Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/280528
24 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com found myself either spinning away half way up a rocky climb, or pulling a yard sale sliding out across a wet root. Once settled on a M59 front and Michelin Competition X11 trials rear, my fears of an Italian 5K mistake quickly started to fade. The mid range of the tiddler really surprised me, but it still took several months to adapt to riding the WR 144 after three years on a KTM. Once shod with a trials tire, trac- tion was a non issue. I could twist away and hook up on nearly anything. After trail riding on the 144 for a few months, I took a hard look at what was needed to optimize fun at some of NETRA's best events. While the stock suspension was suitable for the trails, pushing my 43+ year old, 180lb carcass at race pace for 4+ hours necessitated a front and rear revalve. Factory Connection was up to the challenge and they were already fa- miliar with the KYB fork (similar to the Yamaha's) and turned it around in no time. Surprisingly, the stock .42 fork springs were perfect but the Italian stallion needed a FC 5.4kg spring in the rear (up from the stock 5.0kg). Knowing what the sadistic Enduro trail bosses put you through in most A/B sections, I rounded up my race prep with a Scotts damper, Enduro Engineering radiator braces and rear disk guard (all readily available). Looking back at last season, I am more than impressed with the Italian 2 stroke. The WR was very capable for my B rider ability. Tackling the occasional hare scramble in the sports- man class was an incredibly fun, stress free way to mix it up and get in race shape. Although, having such a light machine was a trade off at some events, like the KPTR enduro. I was able to conserve energy in the tight terrain and avoid heat stroke during what felt like a 120 degree day, but found a light bike does not track as well at race pace in the rocks. To ride this bike like it was intended requires that you twist the throttle aggressively. When moving to the smaller dis- placement machine, maintaining your pecking order on Sun- days most likely requires a skills improvement. Where the bike really excelled, was at the Berkshire enduro events like the Mudslinger and Cheese Grater. It felt good to hold my own during the first few slick sections of the Cheese Grater and keep pace with the A crowd, all while forcing the mem- ory of the trail boss with a freshly broken arm out of my head. The nastier and tighter the terrain, the better the WR handled. Being a smaller displacement bike, I had to really focus on corner speed and maintaining momentum on the hill climbs. All of us can tell how we are performing by how long it takes the better riders on later rows to catch us. It was no- ticeably longer at the more technical venues. However, once things opened up, I was less comfortable in 4 th or 5 th gear in the rocks. The WR never left me stranded and the only maintenance in- volved regular oil and air filter changes. I went through more than my fair share of plastic, squarely my fault. Parts avail- ability was a non issue. The only quirks encountered included