zx12argh
02-11-2008, 09:54 PM
Its been a few months but I've finally had the chance to take the dirt bike out for a thrashing. This is my girl - proof that I own a Suzuki - a DRZ400E aka The Tractor aka The Disease - named so because you just can't kill it. I have given this bike an absolute pounding and the most damage I have ever done to it is breaking the kick stand and putting a small kink in the radiator. So anyway onto the back of my ute and away to an undisclosed location a few mates and I went.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431381206904.JPG
My mates ride KTM's a mix of 530's and 450's. My tractor has half the power but they've never lost me in thir rear view mirror nor have they climbed a hill I haven't been able to skull drag the disease up. And to top it off I paid 6k for mine and service it every 3000km... (or less as I have mechanical sympathy). They paid at least twice as much and service their bikes every 12-15 hours plus are up for an engine rebuild between 90 and 120 hours depending if its the 450 or the 530.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550229448.JPG
So anyway the point of all this is to find some stupid hills and interesting terrain joined together by fast flowing tracks with a few jumps thrown in for a laugh. Its funny how you laugh only if you manage to miss a massive stack - I wasn't laughing when I gave myself whiplash 4 months ago after cartwheeling the bike... The disease lived up to its name and after I picked it up it started first time and kept going like nothing had happened.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550218802.JPG
You probably can't tell from the angle but this hill is at least 45 degrees and covered in loose rocky crap - no traction so once you stop moving its back down to the bottom and start again. Took me 4 attempts and multiple injuries to my shin from my stupid bloody foot peg to finally get up there.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550230899.JPG
Like I said I was outnumbered by KTMs - they really are mad bikes tho. If I had the money I'd definitely get one... But I'd still be thinking of my Tractor.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550251219.JPG
Another action shot of me - taken moments before wiping out half way up this hill.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550150953.JPG
And heres the aftermath of the wipe out. Yeah - it is steep...
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550166721.JPG
So the day progressed and we did a few more hills and then went in search of a water fall. Unfortunately its been a bit dry so it was mostly a trickle. We'd packed the bordies but decided against it. The boys were mubling something about not wanting to see me in the buff and public nudity or something - I couldn't quite make it out.
At the end of the say we found ourselves here at this hill, didn't look to bad - I was pretty stuffed from the last section tho so I called a break - I am completely out of shape... or more the fact that I had to pick my bike up about 50 times by this point. My mate rob went down and came back and reported it wasn't too bad but there was a really gnarly section right at the bottom. So he and Andros went off to have some fun.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550208855.JPG
That was the last we saw of them for about 30 minutes. I decided to go and investigate as the wait had let me get back some of my strength and the world had stopped spinning. I cruised down till I got to Robs gnarly section - a rutted drop off that I wouldn't walk down let alone ride. I managed to see them off in the distance about 30 metres below me. This is the biggest badest hill I have ever seen... The two lads were basically pushing the bikes up with the throttle pinned for half of the climb till they could get some traction. Another 20 minutes went by and they finalled climbed to my position. I gave Andros some oxygen and a push after he got his two smoke cr250 stuck then climbed back out of the hole and rode back up.
Rob was first up...
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550160664.JPG
Looks a little tired doesn't he?
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550188462.JPG
I was shortly after - can't stop the tractor ;)
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550227161.JPG
Now I wish this story had a happy ending but as I was loading the disease onto the back of the ute I had a little bingle... I was that rooted that I stupidly rested the bike on the kick stand while it was on the ute, stepped away for a second to get keys out of the car and my poor girl fell over and off the ute. Remember how I said the only damage I had ever done to the bike was a dented radiator and broken kickstand? That damage was done in a similar accident to this when I was trying to load the bike after a couple of Jim Beam cans... This time however I finished the job - I killed the radiator - it doesn't hold water no more... So it goes to show the only thing you can kill a DRZ with is a Ford. But still it was a great ride I just have to be a bit more careful where I park and fix that bloody radiator now.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550209959.JPG
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431381206904.JPG
My mates ride KTM's a mix of 530's and 450's. My tractor has half the power but they've never lost me in thir rear view mirror nor have they climbed a hill I haven't been able to skull drag the disease up. And to top it off I paid 6k for mine and service it every 3000km... (or less as I have mechanical sympathy). They paid at least twice as much and service their bikes every 12-15 hours plus are up for an engine rebuild between 90 and 120 hours depending if its the 450 or the 530.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550229448.JPG
So anyway the point of all this is to find some stupid hills and interesting terrain joined together by fast flowing tracks with a few jumps thrown in for a laugh. Its funny how you laugh only if you manage to miss a massive stack - I wasn't laughing when I gave myself whiplash 4 months ago after cartwheeling the bike... The disease lived up to its name and after I picked it up it started first time and kept going like nothing had happened.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550218802.JPG
You probably can't tell from the angle but this hill is at least 45 degrees and covered in loose rocky crap - no traction so once you stop moving its back down to the bottom and start again. Took me 4 attempts and multiple injuries to my shin from my stupid bloody foot peg to finally get up there.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550230899.JPG
Like I said I was outnumbered by KTMs - they really are mad bikes tho. If I had the money I'd definitely get one... But I'd still be thinking of my Tractor.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550251219.JPG
Another action shot of me - taken moments before wiping out half way up this hill.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550150953.JPG
And heres the aftermath of the wipe out. Yeah - it is steep...
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550166721.JPG
So the day progressed and we did a few more hills and then went in search of a water fall. Unfortunately its been a bit dry so it was mostly a trickle. We'd packed the bordies but decided against it. The boys were mubling something about not wanting to see me in the buff and public nudity or something - I couldn't quite make it out.
At the end of the say we found ourselves here at this hill, didn't look to bad - I was pretty stuffed from the last section tho so I called a break - I am completely out of shape... or more the fact that I had to pick my bike up about 50 times by this point. My mate rob went down and came back and reported it wasn't too bad but there was a really gnarly section right at the bottom. So he and Andros went off to have some fun.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550208855.JPG
That was the last we saw of them for about 30 minutes. I decided to go and investigate as the wait had let me get back some of my strength and the world had stopped spinning. I cruised down till I got to Robs gnarly section - a rutted drop off that I wouldn't walk down let alone ride. I managed to see them off in the distance about 30 metres below me. This is the biggest badest hill I have ever seen... The two lads were basically pushing the bikes up with the throttle pinned for half of the climb till they could get some traction. Another 20 minutes went by and they finalled climbed to my position. I gave Andros some oxygen and a push after he got his two smoke cr250 stuck then climbed back out of the hole and rode back up.
Rob was first up...
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550160664.JPG
Looks a little tired doesn't he?
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550188462.JPG
I was shortly after - can't stop the tractor ;)
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550227161.JPG
Now I wish this story had a happy ending but as I was loading the disease onto the back of the ute I had a little bingle... I was that rooted that I stupidly rested the bike on the kick stand while it was on the ute, stepped away for a second to get keys out of the car and my poor girl fell over and off the ute. Remember how I said the only damage I had ever done to the bike was a dented radiator and broken kickstand? That damage was done in a similar accident to this when I was trying to load the bike after a couple of Jim Beam cans... This time however I finished the job - I killed the radiator - it doesn't hold water no more... So it goes to show the only thing you can kill a DRZ with is a Ford. But still it was a great ride I just have to be a bit more careful where I park and fix that bloody radiator now.
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/629431550209959.JPG