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So, just got back from my second trip out to Colorado where the wife and I went to visit our son and see the grandkids. They live in Pine Junction which is up the mountains from Denver at about 8500 feet. While there, my good friend Pearson (also from Ramona - he moved there 5 years ago ) agreed to be our trail guide. My first day there be took my son and I on a 65 mile ride. The first 40 miles were all technical singletrack ; lots of loose, shale rocks and roots. Some of these sections were just relentless, going up or down for hundreds of yards. If you screwed up on the accents it was a bear to get going again. I'll tell you: if I could ride this kind of stuff all the time, the Tecate enduro would be no problem!

I ended up taking my 500 Exc and a 350 XC-f. My son rode the 500. For the 350 I was concerned about stalling so I added a weight to the clutch and also adjusted the tpi setting. Looking online I was told that stock should be somewhere around 5.6 - 5.8 ( you can't find any info in the manual about this). This one was set at 5.2 so I richened it up to 6.2. Well, even with that this bike would unexpectedly stall when you closed the throttle. It happened ALOT. Probably 15 times during our ride.

We had multiple water crossings during the ride, three of them quite deep, fast-flowing and rocky. One of them you had to get off, soak your boots and pick your way across. One of the above mentioned flame-outs caused me to take a bath, completely soaking my back and pants.

I will say though, that 350 was so light and nimble that if I  could figure out a way to prevent the stalls, this would be a great bike for this kind of stuff. Maybe a Rekluse would cure it but that would be an expensive solution. The suspension was stiff for this kind of terrain, even with setting the air forks 10psi  lower then stock. If you pushed hard though, it could really soak it up. It IS a racebike after all.

At the end of our trip my friend Pearson and I  did another 80 miles of narrow, twisty two-track through the mountains. The trail was only wide enough for a  quad - a Razor or a Jeep couldn't fit. It was smooth and flowey with a lot of bermed turns. I rode the 50o for this ride and it was perfect for this. I rode this bike last year  and I gotta say this time, with the suspension redone by George at 101, the bike was amazing. 

In between these two days I did a  mountain bike ride with my son. I'm sure he was disappointed. Within the first mile I was gasping for air big-time and had to stop and get off and walk. We didn't do anywhere near the ride he was planning but I still managed a 4 1/2 mile climb with a really fun downhill return.

Ostensibly this trip was about the grandkids and we did have lots of fun with picnics by the river and walks around the lake. Even took in the new Toy story 4 movie.

All in all, those rides were the epitome of what I hoped to experience in Colorado. Had a blast.

 

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Cool trip grandpa, check out blais racing ecu reflash for the 350. My 450xcf runs perfect with it and cheap option

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Sounds like an awesome trip Paul. 

Sounds like you got another bike. 

Congrats. 

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Well done ptKatoomer, that is what Colorado can do for the soul. Especially having a river to sit by!  I hope to follow your lead soon! 

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great post!!! good on ya Paul!! what Brian said about Chris Blais Racing reflash.

Im sure Slavens has some Co. magic as well.

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