Hi All!
I had a chance to ride a KTM for the first time in my life yesterday (took a day off with a buddy) and all I can say is wow and WOW!
As far as a happy comparison to the KDX-220r that I normally ride and a not so happy comparison, the story generally has a happy ending, so no worries for me about immediately jumping the KDX ship! LoL!
His bike is a KTM 450exc and not only was it my first time to really ride any other motorcyle, but it was my first experience with a 4-stroke...
People on this board probably already know from previous postings I've done here that I'm still a very new rider to motorcycles and the KDX-220 was my first ride ever... I got the bike on the recommendations of many here and in other non-kdx forums as being the 2-stroke trail bike to get for a beginner, and so that's what I did, and have been extremely happy since!
My friend and I rode a 7 mile loop a few times before he asked if he could try my KDX (he had a KDX-200 years and years ago and he was enthusiastic about reliving memories :) )
I was a bit hesitant at first, not at all because I didn't trust him on my machine, but because I was nervous that I would biff on HIS! and I was pretty sure from what I've heard that most KTMs are something like double and triple the cost of my KDX... But in the end, he reassured me it was no problem at all and not to worry, and then we made the switch...
Having had only experience with the screaming of the 2-stroke, the Brrrraaap! Brrrrrrrapppp! of the KTM was a little disconcerting at the first, until after only a few seconds, I had this absolute enthusiasm about how smooth, Linear and SURE the bike handled the amazing power! We rode a few of the same laps that we just previously finished and the several short hill climbs were FAR easier on the KTM! The bike tracked straighter (even when the rear wheel broke loose under power), rolled over bumps more smoothly, and simply felt more "sure footed"
Now this was a mild irony to me because my friend on the KDX was tearing it up! Flying up the hills and down, brake sliding into a corner and then roosting epic clouds of dust all the way around off camber corners... and Jumping! I sat off to the side at one water bar and just watched in admiration the KDX in the hands of a real rider as he went around and around getting more air than my bike will probably see with me for years and years! :) He even did a whip on the last jump that looked incredible from the ground :) I only wish I had had a camera because he and I are about the same build and I could post the picture in my office and tell everyone it was me hahaha!
There was one set of acceleration bumps at one location in the lap that I found particularly interesting because for the first time I could really hammer at it at speed on the KTM and feel like I was floating over the tops like people say I was supposed to do... On the KDX I had to slow way down and it ended up hammering me because the bike wandered a bit and made me feel more jostled and nervous even at the slower speeds...
We stopped at one point for a break and I told my friend about the acceleration bump issue and how the bikes compared, and how I was kind fo disappointed, and he told me to hang on and we rode back to that location...
He opened his toolpack and grabbed a small screwdriver and fussed with the compression and rebound settings on the rear shock and the front fork clickers (taking those rubber seals that protect the fork clickers are a PAIN to take off!)
Then he told me to try it on the KDX...
I rode the bumps at the slower speed I normally take on my bike, and it felt about the same... I came back around and my friend was flagging me down... I rode up to him and he made another change to the rebound setting on the rear... I rode it again and this time it felt noticeably smoother! Coming around again and a little excited, he made another adjustment saying "You're rear is packing" whatever the hell that means! LoL!
I rode it with the new settings and amazingly again it felt MUCH better and the bike even felt more sure footed (though not like the KTM) in the section!
I came back and gave my bud a high five! I was pretty ecstatic about the change! He said that at the speed he was riding the section the settings worked for him but at the speed I was going the settings were causing a problem for me... He said that as I got faster (which I feel better about doing now) I would have to fine tune it again, but it was pretty far off for my riding speed and style.
I told him that even with the BIG change, the KTM still felt better everywhere, But he said that was all suspension (and of course the bigger motor) and that his old KDX with tuned suspension in a lot of ways felt better to him than his new KTM especially when he dumped it in the mud and had to pick it up! He said he REALLY missed the KDX then LoL!... That gave me alot to look forward to as far as the former temporary disappointments I had before my bike was set closer to what was correct for me...
He told me that its way too common to see people riding around with suspensions that are simply "Loopy" (He's Australian) for the person riding it, and that's mainly because (like me) they don't know what "good" is supposed to feel like without a comparison and also that its hard to tell what the suspension is doing without someone watching from the side... (he also told me that I might be jetted WAY rich given the smoke trail I was leaving behind heh)
We rode the rest of the day on our own bikes and I felt faster and more confident EVERYWHERE (though my friend still had to blast ahead and then come back numerous times because compared to him I was a snail :) When we got back to the staging area it was fun to listen to him go on and on about how great it was to get back on a KDX again and that he had forgotten how light they feel and how easy they ride...
But all in all it was a GREAT day for learning new things and I'm looking over all the listing for local bike shops to have my suspension redone by experts...
I figure I can spend the extra a KTM would have cost me and do quite a bit of suspension work to the green bike :)
Have a good one all!
