THE GOOD Being an affordable entry into adventure riding meant despite not being a millionaire ( one day Mat , one day ...) dropping the Honda wasn ’ t going to end in a very expensive trip to the dealership . In fact , it ’ s still rocking its original fairings - now complete with a few battle scars and a few zip ties - and very little in the way of actual damage . I knew from the off that I would put the Rally through some of the toughest riding I ’ ve ever put a bike through . The cosmetics have never really bothered me , but it ’ s been nice knowing that if I ever felt like replacing the plastics they cost less than $ 500 plus shipping direct from Thailand . That has been helped along the way by the easy ability to modify the Honda to suit the current situation . Early on , before Covid , I was faced with frequent commutes up SH1 from Cambridge to Auckland so a set of Avon Trailriders in the Rally ’ s sizing came my way . These were beautiful road tyres on the Rally and did a good job on gravel roads during the 2020 GS Rallye in Martinborough before providing an excellent hold of the road on the torrential ride back north . With Covid arriving , the frequent long distance rides went out the window and the Rally became more of a toy than a commuter . With that , the tyres were swapped out for the affordable Shinko E804 and E805 , a more 50 / 50 tyre option . With these I ticked off the
Molesworth and Rainbow stations from my must-ride list , along with being dragged up the Maungatapu track near Nelson . The factory handguards being plastic wind deflectors at best , saw a set of Barkbusters chucked on very early into my ownership , and on that ride they came into their own as an errant KTM 690 decided to turn in front of me near the top of Jollies Pass . The Barkbusters did their job , but the near new alloy handlebar took a bend . In all , I ’ ve actually been through three different 22mm alloy handlebars on the Rally . With the long-term goal of getting down and dirty on some MotoMapped rides , after the Shinkos were toast the Rally next got shod in a set of Michelin Trackers , and these have probably been my favourite tyres on the bike . They lasted pretty well for a road-legal knobbly , and allowed the rather portly Rally and its equally fat rider to tackle not only gravel adventures , but also successfully ride at Berm Buster in Taupo and the MotoMapped 1 Big Day adventure ride . The current tyres , the Metzeler MC360 , are pretty good too , but having only ridden the 1 Hard Day ride it ’ s hard to give a review on how they suit the Rally .
THE NOT SO GOOD It ’ s not been all sunshine and roses . But the time I ’ ve spent with the Rally has been genuinely a good experience and I can credit it
50 KIWI RIDER