posterity, and have a go at again. But I failed at pics for this bit, mainly because I was having a ripper time I guess. We got into Dannevirke about 5:30pm that evening, dusty, a bit tired but pretty chuffed and had a wee feed at the Black Stump Cafe, which wasn't too bad! 397km all said and done for that day. Day Two was a trek from Dannevirke to Masterton, and it was a chilly 1-degree when we set off from the Main Street of Dannevirke, en route to Makairo Track via ALL of the gravel roads. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (113) by Richard Opie, on Flickr At our arrival to the entrance of the Makairo Track, at the Western end, my fingers were cold enough they were painful - however, the track is a relatively technical, slower going situation so after a few minutes of wrestling the bike through quad bike/4wd ruts I was warm enough! Followed a fairly accomplished bloke through on a CRF300L, which helped a bit in terms of watching how I needed to weight the pegs and generally manouevre the bike through some of the tighter stuff and ruts etc. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (114) by Richard Opie, on Flickr It used to be an actual maintained road I believe - the collapsed (collapsing?) bridge put paid to that however and rendered it as a "hiking" track that's sometimes accessed by hunters and lunatics on bikes. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (115) by Richard Opie, on Flickr From there it was more farmland. Some steep, slippery climbs made it fun, although the steep, slippery descents felt dicey on occasion when following a liiiitttle bit too close to the dude in front, we'd end up descending into a limestone quarry on one section. Back to Pongaroa for a quick coffee and fuel stop, before setting off again to go to Puketoi Rd - you've all seen me write about that before. I must've been keeping up a decent pace, as this time I was encouraged to ride with the front guys. This turned out to be a decent choice, as it pushed me a long a bit. It wasn't especially muddy or slippery either, so I managed to keep up a pretty good pace and maintain sight with the front guys, Glen on his T7, Mark on his Husky 701 and Aaron on his WR450F. Fast bikes and experienced riders (all motorcrossers/enduro dudes). Tick for the confidence, then. This is us at the end of Puketoi Rd, so proof I managed to hang with them! 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (118) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (119) by Richard Opie, on Flickr It was on to Castlepoint from here - via Pori Rd and a plethora of gravel. The poor little 400 struggled to keep the big bikes in sight, I would've been sitting on 110km/h on the fast stretches and they were just disappearing in a cloud of dust. Nevertheless, we ended up at Castlepoint, for - you guessed it - a pub feed and a couple of cold ones, cider in this instance. Aaron and I took and obligatory shot of the lighthouse in the background, and we also met a pair of blokes on nearly new KLR650s which were far too clean. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (120) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (125) by Richard Opie, on Flickr These were the last shots I managed before we took off for the afternoon's run to Masterton. But what a ride. From Castlepoint, we rode directly into Castlepoint Station, which presented A - epic vistas across the coast and B - the most wildly well maintained gravel farm tracks in the world, surely. These things were immaculate, fast, and although we were told not to be too hooligan-ish while we were on the station, you could just maintain such a great pace. It made me feel like a rockstar, that's for sure. From there it was gravel and a few forestry tracks and we'd end up in Masterton, where I checked into the motel and walked down to the Copthorne for that evenings dinner, briefing and bullshitting about the day we'd just had. Total km, 387 on day two. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (127) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (128) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (129) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Another cold morning beckoned, with a frost to boot! From Masterton we set off North, taking in some of the gravel routes around Eketahuna and Pahiatua before popping out on North Range Road at the top of the Tararua Ranges. This is where I flipped the XT in the mud some time ago. It starts as a nicely maintained gravel access for for the windfarms, but deteriorates into a 4WD track that's been pretty badly cut up by meatheads. No shots, but everything went pretty well, until I saw a camera filming from the top an imminent climb, so go on the gas through a grassy section to um, make it look more impressive or something. Instead of sailing up the hill, no worries at all, what happened instead was the discovery of a mystery rut, hidden in the grass. The front tucked under and I went flailing, much to everyone's mirth. The guy filming didn't even get it! Still, I got off a little more lightly than the chap on the CRF300 Rally a few bikes ahead of me. Tackling some of the gnarlier, muddier ruts he ended up whiskey-throttling off the edge of the road, and while it wasn't a sheer drop, it was steep enough that we needed to mount a bit of a multi-person recovery effort! From here though, it was on to Dannevirke for lunch, and then onwards via yet more Central Hawkes Bay gravel until we got to one of the most fun bits yet. A solid 20km of riverbed with an alleged 33 river crossings (I didn't count but I reckon it was in the high 20s) which presented a new challenge. The riverbed was less of the large sort of rocks, and more of that deep shale sort of stuff. This meant pace was key, sort of like riding in sand, with weight back and maintaining the gas. I must've ridden through like 15 of the (admittedly relatively small) river crossings and I was feeling pretty good about it. The rocks in the river were slippery but not too sketchy, and I managed thus far to rip through them all standing on the pegs. Alas! You got cocky, Richy! For some reason, I decided I wouldn't get on the pegs through a particular crossing, and in the middle of said body of water was an abnormally large rock. Yeah, I looked at the rock. Then I hit the rock. Then I gave it a big wristful of throttle and ended up lying in the water. And I'd kept my boots pretty dry this whole time, too.... whamp whaa. