True, Walter's bikes are at the high end. But one basic change that seems essential is the Air Bladder shock. I've ridden two X Chal's, not impressed with the feel of that stock bladder thingy (harsh). I hear they all eventually LEAK.:confused1: Most owners change it out ... no? So, right there you're right up to £500 to £800 to convert to standard shock.

Seems the bike would benefit from some sort of custom (or strengthened) sub frame? Perhaps Fabrication required there? Not sure on this, never seen the bike striped down except in pics. Does it need sub frame work or can it handle loaded panniers and top bag in stock form? :confused1:

I think the standard WP forks, once re-sprung/re-valved would probably be OK ... not as good as the top of the range WP's Walter has ... but adequate? What do you have on your bike?

In my testing, I thought the forks were soft (good at slow speeds on rough terrain) but worked well over all. High speed on road, not so good. Just needed some firming up, better rebound damping.

And you're correct ...custom Dakar style fairing/dash/cockpit are mostly glitz, IMHO. Adds weight, expense and if you ever crash and your body goes THROUGH the Alu struts and shield ... you are dead. It's happened a few times to Dakar racers. If you're not racing, you just don't need all that Dakar stuff on the Dash, IMO.

But I'm old school Enduro racer ... I never liked a shield when riding off road.
Can't see properly. It's a real shame BMW no longer seem to be pursuing more off road biased enduro bikes. I was so hopeful when the X series came out ... but in a couple years ... gone! I blame Herr Kunnheim (former CEO) and hopefully they will turn it around and get back in the Off road enduro segment. So much potential there.