-,
..
cross-hatching in the sh oes to improve
th eir water-crossing ability. When th ey
were dry it was just at the lim it of t hei r
braking force t o lock up both the front
and rear wheel , which seems just about
right fo r an enduro bike.
When subjected to several
consecutive ho ur s of hard use , the
dutch was reluctant to disengage . We
didn't notice this fo r a wh ile since the
clutchless shifting was very posi tive and
erro rfree . When co oled off (Or , we
suspect, re -adjusted] th er e w as n o
problem . The lower end see ms very
so u nd.
The Cooper started out b ein g q uite
happy to splash thro ugh some fairly
deep water th en got p rogressively less
waterproof. This was a bit perp le xing
until we noticed that the ignition lead
wir es were exposed . Tap ing these to
co untersplashesand co veri ng th e whole
coil area and wiring with duct tape
seeme d to he lp.
Tum signals make the Coope r street
legal b ut also bend and break as soon as
you drop it . T his seems to be endemic
to every street legal en duro. The front
light is small, with just adequate
illum ination an d the taillight is
rubber-mounted with a neat rubb er
license plate flap like o n the Spanish
trials bikes.
T he Co op er comes across in sum as a
fin e-h andling, pow erful 250 w ith go od
susp en sio n t hat 's a little ro ugh in the
co mponent department. It de fin itely
needs a flexofe':'der in the front, fo r
. example. But at the asking price, it
really isn't too much for a buyer to get
one when he picks up the bike.
Oh yeah. Make sure the dealer points
out whi ch is the "off" and which is th e
"reserve" positi on on t he petcock. We
left it the wro ng way an d wen t t hro ugh
two plugs and three legs clearing it ou t.
X-dusor silencer rates 87 dB. Taillightlicense holder is very neat enduro-y
ite m. Fender need s to be wide r and,
we're told, will be.
37
