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Came out of work on it in the wet once. Wasn’t being silly, barely touched the throttle but I had the bike leaning a bit to turn out of the exit from the car park and went over the middle of the road onto the camber on the other side and the rear wheel spun and the bike turned a good 45 degrees in the road before gripping and flicking straight. I came off the seat and was amazed I’d stayed on the bike. Didn’t ride it in the rain much after that. Power, rain and cold tyres are not friends.
PhilDAS
TGR
@Dramatic_Hammer yes, inline 4, well it feels underpowered compared to the Bandit I learned on. That thing you crack the throttle and instant lightspeed - I had a few power wheelies more than I expected. Maybe it’s the gearing on the XJ, or because it sat for so long, or my way of riding.
It doesn’t feel totally underpowered, it’s like @PhilDAS describes. You just tick over manageable power and then get the vroom vrooms around 7k til limiter.
Progressive braking is something I put a lot of focus on, especially since I’m still feeling out the bike. The skids and skips are me being much more aggressive than I should be, and feeling out what works and what doesn’t. Trying to build a skillset and muscle memory specific to the XJ after 6 months exclusive DR use, it will take a little time to get there.
@PhilDAS I can believe it. I was thinking how I’d like a more powerful bike, and then I realised that these ‘boring’ bikes are better for now. I don’t want to be scared to ride on a rainy day.