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (130) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Nevertheless, we'd soon ride up the riverbanks and onto some farmland, the section where Blake had unfortunately had his accident getting a bit sendy over an (unknown to him) dried up creek bed. This is "Blizzos Drop" and while it might not look super huge that drop is over 3m tall. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (131) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Another 45 minutes or so of riding through this farm saw us back on the seal and return to Napier. Yawn. Cold beer awaited again, as did a plethora of bar snacks and an even more elevated level of bullshit talking to finish off a successful weekend. Glad I did it in the end, I very nearly didn't, and I think I came out of it a better rider. Day three saw us complete 376km, for a total of 1160km. My takeaways from the ride - You feel a bit povo showing up on a DRZ400, however it's definitely capable of getting places just maybe not as quickly as a late model KTM or Husky etc - the Kriega OS luggage system is boss - the Kriega OS system has also RINSED my nice shiny sidecovers cosmetically. So naturally I have spares for vanity reasons - I think I enjoy the tighter more technical stuff a bit more than just straight out gravel riding - I get over 300km on a tank - STAND ON THE BLOODY PEGS (I still don't abide by this though) - Spending money on suspension is never, ever a waste - Spending money on a Seat Concepts comfort seat is EVEN LESS of a waste, absolute Godsend of a thing - I shouldn't listen to my brain and just have a crack at things (confidently) more often - Get a GPS More to come.

Anywhoo, how about these DRZ4hundeez eh? In between where we left off, (losing and retrieving a phone and generally getting all wet) and now, I've been doing a bit to this and also using it quite a bit when I can. So after our intrepid journey to Puketoi Rd (and back again) I'd committed to upgrading the suspension on this thing. Stock spring rates weren't up to my fat middle-aged heft, and I was finding the bump stops frequently. So apart it came. First the back bit came out. Relatively straightforward, just a bit of jiggery pokery required to get to the top shock bolt. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (23) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Then the front. Piece of piss, this bit. Hover bike chic. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (25) by Richard Opie, on Flickr And we end up with all the gear out, and as is customary to my habits, it all got a thorough clean before dispatching to Scotty at MotoSR for a revalve and respring. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (26) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (27) by Richard Opie, on Flickr In the interim, I thought I could better clean stuff up. So I got busy with the brakeclean, APC, prepsol and detailing brushes and really gave it a once over. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (31) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (32) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (33) by Richard Opie, on Flickr At this point I figured, since the thing was partially stripped I'd do the carb breather mod to help with the wading depth. Basically, it's just re-routing 3 of the 5 breather tubes up high on the bike, instead of all exiting low and well below the waterline. In theory, less likely to drown it on a deep crossing. This is the before pic, you can see all 5 breather tubes xiting low (for some reason someones cut some of them short) 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (35) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Here it is with new nitrile hose fitted. You can see the difference in routing. There's like 800mm of hose from those top ports. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (55)-2 by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (57) by Richard Opie, on Flickr When installed on the bike, the 3 long hoses now exit near the steering head, if shit gets this deep I have bigger problems I expect. Bonus was a thorough carb clean and cable adjustments whilst I did this. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (37) by Richard Opie, on Flickr It also occured to me I should check and grease the suspension bearings and pivots, as these things have a reputation for having the bare minimum of grease applied off the factory floor. Cue more pulling apart. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (39) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Now, even though they have grease nipples, legend has it that it's still a wise move to remove and manually grease everything to the max with waterproof/marine grease not only for lubrication but as a safeguard against moisture from both river crossings and pressure washing. The main swingarm pivot was pretty dry, although not too tricky to remove in the end with a big punch and a hammer. The remainder of bearings and bushes weren't too bad, but I cleaned them anyway and repacked with plenty of grease. Naturally, I cleaned the shit out of it all. