Christini's introduction to Mattawa

As 1 of only a hand full of people in the state to have this new bike, its cool to see that 2 are on this site. I was the last guy to get in on the first shipment of 2012 Christini AWD450ds from Tasky's Metric Cycle. (shout out ) First off, she is a high maintenance woman. (but this ones ride is worth the trouble ) Included in the sales price is its very own grease gun and tube of grease.

A few quality issues, common with first run production, have come up and to Christinis credit, quickly being addressed. i had to re-rout the fuel line as it was pinched between the head and frame. kind of tricky because if you use the supplied bracket, you run the risk of it hitting the front wheel drive chain. My solution was to use bracket and ziptie the hose as far away from the chain as i could get without kinking the line. it also seems that a bad batch of castings for the foot peg/kickstand bracket were put on these bikes as well. mine broke before i could put the first mile on her. new ones are on the way. i added hand guards before loading up for a ride but i think im going to change the color to black. might as well scratch these up first though



soooo i loaded up the truck and i head to beverly... dunes that is,,,past it really,,,,





notice natures kickstand?







always nice to have a buddy so i talked my bro into getting a husky 510. 3rd time ever on a dirt bike way to go bro! alot more off road than R road this time.



still working on the artistic shot.



George Clinton and p-fink concert the night before, a 3 hr drive on 4 hrs sleep and a hard days ride (2 1/2 hrs) i was beat but still grinning.

Mattawa has a sandy oval across the R road from the power line parking area. i engaged the AWD and did a dozen or 2 laps. i was able to do it with little effort. once you sense exactly when the front engages and you can put some lean into the corner and shoot like a rocket out the end. cool to see a rooster tail of sand out of the corner of my eye. i did get a mouth full of sand a time or 2. the fender doesnt catch it all. i did lay it down in the end though. pushed it as far as my old fat arse would let me.

sandy hill climbs? as long as that back tire is spinning 20% faster than the front and you keep your feet on the pegs; point the bars where to go and hang on. kind of cold blooded but im saving judgement until the break in is done and figure out pipes, jetting, and emission alternatives. no complaints about spring yet but i havent pushed it either. was fine at factory setting for now. tuning is in the future though.

people might complain about the 15lbs extra weight in the front and how it may not "fly" right when catching big air. for me all i can say is this is the 3rd time ive done mattawa this year and the first 2 times where on a KLR650 so anything is lighter in the front than that, and if im catching so much air that i have time to consider flight characteristics, im in bigger trouble than i think.

i cant wait to get on her after the break in

Me jealous

Sick.