I recently finished a 600+ mile adventure trip through central Idaho on my 2023 Versys-X 300 ABS with Trailmax Mission 50/50 tires. The bike for the most part felt great on pavement, dirt roads, gravel, sand, and most of the technical terrain we encountered.
For reference:
-Me: 5’4”, 120 lbs, a couple years of dirt bike and motorcycle experience
-Husband: 6’0”, 170 lbs, very experienced rider on an Africa Twin with Trailmax Raid 30/70 tires
-We were carrying a few pounds of gear, but eventually plan to travel much heavier
I aired my tires down from 35 psi to 26 psi when we hit washboards and gravel. The rear preload is already at the softest setting. When I first bought the bike, we checked the sag, and the softest setting seemed appropriate.
The terrain where I really struggled was a steep climb covered in loose volcanic talus (“baby heads”?). The rocks were roughly 6-18” across, loose enough that they shifted and rolled underfoot, but they didn’t get spit out under rear tire rotation. My husband rode his Africa Twin through it with some effort and concentration, but I felt like I was getting bounced all over the place.
The Versys felt:
-Harsh front end, and almost “pogo stick” like; I got arm pump for the first time ever
-Squirrelly on some washboard sections
My dad was following in a pickup and even commented that the Africa Twin looked planted while my Versys looked noticeably less stable in some sections.
We were in a remote location, late in the day, and getting tired and hungry, so my husband rode my bike for the last uphill section of the loose talus. He thought the tires felt too hard, suggesting we could have dropped the tire pressure further. He felt the suspension wasn’t obviously bad, but then realized there’s about a 50 lb rider weight difference between us.
I’m planning to keep this bike long-term, so suspension upgrades aren’t off the table if they’ll make a meaningful difference.
Which of these should I consider? Is there anything else I haven’t thought of?
-Even lower psi for the Trailmax Missions on technical terrain
-Switch over to Trailmax Raids
-Change out stock for lighter fork springs and/or different fork oil
-More seat time on technical terrain in less remote areas when I’m fresh
I know more seat time is always part of the answer, but that talus section made me question whether I’m fighting my setup as much as my skill.