Feanor
I had a chance to ride a KTM for the first time in my life yesterday (took a day off with a buddy) and all I can say is wow and WOW!
As far as a happy comparison to the KDX-220r that I normally ride and a not so happy comparison, the story generally has a happy ending, so no worries for me about immediately jumping the KDX ship! LoL!
His bike is a KTM 450exc and not only was it my first time to really ride any other motorcyle, but it was my first experience with a 4-stroke...
People on this board probably already know from previous postings I've done here that I'm still a very new rider to motorcycles and the KDX-220 was my first ride ever... I got the bike on the recommendations of many here and in other non-kdx forums as being the 2-stroke trail bike to get for a beginner, and so that's what I did, and have been extremely happy since!
My friend and I rode a 7 mile loop a few times before he asked if he could try my KDX (he had a KDX-200 years and years ago and he was enthusiastic about reliving memories :) )
I was a bit hesitant at first, not at all because I didn't trust him on my machine, but because I was nervous that I would biff on HIS! and I was pretty sure from what I've heard that most KTMs are something like double and triple the cost of my KDX... But in the end, he reassured me it was no problem at all and not to worry, and then we made the switch...
Having had only experience with the screaming of the 2-stroke, the Brrrraaap! Brrrrrrrapppp! of the KTM was a little disconcerting at the first, until after only a few seconds, I had this absolute enthusiasm about how smooth, Linear and SURE the bike handled the amazing power! We rode a few of the same laps that we just previously finished and the several short hill climbs were FAR easier on the KTM! The bike tracked straighter (even when the rear wheel broke loose under power), rolled over bumps more smoothly, and simply felt more "sure footed"
Now this was a mild irony to me because my friend on the KDX was tearing it up! Flying up the hills and down, brake sliding into a corner and then roosting epic clouds of dust all the way around off camber corners... and Jumping! I sat off to the side at one water bar and just watched in admiration the KDX in the hands of a real rider as he went around and around getting more air than my bike will probably see with me for years and years! :) He even did a whip on the last jump that looked incredible from the ground :) I only wish I had had a camera because he and I are about the same build and I could post the picture in my office and tell everyone it was me hahaha!
There was one set of acceleration bumps at one location in the lap that I found particularly interesting because for the first time I could really hammer at it at speed on the KTM and feel like I was floating over the tops like people say I was supposed to do... On the KDX I had to slow way down and it ended up hammering me because the bike wandered a bit and made me feel more jostled and nervous even at the slower speeds...
We stopped at one point for a break and I told my friend about the acceleration bump issue and how the bikes compared, and how I was kind fo disappointed, and he told me to hang on and we rode back to that location...
He opened his toolpack and grabbed a small screwdriver and fussed with the compression and rebound settings on the rear shock and the front fork clickers (taking those rubber seals that protect the fork clickers are a PAIN to take off!)
Then he told me to try it on the KDX...
I rode the bumps at the slower speed I normally take on my bike, and it felt about the same... I came back around and my friend was flagging me down... I rode up to him and he made another change to the rebound setting on the rear... I rode it again and this time it felt noticeably smoother! Coming around again and a little excited, he made another adjustment saying "You're rear is packing" whatever the hell that means! LoL!
I rode it with the new settings and amazingly again it felt MUCH better and the bike even felt more sure footed (though not like the KTM) in the section!
I came back and gave my bud a high five! I was pretty ecstatic about the change! He said that at the speed he was riding the section the settings worked for him but at the speed I was going the settings were causing a problem for me... He said that as I got faster (which I feel better about doing now) I would have to fine tune it again, but it was pretty far off for my riding speed and style.
I told him that even with the BIG change, the KTM still felt better everywhere, But he said that was all suspension (and of course the bigger motor) and that his old KDX with tuned suspension in a lot of ways felt better to him than his new KTM especially when he dumped it in the mud and had to pick it up! He said he REALLY missed the KDX then LoL!... That gave me alot to look forward to as far as the former temporary disappointments I had before my bike was set closer to what was correct for me...
He told me that its way too common to see people riding around with suspensions that are simply "Loopy" (He's Australian) for the person riding it, and that's mainly because (like me) they don't know what "good" is supposed to feel like without a comparison and also that its hard to tell what the suspension is doing without someone watching from the side... (he also told me that I might be jetted WAY rich given the smoke trail I was leaving behind heh)
We rode the rest of the day on our own bikes and I felt faster and more confident EVERYWHERE (though my friend still had to blast ahead and then come back numerous times because compared to him I was a snail :) When we got back to the staging area it was fun to listen to him go on and on about how great it was to get back on a KDX again and that he had forgotten how light they feel and how easy they ride...
But all in all it was a GREAT day for learning new things and I'm looking over all the listing for local bike shops to have my suspension redone by experts...
I figure I can spend the extra a KTM would have cost me and do quite a bit of suspension work to the green bike :)
Have a good one all!
Feanor