2009 DT BOOK ONLINE

Kyle thought he was Wade Young after a few minutes
We were not need to be overly cautious
because this is a very pre-owned model
that already bore several battle scars.
The obvious comparison would be with a
trials bike. But’s not a Trials bike. It’s a bit
larger and it has a seat. It is ridiculously
slender and soft with a barrel full of
torque all the way from the bottom.
Because it is so small you tend to try
your luck between every narrow rock
and canyon that you can find. The torque
makes it really simple to slowly hoik
the wheel up and over just about any
rock. The suspension is pretty soft – so
you get a lekker comfy ride – and if you
do happen to get it wrong, the bike is
light enough to manually maneuver out
of trouble. But to be fair, with a bit of
practice, you really should not get stuck
anywhere…
Who is this one for?
Novice riders who want to learn
on a safe, easy to ride motorcycle.
Experienced riders who want to hone
their technical skills. Young kids getting
into the enduro game. Once they
understand the application, they will love
it! Just ask the Dirt And Trail rugrats…
This one is from Sherco SA:
www.shercosouthafrica.co.za
Tristan learning to pivot turn
As soon as the kids notice any bike in
the garage, they are considered fair
game. While we were toiling away in the
office, we heard several kicks and grunts
and a small capacity two stroke engine
coming to life. It was twelve year old Kyle
hijacking the X-Ride. He tore off to the
other side of the plot so that dad could
not catch him. When Tristan heard the
commotion, he was dressed and ready
and the boys spent the afternoon looking
for obstacles to conquer.
Kyle absolutely loved the bike. “Dad!
It’s so light and strong, like my MTB
with a big engine. And it’s so easy
to ride!” Tristan on the other hand in
typical teenage fashion was not overly
impressed. His first comment was – “Well
it’s not very fast…” (He is on a YZ125X).
We patiently explained to him what the
bike is actually made for and the penny
dropped. HE then spent the rest of the
afternoon wrestling with his brother to
tackle obstacles, practicing his pivot turns
and bouncing all over the place.
He loved every second.
His comments “It’s so easy to ride! Light and
predictable. A great bike to learn on
for sure. I like the fact that I can put my feet
on the ground when I stop.” After a short
while with lots of stops and starts, he started
playing a bit and the wide grin said it all.
When we got to out rocky koppie, he was
kicked off and we pointed it slopes and
terrain that is usually pretty challenging on a
conventional dirtbikes.
The beauty of a bike like this is the fact
that you do everything slowly. It’s got
lots of low down torque and no real
powerband – so the kids soon had all
kinds of obstacles set up. A log turned
into a challenge. A lintel became a single
spoor jump. When mom saw them
trying to get the bike UP the steps of
our tree house – she intervened. But it
did make for a pretty cool photo… The
conversation was quite interesting about
parental responsibility and stuff. The
Foley Family blamed our regular dirtbike
and everything tester Kyle Lawrenson fair
and square.
Even the Trailer become an obstacle
The following day, we gave it to our
new appy photographer (who has never
ridden off-road before), and made him
ride it the short distance out to the rocks.
Seriously, Stefan had a little Aprilia road
bike, but he has NEVER ridden off-road.
Mom intervened...