Photo Gallery of the day here

Endurofest 2008 was the inaugural two day ‘Show Event’ at Enduroland. While they’ve run many a two day event before, this was the first weekend that was marketed as a ‘show’ in its own right and not just as a days enduro practice.
There were various trade stands for quads, Abington Off Road were doing bits for two wheelers (as well as fitting tyres on the day). Several bike manufactures had bikes on display and some were available to test ride! BMW had their new 450’s available, Ady Smith had brought some KTM’s to the event and Trailworld had a 450 and 501 Serco on display. These two bikes were being specially discounted as part of an ‘end of season special’. However it was the new 250 Serco that I was interested in and luckily I got to have a go on it later in the day! There was plenty to do for the kids as well - a bouncy castle and a separate mini track where they could ride and hire mini quads.

me getting to grips with the circuit

no:46 - i had fun chasing him

Unfortunately Nicky and I were on our own again as Scott_rider couldn’t get his forks back in time, and the rest of Club DB were either sick, lame or lazy! I’m going to have to rename it Club Lazy Bastards for next year I think! However thanks to this site my ugly mug is getting recognised a bit so I’ve always got someone to talk to when I go walk about in the pits. In fact Tim, who’s on the RBJ mailing list ended up parking next to us by chance, so it was good to put a face to a name and chat about the track etc when bumping into each other in the pits. Tim was on a rather tidy looking 530 KTM which obviously just didn’t have enough ‘go’ so it’d been fitted with a LeoVince pipe to spice it up a bit! Unfortunately the worn out Mezt six days on the rear of the bike just wasn’t up to laying that power down and by mid day Tim proclaimed that he’d still not made it up any of the steep inclines shiny side up!

Due to a few nervous types complaining about quads at recent events Nigel (gov’nor of Enduroland) decided to run two tracks, one for quads and one for bikes – with the aim of swopping over after lunch.

no:46, me and another rider having a bit of a race. I managed to pass 46 on the muddy lane with jumps but clipped his arm with the bars so slowed down and waved sorry and he got by again!

Early in the day - rush hour!

Morning session RHS track:

Starting from the pits the morning session for bikes was held on the right hand side of the venue. It began with a few turns across the grass then through a new cutting in the hedge which had a little wooden bridge over the ditch below. This brought us out on the back field so we turned right and blasted up to the two small water splashes that are normally used and from here we circulated the large field anticlockwise. Zigzagging past the horse box the ground changed from being dry to soft (not muddy) and a few narrow ruts formed here later. This section was closely followed by another soft patch that was very bumpy and most riders were taking it steady through this bit. Next up was the small cutting into the trees but instead of popping back out the normal way we turned through the back of it via another newly cleared part and popped out into the middle field across another small bridge. This small field is the one with the fast flowing whooped out bits. Turning left at the bottom of the field it was back up the muddy track with the jumps in – a quick couple of turns in the field before dropping down into a series of climbs that were great fun but a few of the steeper ones were cut out after an hour or so as I think a lot of guys were struggling on them (hey Tim!). Again I can only heap praise on the Kendan enduro tyre I’ve got on the rear, I never had a single ‘moment’ on any slopes all day. After these steep slopes it was up and out via the sandy slope, followed by crossing the field into a couple of slippery corners. Next up was another new part - the ‘Timber Yard’ which is a artificially made obstacle course consisting of several timber humps followed by a hump with a drop off (not big enough Nigel) and then across a natural log set into the ground, turning right through a ditch and crisscrossing the field just near the pits to start the next lap.

early in the day - coming into the field near the pits

and again

Stylish .........and not so very stylish!

After a few ‘getting to know it’ laps, I got stuck in and was really enjoying the course. I found the 2T bikes to be equally if not faster than the 450 on the long straights but I could very often out brake them into corners. There were two sections where my KTM definitely had the advantage. The first was into the soft rutted and bumpy part of the track and the second was on the fast whooped out part before the banked turn. In both areas I knew the Scott damper would keep everything under control so I passed loads of guys in these two spots.

 
looking cool

even cooler

One lap a very quickly ridden 2T came past me on the back straight of the far field. so I knuckled down for a bit of a race and sat on his tail until we got to the soft bumps. As soon as we hit these his bike went into a massive fit, shaking the bars violently and I was able to keep the gas on to make the pass. For the next few hours I kept putting in the laps having a good time and racing a few guys when I could. A couple were too fast for me and pulled away but I managed to have a good race with another ktm rider (i see it was no:46 now that i've been checking out the photos).

