Glenn Batho

Honda XR650R Safari Suspension & Engine Tuning

It was a hard riding pogo stick that thumped the wrists and landed off jumps like an elephant and had no drive just heaps of wheelspin, front washing out bad turning beat-you-up bike that had it all there and it just needed to be found.

Now it is a nimble quick turning plush riding very predictable bike that goes where it is pointed. Chalk & cheese to what it was even after anther guy did a revalve. Thank you for sorting this bike out for me, you do know your stuff.

It was a hard riding pogo stick that thumped the wrists and landed off jumps like an elephant and had no drive just heaps of wheelspin, front washing out bad turning beat-you-up bike that had it all there and it just needed to be found.

Nick, you turned it from the above to:
Now it is a nimble quick turning plush riding very predictable bike that goes where it is pointed. Chalk and cheese to what it was even after anther guy did a revalve. Good thing we did it when we did as the nut in the shock was on by just 3 threads.
It has a good inch and a quarter more height over all front and rear.

Open the throttle and it has stopped the wheel spin it used to do now it wants to go forward and wheelie so throttle control is more the deal. No pumper carb needed.
Sliding it is very predictable and the part where it wants to go out from under me has gone and it wants to go forward instead of the rear wanting to pass the front. When I push on the seat right at the lowest part both front and rear go up and down at the same level and speed. It feels like a Moto-crosser when sitting on it with the rear up and nose down just how I like it.
No head shake at speed, very stable.

Draw back is the side stand needs to be lengthened as with the standard height stand the bike is just about falling over, right on the balance point on flat ground.
When I was talking to the guy who did it he asked what type of riding do I do? All sorts, single track to riding the desert, so he said we will set it up the same as the bike that won the Aussie Safari.
Ya got me!

A few days later Nick phoned and asked me how tall I was and it came back like this.
Another draw back is I have to learn to ride it all over and get my head around the things it used to do when it would bite me. To Nick, thank you for sorting this bike out for me, you do know your stuff.