Ride Report - 2002 KTM 200 EXC

[stormi]

Alright! I picked up the bike on Saturday, and got a chance to hop on it on Sunday for about 1 1/2 hrs. We did no setup to the bike at all, so this report is it bone stock.

First impressions:
Holy CRAP this thing is more powerful than the TTR!
:ohmy:
I'm definately going to need the sag set. And possibly the (extremely hard) seat cut down ( MAN do I ever feel short on this bike!) Thank goodness that the picnic table was there! I'd never have gotten it started!

Kicking it over is much harder than the TTR,.. to be expected I guess. Due to the height/weight, I can't just lean it to start it, so I have to find something to stand on to start it. This hopefully will be rectified by the seat and sag modifications.

First gear is certainly opinionated. The throttle response is very touchy, and the engine is very responsive, so I found myself lurching about the parking lot for the first couple of laps. Second is much easier to ride.

Once I get it moving, and in second gear, it's amazingly easy to handle. It's easy to lean and corner with and it's surprisingly ( to me anyway) nimble. I found myself leaning the bike and doing tighter circles on it than I did the last time that I rode the TTR within the first hour. Of course the turns happen alarmingly fast if your throttle control is less than awesome. :)

The controls, bars, levers, and tension on the clutch and brake will need to be set to be a little friendlier for me, since my hands aren't exceptionally strong anymore. (too many years as a computer geek.) The rear brake might benefit from being pushed out a little for me, since I missed it a couple of times at critical junctions of my ride. This all seems minor. The BF seems to think I'm feeling a great deal of the differences because I'm going from a play bike to a full sized bike.

Now,.. I ventured onto one of the tracks once during our time there. I was slowly puttering along, since is was a new track (to me) and a new bike. There was no one else on the track other than the BF when I started. I was nearly done the lap when he yelled at me to let me know that there was another rider on the track, and he was FAST,.... I was on a downhill and I turned my head when I heard him and tried to hit the brakes. I missed the rear brake repeatedly, so automatically grabbed for the front brake, since I was used to the TTR, I didn't expect much. The rear wheel came up. I threw all my weight back to stop the bike from going over me and I bailed into the side of the trail, but remained on the bike. Unfortunately, I stalled it. After the other rider was gone, I rolled it down the hill and tried to bump start it, no go, but at least I got to the bottom of the hill and could try to start it again. No go,.. too short. :| So the BF started it and off I went. Unfortunately, I didn't have my head about me, so when I found myself rolling too fast up a jump,.. I panicked and hit the brake again. Down I went. One spill, not too bad. I picked the bike up, and rolled it off the track. I spent the rest of the time in the parking lot puttering about. My pride a little hurt, but my body relatively uninjured. :thumb:
Might have been all the padding! I counted, I had 5 layers on, since it was pretty cold out. In fact, it started snowing just as we were loading up to leave. And it's snowed everyday since in Bon Accord. *sigh*

Will post some pictures soon to here

 

[firecracker22]

I hear ya on the brake incident--I went from an XR to the KTM! It sucks but you will get used to it. Try keeping only one finger on the lever--you're less likely to squeeze it too hard that way.

Setting the sag will help a lot, as will getting used to the kicking procedure too.

Re 1st gear: I rarely use it even for starting. Practice a little on the clutch, and the only time you will need it is for getting re-started on a hill or something. I even use second for race starts, and while I suck at racing, I can usually take off in the front 1/3rd or so of the pack. If you would rather change the gearing to make 1st more usable, you can, but it will make 2nd taller.

As for bars, I have Tag T2 Mini Hi bend handlebars on mine. They are the tapered style (now I think yours should have had tapered bars stock? Or do they still put crossbar-style bars on the 200Es?) Anyway the bend is way narrow, and way tall. I love it. Most guys hate it. Another similar bend (tall, narrow) is the Dick Burleson bend offered by Moose (I think it was--maybe MSR?). Women have narrower shoulders, thus narrower bars let us apply more of our upper body strength to the bike. I tried the Enduro Engineering clutch lever and it made it slightly easier to pull, you can give one of those a shot, or if the clutch is still too stiff you can put CR 125 clutch springs inside to make it a lighter pull.

Concerning the seat, are you going to cut it down? I've never messed with mine but I'm told that drilling holes through the foam will make it softer.

Keep an eye on the kickstarter bolt, brake pedal bolt and the bolts on the handlebars. When my bike was new, these would rattle themselves loose over time. In fact the brake pedal one still does. Get a brake snake (easy to make) for your rear brake--it will keep it from being torn off or bent by a rock. It's just a piece of thin metal cable with a loop at either end and you put one loop around the brake pedal and crimp the end together, and the other end around your frame and crimp that together. I know that Moose or MSR or someone makes them for about 10 bucks but you could buy the stuff and make one once you saw a picture of how simple they are.

 

[GETMETOCA]

Hey I missed this report!! Glad to see you're getting some new thrills.

 

[srellis]

Hey I missed this report!!