Cooler still

I eventually pulled in for a breather and walked down to the BMW stand to check out the bikes. They were doing test rides so I filled out the disclaimer form. We had a bit of a chat about one of the guys that had just had a fairly big crash on one of their bikes. They taken him around the small test part of the circuit and he seemed ok so let him take the lead. He then proceeded to ride straight into a tree! He had broken some bits and pieces so an ambulance was called and it wasn’t long before an air ambulance arrived, however I believe that a normal road crew took him away. While this was all going on I had a chat to the BMW guys and dropped hints about my website and also about the fact I do the enduroland site and that seemed to work as I convinced them to let me take the new 450 around the whole enduro loop, not just the small test circuit! One of the BMW crew was also keen to come out to play so got kitted up quickly. The main rider/minder mentioned he wasn’t keen on taking the big 650 out again so I offered him my KTM and he jumped at the chance.

BMW450 Test

Not only had I convinced them to allow me out on the full enduro loop but I’d also blagged the ‘full power’ version! The bike comes limited to 40 odd bhp but you can liberate about 12 more bhp if you wish very easily. Sitting on the bike it felt fairly tall as it didn’t sag so much as mine, but felt comfortable enough. It fires up easily but the clutch/throttle action takes a bit of getting used to as it bites very early and I managed to stall it twice just trying to pull away! As we set off I took it nice and easy just getting a feel of the bike and as normal the gears and levers always seem to be in the wrong position for me! First impressions as I headed out across the fields were of the motor and fuelling. The KTM seems to hit harder and faster than the BMW just as you open the throttle, but once on the open going the German as opposed to the Austrian engine had the upper hand.

 
a cool shot of the new BMW 450 enduro bike

I was expecting a bit of an animal but the engine is extremely smooth and pulls nice 'n strong in the upper reaches. It’s possibly over geared at the moment, however a further test would be needed (hint hint) to find all that out. Still taking it fairly easy I felt the bars get a bit twitchy as we went through the soft bumpy stuff. It wasn’t even nearly a slap but as I was still getting to know the bike I wasn’t too sure just how much it could be pushed or if the twitches would escalate into a full blow ‘oh my god’ moment! I gave it another handful through the fast whooped bit and jumping along the muddy track the suspension wasn’t bottoming out like it can do on mine now and again so that was another plus. I managed to catch up to the BMW guy on my bike at this stage – just in time to see him crash my bike! Another rider fell in front of him and he had nowhere to go so ended up falling as well. I had a minor panic going down a steep slope as the rear brake is set further ‘in’ than mine so a few frantic presses of fresh air caused the heart rate to climb!

Me on the BMW again - can i have another go mr BMW? One lap just wasn't enough to gell with the bike

I can’t remember going over the timber yard logs so it must have handled it fine but the lap was over too soon and I’d not really got into the feel of it having been on my own bike for several hours before. They offered me another go once it got a bit quieter after lunch but I left it too late and they’d started packing up by the time I got back to them. So to sum it up it’s not the animal it thought it would be. Plenty of grip, a bit twitchy at times (this was backed up by Tim who also had a go on it), good power but I think the fuel injection needs a few tweaks low down – maybe just turning up the tick over would help because it almost felt like it wanted to stall a few times.
I would need to have a lot more time on it to get used to the levers/pegs etc to really give it a fair go. Feels nothing like my KTM which was again backed up by the BMW rider who said the same when he got off mine – totally different bikes.

Quads .....at The Timber Yard in the afternoon

Afternoon session LHS (FAST) track:

After lunch it was time to swop over to the other track. One corner in and it was straight into the manmade obstacles. This time you had a choice of the ‘rock garden’ or very short sharp humps/whoops - I chose the whoops every time. A few corners further on and you came to a jump, which is the same spot as the original one but with an extra two added. I managed to ‘over jump’ number one rather well on the first lap, I think the impact shockwaves lifted the spectators of the ground when I landed! On one of the later laps I came to these jumps to find a couple of guys trying to to extract a bike from the hedge just before the last jump! somone had obviously lost it on the middle jump and parked it! I stopped on the crest of jump number two and flagged down the traffic as it was dodgy have bikes fly (!) past while working there. Scott_rider was there spectating and for some reason was carring a long thin stick? I must ask him what was that for! Maybe to enourage me to go faster or I get the wip?

 
The 'Rock Garden'

After this we crisscrossed the old railway banking several times, dipping into and then flying out loads of times. Another turn had been built into the track and I got this wrong several times as I could already see the woods so my mind kept on telling me to hit the gas when in actual fact I needed to turn sharp left. This happened when I was involved in a little race with some guys and I managed to get in front just before this bit. However I saw the arrow at the last minute and locked everything up sideways trying to stop in time. Much to my surprise I did actually stop but stalled the bike at the last moment which was a real pity as it would have looked like I knew what I was doing otherwise!

