T350 test ride

Back from the ride

Test ride day… Did over a 100 km with the green T yesterday and was pleasantly surprised.
Two-three things remained to be done: chuck out the original and rusty shocks, they might as well been solid struts. There’s a huge amount of lateral play in the swingarm, probably the results of the very heavy rider and super tight chain (see my post about sprockets). I suspect I have to now time the beast to the nth degree, but other than that… it was fine.
I did see 80 mph on the clocks (~130 km/h) which is a bit low according to specs but the high bars make that sort of speed very uncomfortable. That was just before it did a light heat seize on me… what with trying for top speed during ten minutes. It also wouldn’t rev out to the red zone in 4th and 5th. This could be down an old airfilter or maybe the sprocket sizes.

I still nedd to sort out the pilot light for the MOT and I might have a problem with the paperwork, as I don’t have the original US papers with me.

I can’t really comment on the Dunlops K81 I fitted due to the rear swinger, but they felt slightly less grippier than the BT45. They would slide on pavement repairs in a less reassuring way than the Bridgestones… bit unnerving.