Australasian Dirt Bike – September 2019

hassoughtthehelpofAnthonyGiles

fromChoiceSuspensioninKyneton,

Vic,andit’ssafetosaythattheyhave

gotit downpat.

Milnerhastoldmethathelovedthe

52mmforkandwasn’tsoldonthe48mm

unitat first,butheandtheteamhave

spentcountlesshoursonthetrack

developingsettingsand,sinceworking

withChoice,theyhavebeenmaking

leapsandboundsandit’sjustabout

perfectforhim.

It’ssuperplushandcompliantinthe

firstpartof thestrokeandsoaksupthe

littlechoppystuffeasily.Thetrackwe

testedonhada lotof treerootsandlittle

stumpsthatwillcatchyououtandI felt

liketheplushnessof theforkallowed

metopushthroughthosesectionsfaster

thanI everhavebefore.

Evenonthebiggerhits,theforkgets

firmerandfirmerwithoutgetting

harshsoyoufeellikeyoucanlaunch

offanything.

I spokewithGilesyfromChoice

abouttheforkandhementionedthat

theyhavebeenworkingsuperhard

tryingtogetthatplush,yetfirmfeel

fortheboysandI wasveryhappywith

theresult.

I wasprettyimpressedwiththeTrax

shockandfeltlikeit pairedupnicely

withtheforkandgavethebikea very

balancedfeel.It toohada plushfeeling

intheinitialpartof thestrokebutdidn’t

bottomoutonthebighits.On

acceleration,eventhroughthe

annoying,choppytreeroots,the

rear-endstayedplantedanddrove

straightonwithoutbuckingyouaround

orgettingoutof shape.I takemyhatof

totheboysat Choice,they’vedonetheir

homeworkandbuilta suspension

packagethatbreedsconfidence.

VERDICT

Asyouwouldexpect,Milner’srace

weaponis bloodygood.Afterall,you

can’trideasfastandincontrolashe

doeswithouthavingthemachineryto

supportyoudoingit.Themotoris strong

andeasytouseandtheChoice-tuned

WPsuspensionis veryforgivingsoyou

feellikeyoucanputthebikewherever

youwantonthetrack.It’sa credittothe

teamthatDanis winningracesonit.

Gotsomethingtosayaboutthisyarn?

[email protected]

Moreimagesandinfoatadbmag.com.au

It’s super

plush and

compliant

at the

first part

of the

stroke

and

soaks up

the little

choppy

stuff

FACTORY TEST I KTM 350EXC-F

Safetywireonthefuellineconnector Kato sells the TM Designs chainguides

60 |SEPTEMBER 2019 http://www.adbmag.com.au

The rider

DANIEL MILNER

“I decided to try something different

this year and switch from the 500 to

the 350. After riding the 450 and 500 in

years past, I wanted to show how

competitive the whole KTM range is. The

transition to the 350 was actually a

little tougher than I expected as I’m a

guy that doesn’t rev my bike hard so it

took me a little longer then it would

going from the 500 to a 450.

“We did a heap of testing in the

off-season and I love the 350. It’s light

and easy to ride and, to be honest, I was

more relaxed going into this season than

I have been in the past as I felt I had the

speed and fi tness, I just needed to

maintain it and not over-do it. I think we

have got this bike just as good as my last

year’s bike as I have worked hard with

Gilesy from Choice Suspension to get it

where we needed it.

“My 2019 season has not gone as

good as I was wanting it to. My program

had been solid but I have struggled a

little with injury that not many people

know about so I think it’s only going to

get better towards the end of the year. I

have the best team behind me and the

results show that.

“Everyone puts in 100% behind the

scenes and, as a rider, I have so much

trust in them and that helps us with our

confi dence. Mick bends over backwards

for me and I’m so thankful for everything

he does. Same as GK and Gilesy, there

are so many people behind us that

people don’t know about and this is why

we are called a team.”