Headed up to the Sierra late Friday night for a ride with some good friends. Our good buddy Dan is having wrist surgery soon and we all wanted to get together before that happened. I'd gotten my revalved and resprung suspension back from Les at LT-Racing the previous Friday and was pretty anxious to try out the WR and get it dialed in. I also had it lowered 1" with internal suspension mods. Les did my 610, too, so naturally I was expecting greatness...and I was not disappointed
I had a new girly Acerbis Koerta Naked Pressure Suit to try, too. It's like a traditional pressure suit but without the attached shirt, and concessions have been made for those of us with rather, uh, womanly shapes. Here it is before the crashing began...whaddaya think?
I dig the back. Very comfortable and it reminds me of roadrace back protectors. I'd be comfortable ripping around on pavement with this on under my jacket, which is a good thing for habitual dualsporters such as myself...
I was skeptical and had my doubts, but it fit really well and was pretty comfortable when I put it on so I figured the only thing left to do was crash repeatedly and see if it did its job. I'm pleased to say that it came through with flying colors, since I had no bumps, bruises, cuts, scrapes or puncture wounds under the plastic. Can't say that about the rest of me, though
It was super-comfy not having plastic plates on top of my shoulders, and the front and back panels went completely unnoticed all day. I thought the shoulder pads were going to cause me grief, as they were a tad long for my arms (totally not an issue for 99% of the buying public, as my arms are only 16" long from armpit to wrist) but they caused no discomfort at all. It would have been nice to have elbow guards attached to the shoulder parts like the traditional Acerbis Koerta with built-in shirt, but my Fox elbow guards worked ok with the suit. I'd like to get some matching Acerbis elbow guards, though, and see if they work better together. I was also afraid that it was going to be too hot to wear in the high-60's temps we were enjoying on the day, but those fears proved unfounded. The only thing I wasn't crazy about, and it's not a deal-breaker, is the kidney-belt waist strap thingy. I tried to wear kidney belts when I first started riding, but they would always migrate up off my hips and onto my waist so they never really did any good. I just wrapped it kind of loose and it didn't really bother me, but if I were designing it I would probably try to raise the straps so that they would go around the waist right from the get-go, and make them a little thinner, too. All in all, a great product that does its job and doesn't look too shabby while doing it, either 
Anyway, on with the ride I was pleased to see that my bike was still a tall and leggy supermodel, even after the 1" lowering. I don't mind the short athletic look, but I was kind of digging the full-length suspension when riding it on not-so-technical terrain. I knew, though, that this place would be a whole `nother ball of wax. That was one of the reasons I really wanted to ride in the Sierra rather than go to Stonyford or Middle Creek. I wanted rocky technical terrain with lots of roots and rock ledges and stuff to really try out the suspension.
Spring was in full swing at 5500'...
It's a long rocky climb up to this ridge and I've floundered on it from time to time on every bike I've ever ridden up here. Needless to say, my WR gave me no grief whatsoever
I engaged in a little bit of clicker action (as I would throughout the day) just to make things smoother, but overall the bike worked like a charm even though it was running a bit rich.
Me, Steve on his KTM and Stevie on her KDX200...
Eric's GasGas, Glen on his new Husaberg 450 and Dan on his YZ250F...
Glen is loving his new `berg, and it got rave reviews from everyone that rode it...
The rocks are pretty brutal up here...
Eric takes the opportunity to make my bike run not-so-rich anymore...
While Stevie enjoys the sunshine...
(I'd kill for her long legs!)
Glen and Dan heading down the other side of the ridge...
Stevie clearing yet another rock ledge...
Steve taking a different line...
Snacktime! Steve, Stevie, Dan and Glen...
Eric grooving on the Husaberg...
More to come...
WoodsChick
I had a new girly Acerbis Koerta Naked Pressure Suit to try, too. It's like a traditional pressure suit but without the attached shirt, and concessions have been made for those of us with rather, uh, womanly shapes. Here it is before the crashing began...whaddaya think?
