There's an interesting thread on AdvRider from a British guy riding the US TAT (Trans America Trail) on a GP450. He sounds an average sort of rider rather than an off road god, and talks honestly about some of the problems he encountered.
I was one of the many that CCM spoke to as part of their market research. One of my suggestions (and maybe from others as well) was the stealth tool tube which ended up as the rather expensive false silencer. One suggestion of mine which wasn't acted upon was a wider ratio gearbox and minkyhead from ABR has done some work changing internal ratios.
I did have a test ride eventually but it was a bit disorganised, the accompanying 'guide' rider didn't know the area, so it was on tarmac with the exception of a couple of hundred metres down a lane. So I ended up buying a second KTM 690 Enduro which has proved ultra reliable.
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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)
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