2012 KTM 350 freeride

[randel]

Originally Posted by rickypanecatyl

Uugghh!! Read the article and realized why I'm so pissed at KTM and why they make such crap products!



18650's will not get close to 1000 or 500 FULL cycles... they noticeably deteriorate after 50 with less capacity.

Remember the old saying shoot for the stars and hit the top of the flagpole; shoot for the top of the flagpole and only get a foot off the ground. These are piss poor low standards to be shooting for reliability and longevity wise.

Of course KTM makes products with great suspension, and great power to weight ratio's and fun to ride (while they are running) compared to products 2 decades ago but the products of 2-3 decades ago lasted better! I recently saw a Honda CRM250 with 73k km on the clock and the clock was broken!
The deeper issue is KTM THINKS the batteries will only last 500 cycles so they are probably designing the rest of the bike around that ie not wasting money on good wiring that will last, good bearings that will last, fuel pumps that will last. And the main issue is us! The consumers who don't care/or demand reliability/longevity in the products we buy. We foolishly beg for the price to be lower, get a lower price along with a "fun while it lasts" but piss poor product on the inside. We waste massive $ on repairs, multiple bikes etc for that reason!

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?

[Mackan]

Originally Posted by rickypanecatyl

Uugghh!! Read the article and realized why I'm so pissed at KTM and why they make such crap products!



18650's will not get close to 1000 or 500 FULL cycles... they noticeably deteriorate after 50 with less capacity.

Remember the old saying shoot for the stars and hit the top of the flagpole; shoot for the top of the flagpole and only get a foot off the ground. These are piss poor low standards to be shooting for reliability and longevity wise.

Of course KTM makes products with great suspension, and great power to weight ratio's and fun to ride (while they are running) compared to products 2 decades ago but the products of 2-3 decades ago lasted better! I recently saw a Honda CRM250 with 73k km on the clock and the clock was broken!
The deeper issue is KTM THINKS the batteries will only last 500 cycles so they are probably designing the rest of the bike around that ie not wasting money on good wiring that will last, good bearings that will last, fuel pumps that will last. And the main issue is us! The consumers who don't care/or demand reliability/longevity in the products we buy. We foolishly beg for the price to be lower, get a lower price along with a "fun while it lasts" but piss poor product on the inside. We waste massive $ on repairs, multiple bikes etc for that reason!

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!

[ramz]

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?

[jesusgatos]

Interesting that it sounds like they pulled the suspension and all that stuff straight off of the racebikes they build for little kids.

[scottmac]

Originally Posted by ramz

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?

Damn!

Those are some VERY squeaky brakes - I thought he was playing with his horn at first
but no...

[rickypanecatyl]

Originally Posted by jesusgatos

Oh, fawk directly off with all that shit. Asshole.

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!!

[flatboarder]

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 :)

[VxZeroKnots]

Originally Posted by flatboarder

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/

[Muggins]

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 ????

[MexMex]

KTM official presentation will be in Morocco within 3 weeks. Can't wait!

[Muggins]

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?

[wide]

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

[MexMex]

Originally Posted by wide

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.

[Muggins]

Originally Posted by MexMex

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).

[jesusgatos]

No, based on those numbers, the FR350 actually has a tighter spread than both of those other bikes.