Hi Thumpers! It's time for me to part with my KLR. I like it for street, but my skills off road are noob at best. It's hard to enjoy riding off road when you are screaming like a girl. And the KLR makes me scream like a girl. I think I want a plated dirt bike so I can go learn to ride off-road on a 250 lb. bike. I'm actually avoiding going off road since I dread the thought of fighting the woolly mammoth. That's not where I want to be. The whole idea for me was to go explore dirt trails and to get to places that not a lot of other people get to. Especially for fishing. I want to go fishing off the beaten path. But I have 450 lbs. of bike to contend with and don't want to go it alone. But nobody I know wants to ride to fish. I started looking at Craig's List for KTMs and found that 2009s are going for about $8000 or more. But then I found that some local dealers are taking a lot of the top of the 2013 Husky TE 449. You can get one for under $7800. I guess it's the model year clearance. What's a better choice? A tried and true KTM even if it's 4 years old, or a brand spanking new Husky? I'm not really looking for a brand comparison as much as a informed opinion about if you had x amount of dollars to spend, would you go for the more popular, but older bike, or a brand new bike, just because it's new and you know what you are getting? Being pretty fresh into the motorcycle world I'm not aware of the gotchas involved with new vs. old bikes. Things like parts availability and maintenance. What says you? Cosmo.
If you're looking for a bike to take you fishing, don't get a race bike. Maybe a lower maintenance bike would be better suited to your wants/needs.
I think you can get a better price on a used bike than what you are seeing on CL (last year I picked a used 2010 530 garage queen with both dirt and supermoto for $7k). If you are new to dirt, I'd go for a used bike that I won't mind dropping a few times (maybe many times). BTW, I personally don't find the KTM to be a maintenance monster.
Suggestions? I really want to also start doing some of the organized dual sport rides out here in northern California. Ironman dual sport puts on some pretty cool rides. When I see videos of dual sport rides it seems like 3 out of 4 of the bikes are KTM EXCs. There must be a reason for that.
Agreed. I see cheaper bikes outside of cali. Case in point there is a 2011 TE 449 at a dealer down the street from me for $6999. Same bike in Las Vegas is listed for $4300. Same goes for the KTMs.
Which dual sport rides are you talking about? I've done his Wildwood 400 on a DL650 twice before. His more technical rides are definitely KTM friendly, but can be done on other bikes as well. My suggestion, for what it's worth, is get a DRZ400 that is well set up and taken care of. Use it until/if you want something more technical. If you haven't trashed it, and you bought wisely in the first place, you'll get almost what you paid for it when you sell it. They are great bikes. I would agree with another's statement that if you are interested in pursuing more offroad for maybe the first time, getting something you don't mind dropping in the dirt a bunch is a good idea.
Didn't really mean the ironman rides are hard or gnarly. Just that those are the types of rides I want to do. And I really don't want to do them on a KLR. Man late model DRZs are hard to find. There's a ton of them that are 6 or more years old. But, I'm thinking I would want to get something newer than may 09 KLR.
A DRZ is a totally different animal than a KTM or Husky. You are comparing 20 year old tech/brakes/suspension with the best bikes made today. And no, maintenance is maintenance. In fact, I would consider maintenance on a KTM to be easier because of the engineering that went into it.
I only offered the DRZ as an alternative because of its lower entrance cost, and ability to do most of what I understand you want to do with a bike. Only you can tell if you need/want a bike newer than 2009, or if the bike you want is different than your KLR more so than newer (ie, lighter, more nimble, etc). One of the pros/cons of the DRZ is that they haven't changed in years, so older models are the same as newer ones (to a certain degree). As far as the EXC vs the TE, I'm sorry but I can't provide any worthwhile suggestions.
I personally own a TE449 2013 model. It is a great bike; but you need to understand it is a great deal different than the Japanese bikes and the maintenance schedule is often. Although it is fairly simple maintenance you will need to be diligent about it. There are some simple mods that must be done out of the box brand new. I cannot speak to the KTM ownership but imagine they are similar? For what you have described I would agree with the previous post; get you a gently used DRZ that is well setup and farkled. They are older technology and design but are bulletproof and rock solid reliable. And most of the time a good rider can take that DRZ anywhere a KTM/Husky can go. With all that being said - I love my husky and after the first drop who cares if it was new . I went from a Yamaha WR250x to the husky because I got a TE449 OTD for $5800. Which was cheaper than the DRZ400 brand new and the WR250r brand new. It is higher maintenance but handles great and it much more bike than I will ever be able to fully explore. It is NOT a 80% highway 20% dirt bike; it is NOT a 50% highway 50% dirt bike; it IS a 50% gnarly rock climbing single track 50% fire road, gravel road, dirt trail, forest trail, log hopping, 10 minute paved road connection to trail head, mountain climbing beast! Oh and btw -- she is one sexy redheaded wheel lofting darling!
