The coolest lady gang in the world – Litas Women’s Motorcycle Club

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The coolest lady gang in the world - Litas Women's Motorcycle Club
James Cheadle

Sports & scene

Motorsport

The coolest lady gang in the world – Litas Women’s Motorcycle Club

The coolest lady gang in the world – Litas Women’s Motorcycle Club
Bye Instagram

Thanks to social media, the number of women riding a motorcycle is increasing rapidly. The globally active Litas women’s motorcycle club is also based on Instagram and Co. But these ladies prefer to feel the real wind instead of posting all the time.

Martin Pashley, Markus Biebricher

11/24/2016

Now on the Col de Sommeiller? Ivo Pirazzoli shows with the palm of his hand how deep the snow is up there. The man in his mid-fifties knows his way around and often chugs up there in his old Suzuki DR 400 in the summer. The gravel road leads up to 2996 meters, making it the highest pass in the Alps that can be legally driven. And we? Are late. But there was no other way. INTERMOT stand service, MOTORRAD catalog 2017 – a lot of important things had to be done before the day of hiking. A symptomatic situation for the four light enduros. Because most of the time, others are in the spotlight. Stronger, faster, more spectacular.

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But the thick pants don’t count here. On the contrary. A hiking enduro has to be slim, light and handy. Efficient silencers and moderately profiled tires underline the respect for the quiet mountain world, the flora and the locals. How far can we go towards the Sommeiller? Ivo grins. Don’t ask too many questions, just give it a try. He doesn’t say, but he thinks. We understood anyway.

First, the dirt path winds upwards, wide and smoothly pushed, bringing the slender quartet just up to operating temperature. Winfried sets the rhythm on the Honda. Sorry, on the Montesa. The traditional brand from Barcelona has belonged to the Honda Group since 1985. Until recently machines like the Honda Varadero or Deauville were produced in the Catalan branch, but now only the trial models roll off the assembly line. The only new product in the hiking enduro niche, the 4Ride presented this year, is based on their technology. It differs from its siblings in that it has spring elements with a longer installation length (fork by 38 mm, strut by 12 mm), a wider gearbox, the tank that has been enlarged from 1.9 to 4.4 liters, and a bench instead of the sparse plastic seat recess Basic models.

The Honda product planners may have taken a look at Austria. Because the population of hobby climbers is not that small. Since KTM presented the Freeride 350 in 2012, the freerider has consistently been among the 100 best-selling motorcycles in this country. Certainly because not only hikers, but also enduro beginners are impressed by the uncomplicated nature of the tamed sports singles in the narrow hybrid frame – and with around 7,700 euros they also pay as much for them as for the Montesa 4Ride.

Beta and Kawasaki (each around 4700 euros) keep a respectable distance from this pecuniary demarcation line. Like the Montesa, the Alp 200 approaches the idea of ​​hiking from a trial-sporting side. After all, she can proudly carry the air-cooled Suzuki engine between her frame tubes. After all, it was the Italians who proclaimed gentle enduro tourism with the first alpine model in 1990. The KLX 250 does not even try with an ideal superstructure. Since its presentation in 2009, the Kawa has been regarded as an uncomplicated bike – with its moderate volume and manageable dimensions, it represents the enduro-style low-budget counterpart to the KTM.

It’s a strange feeling when the goal isn’t the goal. We know that at some point the snow will block our ascent to the pass. Maybe that’s why nobody is in a hurry. Or is it the motorcycles? The interaction between machine and human is striking. Without annoying blaring and with effortlessly manageable performance, the quartet pushes us up in a relaxed manner. Of course one could also ask: How many emotions are still in play with a maximum of 23 hp? And wouldn’t have understood anything. Because the answer does not require a dynamometer, but a keen eye for the grandiose landscape. Nevertheless, the technology also creates emotional differences. The KTM shows: Nobody needs more than 23 hp here. The dohc single comes into play very cleanly after the bends, giving the driver the choice. Speed ​​or torque? If in doubt, the latter. Because while his sports friend rotates up to 11,800 rpm in the 350 EXC-F, the quiet pedal locks at 9,900 tours and pushes smoothly in the lower speed range. A good choice. Therefore, upshifts are usually made at what feels like 6000 rpm. That’s enough.

