RUST magazine: RUST #45

COLUMN
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Eventually I got bad case of man flu,
and as there is pretty much nothing
worse than being ill on a rally, that
inevitably coloured my experience.
Talking to the competitors – as I did
every freezing morning – I discovered
that they really liked the first week and
weren’t so keen on the second, which
they felt was too fast. They also liked
the pre-coloured road books, especially
when given out in the morning, just 25
minutes before the start. It effectively
liberated the factory pilots from three
hours colouring-in per evening and
even earlier mornings looking at what
the map-man had found overnight.
If it was a boon for the men and
the woman up at the pointy end, it
was a revelation for the privateers,
particularly those in the malle moto
class, a category that is now, with
no road books to prepare, suddenly
accessible to a whole load more cashstrapped
competitors.
A BIGGER BETA
Once back home I took advantage of
the rubbish weather to sort out not one,
not two, but three motorcycles. First on
the bench was my 2018 Beta Xtrainer
that, with 230 hours, needed moving
on. And by the time I’d finished with
her she looked and rode like a million
dollars. Well actually 4500 €, the price at
which she literally flew out the door. I
only paid 6000 € for her new!
I’ve been so impressed by the little
Xdresser that my first thought was to get
another, which is why I accepted a day’s
loan of my local dealer’s 250 RR. I just
wanted to see how smooth the engine
they share was now it has been fitted with
a balancer shaft. The answer is ‘very’. The
trouble was I also discovered just how
good is the 2020 RR’s new chassis and
suspension – and so ended up ordering
a new 300 RR. Initially I was going to get
the Racing version with the Kayaba front
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