Dirt and Trail August 2022

The result is a quick handling machine that does not have that
top-heavy feeling.
Now if you read RideFast Magazine, you’ll see we said exactly
the same thing about the GT (Small wheels). Well – many of us
reckoned that the Rally’s felt better on the road. True story. Riding
through Sabie, there was no uncomfortable heat from the engine.
The upright seating position is natural with a clear view of your
surrounds and you can lean them over and open wide through the
sweeping Mpumalanga corners.
After our Long Tom break up in the mountains, we continued our
journey.
Our guide Pete knows of a little spot where you can follow rumble
strips right up to the very top of the mountains where the views
are spectacular – so up we went and muscled the bikes over
rocks and other stuff for that perfect pic. Then – it was back
along the pass and down to Lydenburg. Awesome company, great
bikes, awesome roads – what more do you need?
From Lydenburg it was time to take that famous gravel pass down
to Sudwala. We stopped on the big gravel and started fiddling with
the electronics. Offroad Pro – because – well we are Pro after
all. This switches off traction control and ABS – and we set the
Showa suspension on Comfort mode.
And then we stood up and took off.
That didn’t go well coz pretty soon we were enveloped in a cloud
of dust, so a couple of us decided to hang back a bit until we
could actually see what we were doing. Over the railway line we
went before pulling over again. The road is a blend of hard pack
and sand with some neat little speed jumps built in.
The suspension needed stiffening. Push the button, you feel the
bike lift a bit and set off again. The Showa semi-active suspension
features many of the tricks we’ve come to expect from electronic
suspension, including optimum damping settings for each ride
mode; these are constantly adjusting at a rate of 50 milliseconds
during the ride. There’s also the ability to adjust damping
characteristics manually over nine levels, and automatic preload
setting based on how the bike is loaded. The suspension is also
able to detect jumps and increase damping for landings. Showa
also uses what it calls a “virtual spring rate” which, in theory,
controls the spring rate by adjusting damping forces when the
suspension is at higher stroke positions. This gives a progressive
feel to the shock that is typically achieved through a linkage
system. Flippen clever stuff this!
Flip it was fun. No lies the big tank rally Explorer especially is a
big girl, but we were riding these things like dirtbikes. And the
bikes just ate it up.
A short “sneaky Pete” down into the forest – through some
deepish mudpuddles. All grins. Back up the side of the mountain
and on to the district road it was game on! I was trundling along
when sudden the radar light on my rearview mirror started
flashing… Some fool – Ok it was Photog man Joe Fleming on his
Scrambler who was trying to overtake. Great feature this blind
spot Radar, works on the road when someone gets too close and
lets you know when another rider wants to overtake. The, Brembo
Stylema calipers clamp two 320mm discs at the front, with a
single-piston Brembo unit clenching a 282mm disc out back. They
worked just fine thankfully.
Too soon, the gravel ended and we reached the tar as the
shadows were growing longer. Obligatory fiddle-fiddle with
electronics. Back into road mode – suspension into comfort and
we hit the road back to Casterbridge. The Rallys headlight cut a
swathe through the darkness – and the corner lights work a real
treat when you lean over a bit.