The 290 is pretty powerful and it feels it. A slow action throttle is a good place to start. My 290 is well made and reliable and I don't know of any general faults. Re fitting a sherco airbox can be trying though you don't have to remove it to clean the air filter. Some say the back end is a bit wooden compared with a gasser etc but they track well. There are slight changes year on year, the 05 is the last of chome frame models.
