second and locks the back wheel in first ... ouch . I did volunteer a review to The Publisher . It was something like , “ An assiduous reader of your magazine ( like me ) would gain the impression that the F650 was a capable off roader , kinda like a Honda XR650 with a fairing , more power and the magic touch of Gaston . But the truth is that it ’ s a converted road bike with a shyte motor made pretty with decals .” I think that it may have got lost in the mail . Anyway , the experiment came to a sticky end one summer evening on Waanga Road , Raglan ( which the rally buffs among you may recognise as a famous WRC stage ). Narrow road , Mitsubishi Station Wagon full of stoned surfers , and me . It hurt , but only in a purely physical agonising sense , as I managed to miss the hood of the car and get a close inspection of the road , because part of me knew as I flew through the air that it was my last ride on the F650 . I don ’ t miss that POS .
So , off I went on a Britten Adventure Ride – the East Coast Epicurean if memory serves . Anyway , everything was rosy until I tried to ride it off-road . On the seal it was fantastic , a lovely handling big single as described . Gravel - not bad . Then I was faced with a wet , grassy uphill and despite the thing yawing from hither to yon like a shithouse door in a storm , I made it up . Hmmm , this thing doesn ’ t seem to want to hook up , I thought as I headed down the other side . This was similarly wet and greasy grass , and my problem became evident as I stood on the pegs and attempted to use engine braking down the slope . You see , a bike that idles at 1800rpm doesn ’ t have much engine braking in
62 KIWI RIDER