I missed it too! Now get back on the TTR!!! It will feel like a tricycle :laugh:

I can't stand to get back on it after riding my CRF...
Susan

 

[firecracker22]

I can't stand to get back on it after riding my CRF...

Tell me more about the CRF! I want one (I mean I want my boyfriend to buy one so I can ride it too :clue: ) How does it handle? Start? I'm sure it has plenty of horsepower, but I want to know what it feels like. Have you ever ridden a Yamaha 250F? Can you compare the two?

 

[stormi]

It's ok,.. I've been terribly tied up with work, and a little laid up anyway. Sorry for the late response as well.

We'll definately look into the tapered bars. No, mine is a 2002 so it's got the "old" bars.

The fear I have about keeping only one finger on the brake is,... my hands aren't exceptionally strong anymore, I might not stop! Perhaps one of those squeezy things the "body builders" like to play with might be in order. :)

Most of the "problems" that I am having with the bike seem to be setup or "human adjustment" issues, so I'm sure that it will get easier with time.

I think we will be modifying the seat foam a little. The BF figures there's likely "guts" seat foam in my future though. I saw something on ktmtalk about drilling holes in it, perhaps we'll try that first. All I know is that it hurt worse than hopping on the mountain bike after a full winter off it and trying to ride the mountains all day!

Thanks for the tip on the bolts. I think we'll be going over the bike with a tube of locktite before too long. I found a "tutorial" on making a brake snake here: http://www.thumperfaq.com/brake_snake.htm if anyone is interested.

I was thinking of taking the TTR out and "training" one of our dogs with it. :) She has soo much energy and loves to run, I thought I might grab a really long lead and "put put" about on it. (Since I suspect it will feel "scooter" speed now.) Maybe eventually, (when she leaves puppyhood and the brain stem starts to develop!) we can start having her around on some of our shorter rides! I thought about doing it with the KTM, but it's slowest seems like double put speed, and I'm not sure even THIS dog could manage that! :)

 

[srellis]

Mine is the X model with the electric start. It starts the first one or two pushes!!! I'm too short to use the kickstarter.

I've not ridden a YZF, but I LOVE this bike!!! I tried several 2 strokes but felt very uncomfortable with the pipey powerbands. This bike is very smooth with no hit as I turn the throttle. I'm not saying it has no power because this bike can really get going. It's very predictable. It only took me a few laps on the track to get comfortable.

Even though it is heavy it doesn't feel that way on the track. Since I'm used to a smaller wheelbase on the TTR, I have some trouble in slow corners, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon. When I was bike shopping I was given a really good price on a KTM 200SX and almost went for it. But I'm glad I waited. I'm a pretty conservative rider and this was the perfect step up for me. At 38, I don't know that I will be too serious at MX for much longer and this bike is great for trails.

Best of luck Stormi!!!
My CRF has a gripper seat. Boy, hot, sweaty body on a gripper seat for extended periods of time and... :moon:

 

[firecracker22]

It sounds really nice--I would like to try one. Not sure if I can talk Keith into one yet. He's ridden a couple 2/S 250s and one 4/S 450 so he thinks he wants something bigger. We'll see if I can change his mind.

Stormi, sounds like you are adapting really well! If you want the tapered bars, you can get a replacement bar mount set since KTMs have separate bar mount pieces (some bikes have the bar mounts as part of the clamps, so you either have to get a big adapter or all new clamps) I think I got mine from Enduro Engineering. I'd look into either the Moose Flex Burleson bend or any brand Mini Hi bend or something like it. The narrower bars are better for gals as well as being nice and narrow for in the trees.

I kept meaning to soften my seat foam, and just never got around to it (didn't want to take the seat cover off then have to worry about getting it to line up again) and now I'm used to it. Just tell yourself it will help remind you to stand up more. I know how you feel though, there's been days where my rear end hurt worse than it ever did after a paddlin' from my parents!

 

[TwistNShout]

Congrats on the new bike! :-)

 

[MelloYello]

Perhaps one of those squeezy things the "body builders" like to play with might be in order. :)

Most guys (not just body builders) like to play with those things.:laugh:

As for the seat, changing the cover may help with the hardness. The stock vinyl cover makes the seat feel doubly hard. My brother's got a 2002 KTM and changed to an Enduro Engineering gripper seat cover and it feels noticeably less brick-like. And if you do drill holes, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to go all the way through. Maybe half way?

Good luck.:thumb:

 

[stormi]

The interesting thing about all of this, is that I wasn't on the seat that much. Ok,.. more than I would be on the TTR, but I was quickly standing and stuff for at least short periods. I was practicing the stuff in this article: http://www.msgroup.org/TIP007.html
That seat did it's nastiness in very little time. :)

We will definately look at a gripper seat cover, I think the guy that sold the bike to us mentioned one as well. No, the holes don't go all the way through. I think we'll shave it a little first, so I can hopefully get both feet closer to the ground once the sag is set, and then try out drilling the holes a bit. Anything to give my poor rump a break!

