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Following on from the last MX400 post, which was about the great YouTube feature on the 999Lazer channel, there’s been a bit more recognition for the bike and brand, and namely in two very high profile UK magazines. The first one being the TMX (Trials and Motocross News) publication. This is a magazine with a big history, and following its recent relaunch, which sees it incorporating another magazine, DirtBike Rider, I was mega-pleased to see that the bike and its story had been laid down in real paper pages. It is thanks again to Max and the 999Lazer team that this great feature took place, and it’s also another milestone in the awareness of the MX400.
The second big feature was in the UK’s number 1 mountain bike (MTB) magazine, MBUK (Mountain Biking UK). I’ve been buying this magazine on and off since it was launched in the early 1990s, and whilst contributing to another article, I asked the Editor if he would like to feature the MX400 in their ‘Superbike’ section. This feature always has a very special superbike-mountain-bike in it, obviously. However, Cannondale is the only MTB manufacturer ever to have made a dirt bike, so for the first time ever, a motorcycle has been featured in this magazine.
It’s been a really great year for both riding and showcasing the bike, and with no issues (honest!). I’ve set the tickover quite high as this prevents it from cutting out off the throttle, which was a bit annoying and in some cases, very disconcerting. I like a low-ish and smooth tickover, but on this bike, it plays into the hands of the ECU, which seems to have a flat spot and cuts the bike out. This is quite normal apparently with a few other big (and special….) four strokes, so now I’ve moved into ‘high-tickover-acceptance’ and pleased that it’s fixed.
Also quite recently, I came across some packs of Top Trumps, and one of them is dedicated to ‘Scramblers’. Like a lot of people, I’ve spent/invested/wasted (delete as appropriate…) time in the past playing this card game with friends. Whilst there was the fun and competitive element of winning a Top Trumps card game with one or several friends playing, it was also a great education into the actual bikes, or tractors, or ships, or cars, or whatever. I picked up the Top Trumps ‘Scramblers’ pack in my hand, removed the cards and flicked through them. Just for the record at this point, the base and lid of this particular case are not cracked, which is usually what happened to them whilst rolling around a school bag, getting crushed in a pocket etc. Neither are they sticky from being held whilst eating a doughnut, and they have no chocolate fingerprints, and the card corners are not bent over, so this means that this particular set has not been played with very much, if at all! Anyway, I quickly noticed the absence of the MX400 in this pack featuring iconic dirt bikes, and whilst getting it included in any future production is highly unlikely at best, I thought I would make my own card, which is ultimate recognition of both the Top Trumps card games and the MX400.
Looking ahead to 2024, I’ve got a few events pencilled in the diary with the MX400, and we’ll see what other recognition and interest can be sparked into press, digital or paper.
AND FINALLY………..Don’t forget to subscribe for more thrilling(-ish) MX400 adventures AND check out the rest of the MX400 posts if you haven’t already 👍
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