 
Coming out of the small stand of trees

There was a lot of grip in the woods this time round and I was starting to get the hang of it quite well but a few corners still seem a little on the awkward side. I was managing to lift the front up to clear some of the roots in several sections so soon I might just be able to handle woods riding!
Once clear of the woods it was just a matter of hammering the bike across the edge of the fields until we got back to the small stand of tress right by the pits, completing another lap.

About to launch

Time to think of that diet?

Needing a breather I grabbed a can of coke and walked down to see Trailworld. I’d bumped into one of the GLC guys having a short go on their new Sherco 250 so I was keen to have a go myself. Plus a cunning plan had been forming in my head for a while now. I was going to be a bit cheeky and ask if they’d loan me a bike as a long term test bike to race with! Bold I know but then again the RBJ site does get a lot of actual viewing sessions and there aren’t that many enduro sites that do in depth ride reports like I do. I could offer them guaranteed coverage every month whereas TBM only does a feedback race report ever so often. The first request for a test ride was met with a bit of a frosty (but polite) reception but I persevered and explained who I was and I fancied a go. I got the green light to come back later as someone else was due to take it out. Then I hit them with the test bike plan – once the laughter had died down I explain about the guaranteed monthly coverage but they still thought TBM was the way to go. Hey don’t ask - don’t get.

 
Two guys enjoying humping in the woods!

I got a few more flying laps in on the KTM. Some of the straights were murder. When following another rider, the small bits of flint and stone (flintstones!) being thrown up was like being caught in a shotgun blast – it even hurt through the body armour! I got wacked on the nose at one point which not only hurt like hell but has broken the skin. By now I was getting knackered so pulled in for another rest and rode down to Trailworld for another crack at it. Getting a green light on the test I jumped on and after a few pointers about the switchable ignition (there was some confusion which position was which) I set off once more to do my second ‘test’ of the day.

Sherco 250

The first thing I noticed was how amazingly light the clutch was, and once again I had to get used to everything, however this time it didn’t feel quite so alien. Now being a 250 it needs to be ridden completely differently to a grunty 450, so the first lap was a steep learning curve and a couple of times I got caught out in too high a gear but a slip of the clutch brought the motor back on song. Going over the jumps at the start of the lap didn’t provoke any bottoming out so that was a good thing. By the second lap I was starting to get the hang of it and by the third lap I really gave it a good thrash. I found the switch flicked to the right would pull the front end up coming out of corners if you had the engine ‘on song’! In fact when I had it nailed coming out of the small wooded section near the end of the lap the front wheel reared up fairly urgently, proving that you really do need to leave mechanical sympathy at home when riding a 250 compared to a 450!

 
Dipping down and out of the old railway line on the Sherco 250

Being a mostly dry and grippy track there were no issues with traction and I think I only had one front end slide when really pushing it across a grassy bend, but it recovered straight away and on the whole the ride was very composed and reassuring. Scott_rider was watching from the sidelines and he commented that it looked a lot more stable than the KTM or less ‘jumpy’ as he put it! The front end didn’t move around at all during the high speed flat out runs (unlike the BMW) and I found this very surprising due to the bars feeling so light when trickling along at slow speed. Going though the wood was less successful for me and I’m not too sure why, but I was still able to lift the front up using just the throttle to clear the roots like on the KTM. What wasn’t like the KTM were the brakes! Now mine do stop the bike fine but there is just so much more feel and accessible power in a set of Japanese Nissins and that is just how the AJP’s on the Sherco feel. Hell I could even get to the rear brake but it was so much stronger than what I was used to it locked up very easily - a good thing when going into turns. The only negative thing i can say is that the seat just doesn't fit my ample butt as it felt like i was getting an enama when sitting down!

After three laps I thought I’d better take it back so I headed down to the pits. Delivering the bike back in one piece we chatted for some time about the bike and the new 09 models coming in soon. The two discounted bikes they have left are a massive bargain, so if you fancy saving a huge amount over the new 09 models give them a call asap - tell them you heard it from here though! All my cheekiness didn’t go to waste either as I got an offer of a bike to do a ‘three hour’ event on - how cool is that!
Flushed with success I head down to BMW again but unfortunately I’d left it too late and they were packing up for the day so after another chat I headed off to put some more laps in on the KTM. Now however nice it is to ride other bikes there's something really nice about being back on your own bike, but the first thing I noticed was how pissed my bars are! Still - after two minutes I’m used to them again and can’t tell the difference!

Thanks once again to Nigle and the Enduroland team for laying on a well organised event.

Gallery Photos of the days coming soon!

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