I think, despite the fact that we got another dusting of snow today :( (10C on Wed and snow thurs and fri, what a messed up place!), that we will try to set some stuff on the bike for me to try it out this weekend. That way, once we can ride, there's not a lot of time lost to "adjustment". July's coming fast, and we're also going to try for a trip to Brule at the beginning of June, so I've got to get cracking on getting a handle on this bike. I want to at least be able to start it without needing the assistance of a picnic table. ;)

Well, off to the store to pick up a "squeezy" thing.

 

[MrLuckey]

Stormi, if setting the sag and cutting the seat doesn't quite get it to the height you need you can also cut about 5mm out of the subframe. Aimee's 200 had it done and it lowered the rear of the seat ~3/4".

Sharla - loctite girl.

 

[dirty~d~]

Sounds like you had a great time Stormi. Congrats on the new bike! :yeehaw: Once the bike is adjusted to fit you things will be a lot easier. I look forward to more ride reports. :thumb:

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

Congrats on the first ride!!! Sounds like your adapting to it really fast!! I'm hoping to take the KDX for a spin for the the first time since last fall tomorrow!!! Your KTM sounds like an awesome bike, glad you like it!!!!

 

[stormi]

Most guys (not just body builders) like to play with those things.:laugh:

Boy! You're not kidding! I picked up a set today, and had 3 guys in the truck, and all of them felt the need to play with them!! What is it about them?

On a side note, now that the BF realises how weak my hands are ( can compress them with both hands but barely with one hand) he says it's a good thing I have leg muscles, or I'd be off the bike a lot more! He had no idea!

 

[stormi]

Stormi, if setting the sag and cutting the seat doesn't quite get it to the height you need you can also cut about 5mm out of the subframe. Aimee's 200 had it done and it lowered the rear of the seat ~3/4".

Sharla - loctite girl.

See, now,.. perhaps I'm still pretty new to this stuff, but it seems to me that modifying the subframe is a pretty major undertaking! I suppose in the end if we have to, we might consider it, but I am going to try to get used to handling the bike without having it cut down. Cutting the subframe seems so drastic! It's been mentioned to me a couple of times now though. Out of curiousity, what kind of cost is involved in that?

 

[stormi]

Once the bike is adjusted to fit you things will be a lot easier. I look forward to more ride reports. :thumb:

Man! I sure hope so! The ride reports are fun to post, if only so that I can share my shame in some of the things I do with people who understand. ;) Most of my friends don't get it. One of them today asked if I've ever considered a safer hobby,.. like horseback riding. LOL! This from someone who got tossed off a horse 2 summers ago!

 

[stormi]

Congrats on the first ride!!! Sounds like your adapting to it really fast!! I'm hoping to take the KDX for a spin for the the first time since last fall tomorrow!!! Your KTM sounds like an awesome bike, glad you like it!!!!

Wow! Would ya look at me! Answer girl! :)

Thanks! I did have a bunch of fun. I was a little intimidated at first, because it's so much bigger than the TTR, and so much more powerful, but once I figured out that second gear was a better friend than first, the adjustment began. :) Before that it was holding on for dear life. The adjustment weekend might be off though,... it started snowing at 6pm and hasn't stopped yet. *sigh* It'll be interesting to see what the second ride is like. You're in Kelowna too aren't you? How's the riding there? My aunt lives there, and said there's still some snow, and that she didn't know where some of you must be riding!

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

Me Kelowna?? Nope, I'm from Alberta. Going from a TTR to the KTM must have been crazy to get used to, I know going from an XR to KDX seemed weird enough to me..lol.

 

[stormi]

Me Kelowna?? Nope, I'm from Alberta. Going from a TTR to the KTM must have been crazy to get used to, I know going from an XR to KDX seemed weird enough to me..lol.

Really?? Which part of Alberta? Central? South? I'm guessing south! As for the getting used to the KTM,... I'll let you know how crazy once it happens. So far, one ride, and it's a toss up as to who won. :)

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

You'll get used to it, it'll just take some time, as its a totally different bike than your TTR. Hopefully the weather will improve and you can get some more riding time on it.

 

[pinball]

Went riding again for the 3rd sunday in a row ,out in Bear creek ,just out side of Kelowna ! Just thought I` d rub it in .

 

[stormi]

Went riding again for the 3rd sunday in a row ,out in Bear creek ,just out side of Kelowna ! Just thought I` d rub it in .

Geee,.. thanks! :) And here we were with snow til yesterday,.. now interestingly enough, it's melting like crazy. Perhaps I should just learn to ride in the snow...

 

[stormi]

You'll get used to it, it'll just take some time, as its a totally different bike than your TTR.

I've noticed that. The TTR can be a "leisurely" ride, but the KTM sure doesn't feel that way. Everything from the starting procedure and on is different. Of course, some of my opinion may change once the bike is setup for my height (or lack thereof) :laugh:

On a good note, I've been playing with that squeezy thing, and my hands are already getting stronger. I can actually accomplish compression! :)

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

I actually got to take my bike out for a spin two days ago, and it was awesome!! I was out for about 2 and a half hours just running through the ditches, fields and backroads. By the time I got back I was freezing cold, the weather went sour in a hurry...lol!!!