RUST magazine: RUST #45

ENDURO
w
know (and love). So for this I chose
the models in each range which I
felt were most similar, the 250cc fuel
injected two-strokes, while JB chose
the location – Wales. Albeit a cold
and wintery north Wales, as by the
time we got this sorted autumn was
moving into winter.
JB and I recruited a local young
championship-grade enduro rider
Alex Walton to come along for the
major part of the test (and to style it
up for the photos) while I did most
of the riding, with JB behind the
camera. An icy rain fell for most of
the first day and just as you would
expect from mid Wales the terrain
was slow, deep single-track ruts
littered with slick roots, wet logs and
slick gorse bush – the latter I became
intimately acquainted with when
the TE spat me off on a run towards
to the camera. Murphy’s, eh!? All
this was of course very different
terrain from what I’d ridden at their
respective launches, which was
mostly sand and hard pack.
On the second day we joined
Geraint Jones’ crew for a day out
on their enduro school. Thankfully
the sun had come out for that but it
was still cold and the ground slick,
neither of which dampened the
attendance numbers at the enduro
school. Martin Lewis, who’s another
championship-level rider as well as
one of the Jones’ instructors, joined
me on this day, and between us
we swapped between the KTM and
the Husqvarna all day, taking the
opportunity to discuss each bike’s
performance in the various spots the
school uses to help improve their
students’ technical skills.
w
18
www.rustsports.com