Ronco Demolition 250

[Carangajeira]

I spend 6 months every year (since my original visit in 2012) in Northern coastal Peru, and decided I needed a bike to get me out and about, mainly for fishing, but also with a view to do a little bit of gentle touring. I did a bit of online research before I arrived last year (not that easy as most South American businesses are not really using the internet as a marketplace!), and soon realised that buying a large touring bike (600cc +) was going to be extremely (and prohibitively) expensive, even second hand, and locally assembled (emerging market Far East) bikes limited to small engine sizes, which I didn't think would be adequate - based on the fact I have a Honda 150 in Brazil and would not really want to travel long distances on that!
I had borrowed a Ronco 150 road bike the previous year (2013) and been quite impressed by the performance, so went along to various dealers in Trujillo, Peru (they are nearly all in the same street so nice and easy to shop around!) and asked questions about the various off-road models. First thing I noticed was how little the salesmen actually knew about the bikes - "how big is the tank?", "5 gallons" - really, the manufacturers website says 2.5! "What is top speed?" (Not that I am a speed freak but a bike that will only do 100kph, flat out redlining is not going to be fun doing 400 kms on!) "140kph" - really, the website says 95kph!
I was looking at 200-250cc models and chose the Ronco Demolition in the end, partly as I knew the brand (and the mechanics!), and partly as it looked cool! (I will post elsewhere about the purchase process if anyone is interested). I rode away from the shop that same day on my new bike, and "Oli" (not that original a name for a Dem-OLI-tion!) and I started our relationship.
Oli came with King's dirt tyres, and though brilliant in the soft stuff, not really that good on tarmac, especially in the wet (but as it rarely rains where I live not that big an issue at "home"), and extremely noisy, transmitting some serious vibrations through the bars! I was very good during the "running in" period - staying well below the recommended revs and having the oil changed at 100kms, and 500kms (they recommend every 1000kms after that!) and just generally getting the feel of the bike.
I must admit to being surprisingly impressed with it! For a bike costing under £1000 (US$1500) on the road it is a lot of bike! The red line is at 10,000 revs, and I have never been anywhere near that - it reaches 100kph at 6,000 revs, and will "cruise" happily at 120kph (75mph) at under 7,500 revs! Tyre noise becomes a real problem at that speed on the original tyres, but I have just put Pirelli MT60's front and rear this year and now can hear the engine over road noise, and it has much improved handling, though, as yet, untested in the twisty roads in the Andes! I did have a heavy duty chain installed as the one that came with it seemed to stretch a lot and needed adjusting every few days, and also had custom carriers made (so I could carry additional fuel, which I didn't need!). It does around 100kms (62.5miles) to the (US) gallon (they sell it that way here??), so around 80mpg - UK gallons! It has a 5 speed gearbox, and a very long top gear, but accelerates well even in 5th.
My first "trip" on Oli after running in was a 90km "climb" over 2400 metres to a little town called Otuzco, and neither the hairpins or the altitude caused any dramas, so I girded my loins, loaded up the bike and set off on a 10 day 2400km (1500 mile) trip through Cajamarca, Chachapoyas (via the Maranon Canyon, which is twice the depth of the Grand Canyon!), Moyobamba and finally to Tarapoto, which is in the Amazon province! Not a murmur from Oli, despite cold, heat, high passes, deep canyons, hairpin bends,and long days (9 hours one day due to an unexpected detour!) - and the only drama I had was actually 50kms from "home" when a young man on a bicycle decided to turn in front of me without looking!! We both ended up on the floor, a few bruises and bent bars, but no serious injuries! Fortunately a policeman witnessed the whole thing so knew it wasn't my fault.

In all I covered 8800kms (5500 miles) last year, and am hoping to do it again this year. Ronco Demolition - cannot recommend it highly enough, but to perform at it's best on the road it needs some dual purpose tyres on it.