surprised about the suspension comment mine was set too soft with excessive rider sag but ...i found it outstanding off road particularly good in rocks and rock steps ....no deflection no wrist jolt ..just skipped along on big riugbyball rocks and was very sure footed

the throtte has a stepped opening and what happened to me at first was i simply wasnt opening it enough ..ive had about thirty hours on the bike

..and the throttle deffinatly has a long action ..which is great on wet mud and rocks goiung slowly but opening it up in the right way i honestly reacon it could show my tenere tenere a clean pair of heels on a twisty road ..it pulls really hard at the top end and it steers with pinpoint accuracy ....??

i had no troble with leg comfort at all over the three days and didnt notice any problems at all the seat was generally good ....i wasnt noticing it or getting numb bum which is a good sign ...for longer trips ill just stick me airhawk on

the bike climbs steeply at walking pace and is near impossible to stall ..again i found its slow speed manners spot on

coming down very steep decents the front brake was one finger good and the suspension still did its job ith a fair amont of weight from the front brake l

..being able to use 3rd and fourth gear on pretty tough ground where the tenere would be in 2nd

the t63s were ok as the lakes are 90 percent rock based one or two muddy lanes were done but if i was doing wales id prbably use maxxis or kenda trackmaster s on it
all in all i found the bike comfy ..im 6ft 1in at 6ft 4 i would think it may be too small ..it will just do for me

.no problem on the motorway and as good or better than any dirt bike ive owned off road

my use is puley to travel and trail and i dont want to be restriceted to which trails i do ....so that really is its purpose ..its focus really is 50/50

the ktm 690 has a lot more power ...but when ive ridden them i found they were too radical for the road .....there is nothing at all that comes as standard that lends itself to long trips ....
the seat the vibration over 70 is bad ...but there is no weather protection at all and over 70mph the bike i rode feels kind of detached and vauge at the front

so its all well and good having the power ..but i dont like the ktm on the road at a ll ..by the time ive been to rally raid it would be hurtling toward 11k in ccm spec ..fairing tank racks subframe and all the rest of it ,,,,but then it would be around 20kg heavier too

all in all i find the ccm a good comprimise ...when i get it set up with the seat adjustable screen heated grips and all i honesstly see no problem riding to marroc and back

ive been riding round with a fouteen tooth on the tenere for four years as the gearspacings and overall ratio has been pushed far too high
..... the ccm is spaced for off roading and hooks up and pulls instantly
.....the difference between a 14t tenere on the road and the ccm is probably nothing in the real world ,,..and in fairness its only a 450 .. but the ccm s power to weight makes that 300cc effectivly dissapear .


the cummupance is the ccm will be 10mph slower 70 insead of 80 on the motorway than a standard tenere
....but as soon as you hit the trail ...the ccm is a much much better bike ..the other thing is managability ...70kgms lighter fully fueled ...


i guess its a balence we all have to make ....rob peter to pay paul

bearin mind this was full on tough trail weekend ..running in the company of some very good riders on 450 excs 690s freewinds drzs crfs yzfs and anything in between .so given that near all the rest came out of the back of a van ...the ccm did a very good job indeed

so whats bad
its a bit snatchy feuling wise at filtering speeds

the clocks are sparten mph trip thats it i think

theres a speedo pickup on the front hub begging to ripped out by a forward facing branch

the luggage i borrowed was to small in capacity and did leak water in fairness i was told to use dry liners ..i think it would be much better for access with roll top s as the zips prevent stuffability ...on the upside of that the saddle fitting system was brilliant and the luggage and contents stayed where they should and it ws bucked from piller to post

evryone said the rear light carrier was flapping like a excited puppy ..i have a fear it may come home strapped to the rear seat if caught in a fall or backed it into a wall or somthing daft it may need bracing or cutting down somway ....??

the rear seat can only accesses be realeasing a bolt under the petrol tank its resessed that should be fun after riding a muddy feild should you need to .....

the standard radiator guard isd plastic but the centre bit.. big squares clogged with mud badly ...so on a hot summers day it could cause the fan to work overtime or worse ..certainly dont want that clogged in merzuga ..ill upgrade to the stainless i think

so based on the 400 miles i did thats about it everything worked fine stayed in place