I dig the back. Very comfortable and it reminds me of roadrace back protectors. I'd be comfortable ripping around on pavement with this on under my jacket, which is a good thing for habitual dualsporters such as myself...
I was skeptical and had my doubts, but it fit really well and was pretty comfortable when I put it on so I figured the only thing left to do was crash repeatedly and see if it did its job. I'm pleased to say that it came through with flying colors, since I had no bumps, bruises, cuts, scrapes or puncture wounds under the plastic. Can't say that about the rest of me, though
It was super-comfy not having plastic plates on top of my shoulders, and the front and back panels went completely unnoticed all day. I thought the shoulder pads were going to cause me grief, as they were a tad long for my arms (totally not an issue for 99% of the buying public, as my arms are only 16" long from armpit to wrist) but they caused no discomfort at all. It would have been nice to have elbow guards attached to the shoulder parts like the traditional Acerbis Koerta with built-in shirt, but my Fox elbow guards worked ok with the suit. I'd like to get some matching Acerbis elbow guards, though, and see if they work better together. I was also afraid that it was going to be too hot to wear in the high-60's temps we were enjoying on the day, but those fears proved unfounded. The only thing I wasn't crazy about, and it's not a deal-breaker, is the kidney-belt waist strap thingy. I tried to wear kidney belts when I first started riding, but they would always migrate up off my hips and onto my waist so they never really did any good. I just wrapped it kind of loose and it didn't really bother me, but if I were designing it I would probably try to raise the straps so that they would go around the waist right from the get-go, and make them a little thinner, too. All in all, a great product that does its job and doesn't look too shabby while doing it, either Anyway, on with the ride
I was pleased to see that my bike was still a tall and leggy supermodel, even after the 1" lowering. I don't mind the short athletic look, but I was kind of digging the full-length suspension when riding it on not-so-technical terrain. I knew, though, that this place would be a whole `nother ball of wax. That was one of the reasons I really wanted to ride in the Sierra rather than go to Stonyford or Middle Creek. I wanted rocky technical terrain with lots of roots and rock ledges and stuff to really try out the suspension. Spring was in full swing at 5500'...
It's a long rocky climb up to this ridge and I've floundered on it from time to time on every bike I've ever ridden up here. Needless to say, my WR gave me no grief whatsoever
I engaged in a little bit of clicker action (as I would throughout the day) just to make things smoother, but overall the bike worked like a charm even though it was running a bit rich.Me, Steve on his KTM and Stevie on her KDX200...
Eric's GasGas, Glen on his new Husaberg 450 and Dan on his YZ250F...
Glen is loving his new `berg, and it got rave reviews from everyone that rode it...
The rocks are pretty brutal up here...
Eric takes the opportunity to make my bike run not-so-rich anymore...
While Stevie enjoys the sunshine...
(I'd kill for her long legs!)
Glen and Dan heading down the other side of the ridge...
Stevie clearing yet another rock ledge...
Steve taking a different line...
Snacktime! Steve, Stevie, Dan and Glen...
Eric grooving on the Husaberg...
More to come...
WoodsChick
Now, I ain't makin' excuses or anything, but Eric had made some changes to my bike and I now had a motocrosser that revved up incredibly quick and had no bottom end. It was almost as if the power valve was open right from the crack of the throttle and there was no overrev, not to mention no chuggability. I know I would have made this if my bike had been running like it had earlier in the day, and I guess Eric agreed (either that or he just go tired of listening to me complain) so he put it all back to how it was earlier in the day. Anyway, Eric biffed it the first time, I think Steve failed to clean it, but Stevie cleaned it using the primo line I showed her (you know, the one I wish I'd seen before my own attempt but couldn't because it was right around a corner...
) and Dan followed suit...
Too bad I didn't have any armor on my thighs where the handlebars dug in as I sailed over the top...
It's always cool to ride with that many different type bikes also...