Like the Montesa. The trial DNA appears to be poured into the single cylinder. The propellant, which works with battery-free injection, starts practically from idle, and immediately encourages you to shift through the closely spaced transmission. The fact that – as is usual with trialers – the left foot has to be removed from the footrest mounted far back only bothers at the beginning. Instead, the clean running of the little engine inspires. The mechanical noise is minimal, the gearshift and clutch work precisely. Everything works very directly. Even the slightest turn of the throttle lifts the front over the repeatedly cross-running drainage channels. It couldn’t be easier. The 18 hp ohc single-cylinder only breathes a bit shallowly from mid-rev, panting for the next higher gear, in order to shine once more with its torque hill in the rev basement.

In complete contrast to this, the KLX 250 requires speeds. The more the better. You can intuitively cheer the 22 hp dohc single, but if in doubt, stay in the lower gear. Lifting the front over the washouts, however, only succeeds with a strong pull on the handlebars. Is it because of the highest weight in the field at 138 kilograms or the big jumps in the lower gears? Probably both. Instead of tingling mountain runners, the Kawa is more for the dignified hikers.

Like the beta. But not only the smallest displacement of the four with 199 cm³ makes the Italian sweat uphill. As the only stew still fed by a carburetor, the air-cooled Single lacks the simplicity of the injection-fueled competition. A rough idle here, a short swallowing of the throttle there, the somewhat doughy gearshift there – compared to the Montesa propellant, the 15 hp Suzuki engine looks weak and as if from a bygone era. For orientation: The Alp 4.0, which is just 1000 euros more expensive with the engine of the Suzuki DR 350, does a lot better in this regard.

Ivo suspected it. Winter knocks behind a few shady hairpin bends. The lanes pushed into the young snow by off-road vehicles are icy. Turn around now? After a driveway that could have been done with any big travel enduro. We remember a narrow junction. It’s worth a try. We screw our way down the hairpin bends again. Downhill the drainage ditches are even more washed out and angular in the way than uphill. Again the KTM and the Montesa shine. This time with a progressive suspension set-up. While this has long been known from the WP spring elements of the freeride, the Montesa suspension combo, which is little known outside of the trial scene, is surprising. Both the conventional fork from the Italian specialist Tech and the monoshock from the Spanish manufacturer R16V respond sensitively and still have enough reserves even with hard edges. In contrast to the brakes. After just a few bends, braked sharply, the Braktec system, which is also produced in Spain, heats up and irritates with a muddy pressure point. This is likely to be due to the test field’s smallest front brake disc with a diameter of just 180 millimeters. The beta doesn’t do any better in this regard, either. The brake disappoints with high actuation force and moderate effect. Connoisseurs swap the Grimeca hand pump for a counterpart from Nissin (around 100 euros). But the suspension also needs rework. With moderate response and low reserves, the alp bumps down the most uncomfortable of the quartet. What the Kawa pilot can only smile about. At least at a walking pace, the fork and shock absorb every pothole without leaving any residue.

Besides, we see that we see almost nothing. The soft trial tires of the Beta and Montesa and the slightly coarser profiled semi-trial tires of the KTM hardly left any marks on the ascent. Only the imprints of the soft enduro pelts of the Kawa (Dunlop D 605 G) can be read in the damp gravel.

Right now. An inconspicuous hiking trail leads over a stream to the opposite side of the valley and immediately climbs steeply. For GS and Co. this would be the end of the line. Good thing, now the hiking troop can prove themselves. The tighter the loops, the more the Kawasaki rider works up a sweat. The relatively long geared first gear, the gentle pressure at lower speeds and the figure, which is plump compared to 138 kilograms, add up to a relatively sedate character. Only those who keep the speed up with their fingers on the clutch will rumble steadily upwards.