From the sound it, don't buy either a KTM or a Husky. The Husky is an orphan bike that is dead, that's why they are being blown out by the dealers. KTM bought the company and has killed this model. The motor was designed as a BMW attempt at a race bike, not a casual trail bike. The company is in flux right now and no one beyond the core of the company knows where they're going. KTM's are "born to race", so being a casual trail plunker is not what they're about. Plus, they have some weird design issues with lots of mid-year changes that can make parts hard to identify for the uninitiated. Quality control can be spotty as well, some are great and some are nightmares. I would say DRZ is a sound choice. As stated they are virtually unchanged over the years, so a low mile/well kept older one can be a bargain. I would also suggest something smaller like the WR250, KLX250, or CRF250 (dual sports, not race/off road models). Not the latest greatest technologies, but good solid motorcycles that should deliver what your looking for.
Common misconception. An EXC is perhaps the best quality, lightest casual trail plunker made in the last 15 years. Agree on the quality issues with new models, however. 08, 09 seemed to have to oil transfer issues.
What he said. The DRZ is a fine bike. If you want something generally bulletproof with entry-level components, a DRZ will get you there. Unfortunately, it'll get you there on a heavy platform and once you start getting more into dirt and increasing your offroad skills you'll have to start throwing money at the problem and at best you'll end up with a well-equipped heavy dirtbike. The big difference you'll notice is when you are riding with guys all on lighter bikes with better suspension, all less fatigued than you are doing the same thing. Or, you could go Husky or KTM, get the well-equipped bike out of the gate with a slightly higher cost and drop the extra 40 pounds you'll get with a DRZ. Maintenance on a KTM is a snap - older RFS motors let you do a valve adjustment in a matter of minutes, pulling the carb is a snap, and there's easy access to the air box. I can say from experience that all the terror-filled warnings about KTM maintenance are exaggerations. OTG gave me the same advice years ago - I ignored it, spent some time on a DRZ and ended up going Orange anyway. In the end, you'll spend the same or more that you'd spend on a good used 450 and end up with less bike. My wife has a TE310, and it's a total blast. Light, great power, proper dirt bike with fuel injection. If I could do it all over again I would've been on a 450EXC (xcw) or 250/310 from the get-go.
Kosmokenney, how many miles do you put on your bike every year? When you mention exploring, going fishing ect. I get the impression you putt around a good bit. I know I put 10k miles on my klr in one and a half years and all I did was change the oil (twice) and adjust the valves. If you do that on a ktm you're about half way to a top end rebuild and 11 oil changes in. Not to mention a slew of other parts that need attention (bearings, shocks, ect). If you buy one (which I recommend, I have a 450exc myself) don't get rid of the klr. They both have their place; the klr for exploring, high mile trips ect and the ktm for tearing up the trails after you've found them
I put a lot of miles on the KLR, 7,000 in less than a year. But, I'm going to stop doing that. I want to get my 14 y/o son into dirt bikes, and will be riding mostly weekends with him. On occasion, I'll head out and get down some of the old mining/logging trails to parts of the rivers where nobody but guys on bikes or crazy hikers can get. The KLR is already burning oil -- bad -- so I'm going to have to rebuild it. It went from zero oil consumption between oil changes to a noticeable difference in the sight glass just from my 8 mile round trip commute. Once it's running well, it's gone. And some day I'll pick up a multi-cylinder touring bike. I like the super t or one of the new KTM 1190 ADVs when they aren't new anymore.
Was on the site and thought I'd post with what I ended up doing. I got a 2013 TE 511 from a local dealer. And let me tell you, I feel like the bike rides like mountain bike. Riding mountain bikes is something I've done for 20+ years. So my confidence level is high on this bike. I'm completely enamored with the husky. So glad I did it. Very glad I decided to go for a new bike. A completely different experience from the KLR. The KLR, BTW, was burning oil because one of the piston pin clips came loose and the pin gouged the cylinder wall. That was an expense I didn't need. (Anyone want to buy a newly rebuilt KLR? ... runs great). I also ended up getting my son a 2005 CRF 150 F. That's a neat little bike. After a valve adjustment, it starts on the first kick. Sounds like a burly bike, so it has that coolness factor going on. See on the trails in Foresthill! Honk if you're Husky.
