Looking to Replace YZ400F with 300EXC

[enmerdeur]

Ok. I currently own a 99' YZ400F that I have outfitted for off road. I really like the power of the bike. I ride about 50/50 desert/trail out here in Utah. I have made some off road mods to the YZF (skid plate/fly wheel weight/large tank/hand guards, etc.).

There are four things that I don't like about it:

1.Handling in the open desert is great but get it on the tight trails of the Wasatch Mountains and it can become a hand full.

2. The suspension is very unforgiving on the trails. Again in the desert it works pretty well. I know this could be fixed with a re-valve so this is not as big of an issue.

3. In the tight stuff it is easy to stall even with the 10 oz. fly wheel and after wrestling with the weight I am sometimes too pooped to start the thing.

4. To get decent performance it has to be loud. I have tried to use different quiet cores, etc. but they all impact performance to an unacceptable level. I understand the EXC’s are quiet.

I went to my local KTM shop and sat on the 300 EXC and liked the feel of it.

My question is do you think the 300 would be a more versatile mount for the type of riding I do (I do not race)?

Would I be giving anything up with the 300?

Be honest. Remember, this is for posterity. :D

 

[Douglas]

Our riding area is a lot like yours, we ride high desert, mountains, and very rocky technical trails in Tecate B.C. I had a YZ 400 for a couple of years and I really liked it, I kept it stock except for revalving F&R. I never liked the steering in the tight stuff. great motor. I then got an '01 400 EXC and across the board....I like it better probably than any motorcycle I've ever owned, it does everything well. Lately I have been riding an '01 300 EXC, everything the YZ 400 isn't, the 300 is. An amazingly capable motorcycle with an engine that will get down and drag you through even though you did it wrong, and will get up and run with the best of the open classers. I can't find fault with it either KTM. I have a hard time deciding which bike to ride. I would say that the 300 EXC will outperform the YZ 400 in every way, you can't go wrong......Light, fast, strong, forgiving, and starts first kick everytime!

 

[kevan]

300exc

Hi....i ,like you had a wr400,great bike but too get it to fly you need a pipe
and even with the big torque/power gain the noise wae unexeptable...
now have a 2000 exc 300.....plus points.......love the light weight,brakes
are blinding easy starting great mid/top end power...simple to work on
downside........IT IS A BITCH to get the jetting right.......
following help from forum members Its better but still nowwhere near right
off the bottom..........
If the jetting is sorted I can't think of a better alround bike
try too get a 2001 from the posting here and elsewhere, these seem the best
bet,as they come with the 6.5 slide from new.

 

[PTCruiser]

I too, like Douglas, traded in a 400WR for the 400EXC and fell in love with that new scoot. Kept it for a year and a-half and now I have the 300EXC. I'd forgotten how light these 2-strokes are! And the power's awesome.....

 

[enmerdeur]

Thanks

You people are great. Thanks for the wealth of information. It is decided I am going to get the 300. Now the last decision, EXC or MXC.

 

[PhastPhart]

EXC. You get the lower first gear and the higher 5th gear. The 300 has plenty of power to pull the wider spacing. The headlight is just a bonus. Makes it a much more versitile trail bike.

 

[OrangeCrush]

what's not to like???

Glad to hear your going with the KTM , I just bought the last O1 300 exc our dealer had. Now that I've had it on the trail for a few tank fulls I don't know why I ever bought that porky DRZ 400 I just finally got rid of HE HE! Have fun with your new bike I know you'll love every twist of the throttle!:D