I don't get that complaining. 500 cycles with 20min driving time in 1 cycle means 165 hours and with 45min a cycle 375 hours. How many engine rebuilds will today's motocross bike need to reach that? Wiring will be totally different too, no generator, spark plug, fuel pump to run etc. Electrical motor has usually only 2 bearings. And complain about fuel pump quality on electrical bike? :huh
You don't have to buy one. Problem solved. I do agree with you though. Spending any money at all on a fuel pump on a bike that run off batteries is truly a waste of $$$. Plus. My guess is that the people who intend to really use the Freeride E, get an extra battery pack so they can get a "full session" att the MX track. Doing so, the longevity of the batteries doubles. And even if they don't buy an extra set of batteries. Try translating 500 cycles into time. I would only have time to ride it on weekends. If I take a spin EVERY weekend, using only one charge (since I'm quite busy and not very fit) I would spend those cycles in what? 10 years? Say I spend two cycles every weekend, or four cycles every other weekend, that's still a long time. How long do people who buy NEW bikes normally tend to keep them?. Yes, I know battery longevity has to do with more things than just cycles, but don't get hung up on the number of cycles. How much cash does one pur into a normal MX bike in terms of service and maintenance? I'm sure that pile of cash is enough to acquire a new set of batteries. Wich in a few years time, most likely will be a much better set of batteries. Now... Let´s get back to the 350!
JohnR (Scotland) sent me this vimeo link - looks and sounds like German/Austrian riders: http://vimeo.com/36618247 <-- Vimeo linky Aluminum skid plate, orange rear sprocket, body and fork plastics, seat, headlight, and taillight/license plate holder are different than KTM's pictures or On Two Wheels Show pictures. I am very impressed with the FR350's snow-going capabilities! I wonder why the brakes were so squeaky?
Interesting that it sounds like they pulled the suspension and all that stuff straight off of the racebikes they build for little kids.
Damn! Those are some VERY squeaky brakes - I thought he was playing with his horn at first but no...:huh
You're right - sorry about that post it was a bit too "diatribic" and not even about the gas model! I was going remove it but it looks like that would be more confusing with the quotes. I am hoping this bike is reliable and rocks - what better bike for the wifey!!
If you have a close look at the freeride images you might realize the Freeride has got some sort of mountainbike brakes attached. These are not at all conventional enduro motocycle brakes (Brembo, Nissin, whatever). Mountainbike brakes might very well produce such noises. Blame it to lightweight :)
The KTM site spec's them as being manufactured by Formula. Formula's are known for being noisy on MTB's. MTN brakes in general are noisy when wet if not set up right. Looks like this will be a moto specific brake though. http://www.formula-italy.com/
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet... but here goes anyway. Just make some calls to a few UK KTM dealers, who said that each official offroad dealer is getting 1x 350 Freeride in mid April, and all the ones in the UK are already pre-sold. The next larger batch will arrive in June/July. Any of you lucky first in the UK want to make £50 and give me a test ride for an hour or two in late April ????
Any other 250-450 bikes come close to the Freeride in specs? Street legal out of box, under 100 kilos, power & gearbox to cruise on the motorway?
I doubt the freeride will cruise on the motorway... not with that teeny weeny front sprocket on it!!! I get the feeling it will in very much the same mold as a CRF230 or a Scorpa T Ride geared for off road absolutely great but do any road work and you'll be close to floggin its guts out at 45 mph
I believe it will be very much like the Scorpa T-ride but with KTM backup of dealers, spare parts and aftermarket parts, and for a change it will be light enough, unlike the T-ride. Which is what I was waiting for and what hold me back getting the Scorpa.
This has a pretty good explanation & comparison of gear ratios (and plenty of other great info) http://rickramsey.net/FR350.htm - down towards the bottom of the page. Quick google comparison: TE610 - 1st 2.615 2nd 1.812 3rd 1.350 4th 1.091 5th 0.916 6th 0.769 FR350 - 1st 2.286 2nd 1.625 3rd 1.250 4th 1.045 5th 0.880 6th 0.769 WR250R - 1st 2.643 2nd 1.813 3rd 1.318 4th 1.040 5th 0.889 6th 0.786 It would appear that if you put the same front & rear sprockets on all 3 bikes, the FR350 would have a pretty darned steep 1st gear, but equal final ratio to the TE610 in 6th. Or am I confused here (most likely).
I think we're saying the same thing. If you had the same front & rear sprockets on the TE & FR cruising along at 5k RPM in 6th gear, you'd be going roughly the same speed. However in 1st gear at 2,000 RPM, the TE would crawl slower than the FR. Obviously not ideal to gear the FR this way for tooling around in the woods.
Since it is so easy to change sprockets, the way I like to look at those #'s is to divide first gear by top gear to get the spread. Thus the TE610 (known for having a wide tranny/ie able to do slow & technical as well as freeway good) has a spread of 3.4 and the Freeride of 2.97. What that means practically is that the 610 will go 3.4X faster in top gear than first gear at the same rpm and the freeride 2.97X faster. That number combined with how big the comfortable and/or useable rpm range is, tells you at what speeds the bike will run good or comfortable. Generally tight transmissions are more competitive, and wide transmissions are more versatile for a wider range of activities. 2.97 is wider than many dual sports out there though of course not as wide as the WRR or TE610.