Despite planning to complete this slowly, it was finished a wee bit early!
It's been out for two rides and I've had my first crash already! I was out yesterday and the wind was a bit high...I was blown off jumping a large table top and literally land on my butt!
The bike has finally had its offset bush fitted to slacken it off a degree. It's now 63/64 degrees so not too far off modern DH bikes. It rides better now it's a bit slacker and lower too.
Here are some more pics:
Having been out on it twice now, I'm really pleased with it. It feels a tad short compared to what I'm used to but is still very confidence inspiring to ride. The forks are good, but I'm missing the independent high and low speed compression adjustment. The forks give up a tad too much travel early on but ramp up nicely further into their travel.
The full spec for those interested is:
2006 Demo 8 France in medium with DHX4 Shock with offset bush
2006 Marzocchi 888 VF2 forks
Hope headset
Sunline integrated stem, 45mm long
Answer Pro Taper DH bars, 780mm wide, 13mm rise
Easton grips
SDG I Fly saddle
I beam post
Hope seat clamp
Superstar Nano pedals
Shimano Saint shifter
Zee rear mech
Ultegra 11-27 cassette
SRAM 1071 chain
XTR bottom bracket
Race Face Atlas AM cranks
34t Goldtec chainring
E13 SRS chain device
Zee brakes with 203mm rotors
Easton Havoc wheels
Maxxis Minion DHF UST tyres
The upgrades have started already with a pair of 888RC2X forks on the way. These are white so will look good and will give me independent high and low speed compression adjustment. I'm also planning to add a Ti spring to the rear shock to save a bit of weight as the Demo is a tad porky!
I'd also like to find a way to paint the raised head badge in black so it stands out a bit more. Not sure how to do it without looking ropey.