So I biffed my versys at slap last week. Had a blast but it took me back to Slap 2011. I had a yz450. I want a Dirt only bike again. Sure I can ride with the best on the Versys but it earns income and i dont want to thrash it anymore. Ive had a Klr and this is way under powered. I want something with Yz250/450 power but able to ride some street. Any opinions? I thought about the 450 but it ran with high heat which is a characteristic of that engine I dont care for.
The main advantage of the KTM EXCs and Husaberg FEs is that they have a wide ratio 6 speed gearbox, which means that you can crawl along at walking speeds on a difficult trail and then still cruise at 70 on the highway. 03-07 and 09+ models are basically all very reliable.
Well,how can it be dirt only but still want to ride some street? A KLR isnt even related to a dirtbike by marriage or inbreeding or anything really. "The 450" What does this mean? There are about 12 different 450's on the market,none prone to overheating. Maybe get an education about dirtbikes,read some magazines and see whats out there. Any good 450 or 530/525/500 KTM will make more power then any sane person can use regularly.
+1 Definitely the KTM EXC's, and the Husaberg FE's. Can't be beat in the woods, and very capable on the hardtop.
Maybe a education in Reading would help YYFF. As I stated in my first post I had a Yz450 and never did I make a comment that the Yz450 and KLR where remotely similar. I said that I had a KLR which was shit on power and I also had a YZ450 that overheated in woods riding. This is a common problem with 450s so maybe you need a motorcycle education you F===ing idiot, even the ktm525 overheats in woods riding but like i said KTM is still smart enough to offer a solution. Im hopped up on pain meds typing with one hand and still pay attention better than you.
Dirtdragger i dont know where you live but here in Arkansas in the middle of summer on a engine that puts out as much heat as the YZ450 doesnt take long for the bike to start pissing when your going slow through the technical stuff.
ya, go 2T. you did say "offroad only" (although i did boil my ktm 200 once on an extremely long hillclimb, so they're not 100% immune)
I did say off road only. because thats its only purpose for rallys like SLAP. But lets not get to technical your bound to hit the slab at some point even if its momentary. Hell I rode the YZ450 all over the ozarks none plated. Any bike will stay cooler driving down the road than a bike being rev'ed in the woods climbing hills as you said and its in those conditions i need my next bike to be reliable.
Why ride a Versys or KLR on a dirt-focused ride? There are MANY dualsport options that are more dirt-focused. KTM, Husky, Husy, Honda, Suzuki, and others offer several plateable bikes that are more dirt-capable. You don't want overheating? DR650. Improve suspension and power. Ride the hell out of it. Otherwise, go dirtier and let it cool off occasionally.
I rode a klr because that's what I was introduced to when I was also introduced ADV. Everyone said get a klr but I absolutely hated it and blew the motor at about 1500 and that was the end of that. I ride the versys on forest roads and some double track for the challenge of taking a heavy bike through those conditions. But as I said I earn money on the versys as a funeral escort and it needs to be able to meet my customers demands when they call. I've been on dirt bikes from the time I was six on. Raced Mx/hare scramble never seriously but I choose the yz450 and it wasn't the best choice I constantly would be left on the side of the trail because the bike decided to take a piss. So I created this thread to see what my options are on getting a bike with MX bike power/weight back in the woods without it pissing on me. I new a guy from the races with the ktm350 that could idle past the ten min mark. Hell that Yz would of been seized up at five. But in all fairness it wasn't designed for that ether. I'll trailer it to where I ride even if its on pavement at a rally at some point. The klr killed my want to adventure on a single until I do the TAT from start to finish at which point it will probably be a Dr650 dressed and farkled and then it will be sold.
I have to second the plated KTM two stroke for a pure woods weapon. A complete engine rebuilt costs almost nothing, they don't break, they are extremely light weight and they are rockets. The down side is they vibrate and they suck fuel. But at least they convert all that gas into grins.
depends if you want mad torque or not. i personally loved my 200, and thought the 300 was quite a handful offroad. but, if you liked your 450, that may be the one for you. (i think i remember reading somewhere that the 300 tended to overheat more than the 250, just a bigger bore with the same radiator capacity) someone famous also said that all the 300 did better than the 250 was vibrate? and for gas you have choices of 2 gallons all the way up to 6.X gallons. modular, dude.
That's pretty much it. If you like to loaf on midrange and still have some punch the 300 can do it. The 200 can do slow but doesn't have much punch there. If you want to go fast on the 200 you need to be all in all the time. Believe it or not there isn't a lot of horsepower difference between the two. It is more about torque and where you find that power. So you can gear the 300 up for better road use without losing as much offroad. But as a point and shoot woods weapon where speeds are generally below 50 mph the 200 is hard to beat. I am keeping my eyes open for a 300 for two track fun. But my 200 is so feather light and so quick I am still on the fence. A 250 might be the perfect split. I just don't know much about them. Everybody around here seems to gravitate to the 200 or 300. I rarely see 250's on CL.