The beta pilot does it easier. Central seating position, short translation. That fits. Only the waxy start in the lower rev range causes uncertainty. It is not always possible to lift the front wheel over edges with one thrust of the gas. In case of doubt, it is better to choose the long line that maintains momentum than the direct line. As a consolation, it sits at a height of 82 centimeters, at least 65 millimeters lower than the rest of the trio. This and the great grip of the buttery-soft trial tires not only bring a large portion of safety back to the 1.65 meter tall colleague Tanita.

But again it is the two upper class migrating birds who set the bar high here. The KTM scrambles without any problems. Sit down, accelerate, drive up. Foolproof may be the correct term for effortless ascent.

The Montesa needs a little trial time. But if you have got used to the easy front, you will find additional reserves compared to freeride. Like the suction cups on octopus arms, the trial competition tires (Dunlop D 803 GP) wrap around every rock edge, sucking up the feather-light 4Ride at 89 kilograms. Completely relaxed, Winni rolls past the waiting group on her, stops, folds the bench up, takes a bottle from the storage compartment – and refuel. Because with a meager 4.4 liters of fuel, the Montesa doesn’t make it 100 kilometers. If you don’t keep supplies, you will have to push here for a long time. The fact that the 4Ride is the only one that does not have an e-starter does not really fit into the image of the high-priced hiking holidaymaker.

There are still three kilometers to the final ascent at the “Rifugio Scarfiotti”. We can see the snow-covered serpentines from afar. We turn around, circle down into the Susa valley and chug the last few meters on the country road to the guesthouse. Disappointed? On the contrary. Because the mission has not yet been completed. We will come back. Maybe with the next generation of hiking enduro bikes. But then definitely before INTERMOT.

Euro 4 and the consequences

With the Euro 4 standard, which will apply from January, the approval hurdle for the four tested hiking enduros has also increased. The new regulation has serious consequences.

The good news: Sport enduros and trialers are exempt from the ABS obligation that applies in the course of the Euro 4 standard. The bad: There are no exceptions for the athletes when it comes to noise and exhaust emissions. For the Kawasaki KLX 250 and Beta Alp 200, both of which do not meet the statutory criteria for trial or sport enduro machines, Euro 4 does not mean anything good. The Kawa will definitely be withdrawn from the program for 2017. Beta has not yet made any specific statements about the uncertain future of the Alp 200 and its 350 sister. The KTM Freeride 350 is considered a competition enduro, but currently only has Euro 3 homologation. Euro 4 homologated freeride models are in the planning stage and should be presented in the second half of 2017. At Montesa, everything is clear: all 2017 models of the 4Ride are delivered in compliance with Euro 4.

MOTORCYCLE test result

Beta Alp 200

It is small, handy, slim and not expensive. There are many reasons for the beta. But the weak-chested and still carburetor-fed Suzuki 200 engine reduces the fun of the nimble wanderer. The gloomy mood is not lightened by the weak brakes and the uncomfortable suspension. You can tell: the Alp is getting old.

KTM Freeride 350

KTM has set the tone with the freeride concept. Sufficient power, moderate noise and tires that are gentle on the terrain combine driving fun and environmental awareness. But KTM is also expanding its target audience thanks to the ergonomics of sport enduro. In addition to enduro hikers, off-road beginners in particular benefit from the unexcited character of the Austrian.

Kawasaki KLX 250

Conceptually, the Kawa is a bit on the sidelines. Because the KLX is more of an everyday than a hiking enduro. With comparatively comfortable accommodation and proven technology, it feels most comfortable on country roads and moderate country lanes. When the terrain becomes narrower or more difficult, the Kawa struggles with its weight and the somewhat tame engine in the lower rev range.

Montesa 4Ride

With the 4Ride, Montesa is approaching the hiking enduro scene from the trial sport side. Anyone who gets used to the special ergonomics will be delighted. The flyweight, the beefy pull-through of the single and the trial competition tires hardly set any limits off the road. Typical for the Montesa parent company Honda: The processing quality is also right.

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