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 .
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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