I'm presently sitting in the Picton Bluebridge terminal waiting for the 2:00 ferry to board - it's now 4:00pm - a problem with "services" apparently. The staff are great though - not their fault.
The Rally has now done over 4000km, and continues to perform well. Strong headwinds do show up the limitations of touring on a 250, but just dropping it down to 5th is usually enough to maintain a reasonable pace. I went as far as Dunedin, sticking to the main road mainly to meet my deadlines, but did a few deviations up some tracks for fun. Great on gravel (except when it is deep and freshly graded but that is the fault of the rider not the bike) The bike seems to take pretty much everything in it's stride. I went over Takaka Hill to Collingwood yesterday. Takaka Hill really works for the Rally. I love how this bike handles - it inspires confidence especially on that type of road and those kinds of speeds where I find I can get into the zone without giving myself too many frights
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For 90% of the time the power is fine but just those moments when it starts to fade up a long fast (or what should be fast) uphill - like the hills going into Dunedin from the north - or overtaking into a headwind- a bit more power would be nice. Maybe a pipe upgrade to a Yoshi? Apparently they are good on these.
The seat does get hard after a while - mind you I've been doing 6-8 hour days so that's not surprising. I've become "that guy" that stands up on the pegs when he gets into a 50km limit. Embarrassing but necessary. Pegs, mirrors, screen and fairing are all great. I do find standing that the bars are a bit low for me, so maybe some risers and swap out for some better quality bars might be the ticket.
Overall I'm pleased. She's a great little bike - hasn't missed a beat.
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