X-Pro Paladin 300 Resource Guide

[OldGuy]

Further comments on lighting as well as on-road use - This past week I was up in Western NC and had the Paladin along for the first time. It was fabulous for local 'runabout' use, but I ended up taking an extended ride from Swannanoa up to to Burnsville on Friday late afternoon. It was still daylight when I headed up there, with much of the trip on the interstate. There was a good bit of traffic, I generally was comfortable running an indicated 70mph (did not have phone visible for GPS speed) which kept me running with some-most traffic. There were times I was simply staying to the right & not keeping up with traffic. In Asheville itself I was fine, but had to be mindful that the acceleration is NOT that of my 100+rwhp Yamaha. The Shinko tires continue to feel as solid as a road tire. Taller gearing is on the agenda, just need to figure out what ratio I want.


I ended up in some extended conversations with other volunteers up in Burnsville, and the bike itself was of interest to people. But it was probably 8:00 when I headed back down the mountain. It is over 50 miles, and I NEVER had any concerns about the lighting! I haven't yet made a bracket to fix the lower end in position, but just the two side screws are tight enough that it stayed in position. The 2 nipples on the bottom of the headlight are about 1-1/2" in front of the two holes in the fender, and both low & high beam were very good. Although I have ordered a pair of LED lights & brackets for the fork legs, and it WILL be better with them, I assure you that if you are simply going to be running around town, stock lighting is great if you simply move the bottom forward.


Brackets


I ordered two different sets of lights, I'll provide more info on what I decided to use on the bike vs as additional driving lights on my tow vehicle.


Add: lacking a gas gauge & no 'reserve' as bikes used to have, I was a bit concerned about running out on the return leg. I filled up before heading back down - took .88 gal after the 51 miles, so range seems quite good for this ride.


Addition 2: The seat was NOT uncomfortable on this long, onroad ride! Now please understand: from 1993 - 2009 or so I spent MANY hours / week on bicycles, both MTB ridiing/racing as well as road training & racing. I have done many 100 mile road rides, so you might say my butt got toughened up! But that was years ago, and adaptation is always "seat specific". This seat could use a bit more padding, but it was quite tolerable. My enthusiasm for this bike is off-the-charts! The folks who were interested were shocked when I told them the price. One guy had been looking at bikes, couldn't find anything he could afford even used that would do what he wanted. This things is amazing!