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (38) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Another "ok while I'm at it" task was a seat re-trim. The original seat cover was torn near the rear and had a super nice and totally conversant with my OCD electrical tape repair. I got this off the shelf cover from Strike Seats and slapped it over the original foam. It wouldn't last long, not for quality reasons... but, you'll see. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (40) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Next thing you know, the NZCouriers bloke is rapping on the front door and lo and behold, a suspension shaped box is sitting there. The heavier rear spring is visible, and some nice stickers let everyone know I paid a wad of cash for nicer suspension. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (42) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Naturally, I had to install it all straight away that night. I only made one cock up, and installed the thrust washer things on the wrong side of one of the linkage arms (it was late, OK) but spotted it before I'd had the opportunity to ride it. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (43) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Anyway, it's all put back together and I even took the opportunity to slap a new FMF sticker on the pipe (which I polished BTW) as the old one was all mussed up. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (44) by Richard Opie, on Flickr So, you need to go and test the suspension, right? Max and I headed up Odlins Rd with the intention of getting past the hut at the top, however our day was cut short by a 4x4 that was dangling perilously over the edge of the track, lashed to some trees on the opposite side to stop it from toppling right off. I did get a few pics of this but for some reason haven't uploaded, so you'll have to deal with pics of 2 bikes instead. We actually over took the rescue party heading in to get this truck out - the owner (a South African bloke out hunting) was super lucky a couple of very eager young lads in a Hilux and 70 series Cruiser were headed in for a bit of a drive too, and they had some decent recovery gear and loads of enthusiasm to help. We hung around for the recovery effort, and were thankful to see a VERY relieved Saffa bloke get his Daihatsu Rocky back on the track and I assume out of the bush - the light was failing so we belted out of there quickly. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (45) by Richard Opie, on Flickr This is where we stopped just before the stranded 4x4 - we'll be back to tackle this again soon. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (46) by Richard Opie, on Flickr The good news though? Suspension was MEAN. I found I could tackle the bigger obstacles with significantly more confidence and pace, it was easier to pop the front up when needed and also, on the looser gravel it steered so much better, especially on the front brake. The next weekend I took it for a 300km odd ride to see Sean in Ohakune, taking in the excellent flowing form that is Turakina Valley Rd. Way faster on the DRZ than I ever was on the XT. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (49) by Richard Opie, on Flickr More riding happened. Some Santoft hoons, again with Max, figuring it out in soft, deep sand and getting a puncture on the road while en route (and close) to home. A quick sprint up to the Mangahao dams with Bliz and a group who'd come from Wanganui, on a variety of pretty ripper machines. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (51) by Richard Opie, on Flickr 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (52) by Richard Opie, on Flickr I'd signed up to a 3 day, 1180km ride from Napier to Masterton and back via seal, gravel, farm tracks, forestry and beaches. Originally I was set to run this one with Bliz, but unfortunately he had a bit of a major whoopsie while helping map a section of this actual ride - more on that later - so I had to hit it solo, albeit with MUCH apprehension. Was I going to be able to keep up? Were my abilities up to it? Nevertheless, a few small bits of prep were required, namely a new rear tyre, a screen and fitting up the Kriega bags I'd kept from the XT. Parabellum rally screen and ABA headlight guard fitted here. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (3) by Richard Opie, on Flickr Big chonk Dunlop D606 out the back for traction on slippery surfaces. The old MotoZ Tractionator was pretty cooked. You can also see that I'd changed the seat out, for a Seat Concepts comfort seat. This wasn't cheap. But as I was about to find out, it's worth EVERY cent. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (53) by Richard Opie, on Flickr And finally, Kriega OS base fitted up with the 12l bags fitted. These, along with the small tank bag and a 9l pack with a hydration bladder would suffice for 3 days easily. 2015 Suzuki DR-Z 400E Phone (80) by Richard Opie, on Flickr That'll do for now - next instalment I'll have a yarn about the impending adventures! Albeit with not enough photos.

Jeez that Telstar on the hoist looks all right.

BMW B58 with a ZF 8HP box and live happily ever after/fix oil leaks forever. It's the modern 2JZ really.

You're gonna have your upholstery skills down pat when it comes to kitting out your upcoming roof tent.