Razor MX350 First Ride

Once again, it seems to have been ages since I last did any blogging. There’s not been much to blog about up until now. It was way back in February when I was last compelled to write on my blog. I’d watched ‘Why We Ride’ for the first time and felt all warm, fuzzy and inspired. It’s probably worth a read if you haven’t as this post follows it (click here if you’d like to take a look). In summary, I wanted to let motorcycles take their fair share of my life by sharing them with my family.

After a night of research, I decided to get my hands on a Razor MX350 Dirt Rocket. It’s a little pit bike powered by a 350watt motor hooked up to a pair of 12 volt batteries. As well as being inexpensive (they’re about £325 new) they’re quiet and clean. Unlike the toy store variety, it has real pneumatic tyres, front and rear suspension and brakes. Basically, it’s a proper, if low budget, pit bike. It’s also reasonably rare to see them second hand.

When a non-runner came up on ebay, I bid fairly high and got it for just £63. The seller was great and even brought it up north a piece so we didn’t have to drive 90 odd miles to pick it up. Beth came with me but that was all we had room for. The Fiat Panda we moved into last spring doesn’t really have the boot space for a bike of any size.

Of course, it was only the start. I pulled it apart that night. The forks are pretty much junk and to be fair, I couldn’t figure out how to completely disassemble them. They needed it as they were completely rusted. Wanting to do the job properly, I turned to the internet to find how you get the fork tubes out of the stanchions. That information was not available. However, I did learn that they pretty much don’t seem to work when they’re new anyway. I decided to clean up as much as I could and put them back on.

However the forks weren’t the real problem. The Razor MX350 has two 7ah 12volt sealed lead acid batteries and while great for high current, lead acid batteries are a weak point and were always likely to be the reason it didn’t work. I ordered a new pair from Ebay for something like £25 quid and got Kev to do the soldering. At first the new batteries didn’t work but after some fiddling with connections, the bike burst into life. Big smiles all round.

All that remained was to get the right riding gear. It’s really important to me that Beth knows knows the importance of proper riding gear. I made it very clear that when she rode, she was going to come off and it was probably going to hurt. It’s something we bikers all know and most of us have experienced. She wants to ride so she’s going to come off. I’d never stop her riding but I will exert my parental duty to ensure she’s well dressed. For now, that means a full road certified helmet that fits properly and the kind of padding used by skaters. Not perfect but better than nothing. I’ll keep looking for more purposeful armor.

Months had passed since I embarked on the project and now the bike was ready to ride. Beth was pestering me about it and the only thing that was stopping me was the size of our car. Actually, that’s probably not true. In truth, Beth’s never managed to ride a peddle bike without tears or stabilizers. It wouldn’t achieve anything if this were to graduate to a motorbike.

However, I had miss-judged her, something I’m not proud of. Kev provided logistical support, Tom supplied all the encouragement any sibling could hope for and I provided the bike. Her adventurous little spirit had her climb on (after the inevitable argument about how tight the chin strap needed to be) and, well, the rest is in the video.

Motorcycle Adventure Media - Part 1 - Dirt Track Productions

My two weeks are nearly up. That’s to say, a while ago I made a personal commitment to post at least every two weeks. Two weeks have now passed without a post. I’m not going to claim a lack of time. It was inspiration that was lacking. All I’ve been up to is riding to and from work, sometimes on the Wee, sometimes on the YBR125. Once I got to work to early so I wandered up to the Cow and Calf Rocks and took a picture or two. That’s it though. My life has been more about skipping festivals and choir competitions that bike based adventure so I’ve gone elsewhere as usual. That’s today’s inspiration. I’m going to write briefly (in three or four parts) about where I get my fix.

First up are two films by the one man film unit, Gaurav Jani of Dirt Track Productions. If first discovered Riding Solo to the Top Of The World when browsing the Rufforth Autojumble. I must have been feeling rich because I paid £20 for a DVD, not something I do often. I’m glad I did. It’s fantastic. His trip to to one of the remotest places in the world, the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, aboard an Enfield Bullet is so atmospheric that I find myself watching it over and over again, dipping in and out as I get on with work. Sometimes I wonder if I should separate the sound track with the steady thudding of the archaic bikes engine so I can listen to it when I’m struggling for sleep as it seems to chill me right out.

His films aren’t just about riding. They are also about the people and communities he encounters. Riding Solo is so good, I actually use it in geography lessons when we study contrasting localities. The children are always fascinated until they are shown how the Chang pas make their butter. At that point they are suitably ‘grossed out’. You’ll have to watch it to find out why. However, when offered the chance to watch the rest during wet play times, they usually sit quietly mesmerized. Here's the trailer.

In his second film, One Crazy Ride, Gaurav Jani travels with friends from his club searching for a route they are told no longer exists, still riding Enfield bullets. It’s very different because it’s about a group of people all of whom are riding bikes though challenging and beautiful landscapes on frankly unsuitable bikes. The Bullets are forever breaking down, seemingly more due to their archaic design than the awful or non existent roads. Though there is a bit about the communities they travel through, it’s much more about the ride.Here's the trailer.

If I absolutely had to choose which one to take with me to a desert island, it would be tough. I think I’d end up going for Riding Solo. In truth though, I’m ready for more, so ready I even paid another twenty quid towards the making of the next film, described as a sort of Part 2 to Riding Solo. Motorcycle Chang pa is in post production now but the forecast release date seems to keep slipping back. Hopefully it will be ready in 2013 some time. I can’t wait for the next one which says all that really needs to be said about the films of Gaurave Jani and Dirt Track Productions. I'd recommend these to anyone, motorcyclist or not, just as long as they are remotely interested in travel or the rest of the world. Here's the teaser for the much anticipated Motorcycle Chang pa.

And with that I’ve written enough. In part 2 I get my fix from another Blog. Maybe a couple of blogs.