If you are in true technical single where 150-300 2st reign supreme you are not wrong. A 501 can do it but a little slower and it takes more out of the pilot. If and when it opens up of course is another story where the 501 can reach terrifying speeds. I love the 501 because the engine is so forgiving, you barely have to shift lol.
Poor choice of words. You are looking at 13k for the bike and most of us spend thousands more to farkle the up. Takes commitment to do so. My drz was one of the least reliable bikes I have ever had. My five Austrian bikes among the most reliable. Change the fluids and filters and they last a long time.
I'd like to ride the 2020+ 500's and 350's back to back. I had a 2016 500, so older gen, but thought that engine was amazing for single track and with the modern bikes losing so much weight....I actually think the 500's may be the better bikes for tighter woods simply due to the nature of their power. Overall HP between the 350's and 500's is about 3-4, with the 500's having a lot more low end.....kinda like comparing a 250 2t to a 300 2t, many guys prefer the 250's for the higher speed stuff. Obviously when uncorked things get more interesting....
Yeah mine is a 2018 so what 2 generations old from the current?. It is better than the 2016s> in the tight stuff but not as good as the 2019+s. In reality a nice 200 2stroke in a 200lb package would be great.
After many street/adventure bikes, I got a WR250R ( not the 250F ), sticking my toe in the dirt bike pond. Rode trails at all the NorCal OHV’s near where I lived at the time. Loved it, great bike. After a couple years I wanted more power and better suspension and bought a KTM 350excf, then another orange, then another orange... Not sure of your skill level, but the WR was a great, trouble free low maintenance “gateway” bike.
Agree with much of the advice given. As a beginner that isn't so good on maintenance, stick with a proven Japanese bike. Buy used and older that is mechanically sound because you will drop it, slip the clutch when you don't mean to and other abusive beginner things. That's ok though. Get it figured out on the cheap and if you love it, the FE will be waiting for you then.
Hi, I want to temporarily switch to a number plate up front for my 2020 FE350s. For the key, can I just wire a couple pins to a switch up front instead of the key cylinder? Or will I need to figure out a bracket to hold the key cylinder? I saw a sicass piece that goes under the seat and requires a different start stop switch. They also said it may require a reflash of my vortex to work correctly. I’d rather avoid all that hassle if possible and just replace the key cylinder with a switch if possible. thanks
There's a dongle that's required since there's a difference in terms of how the fuel pump is activated between the "S" and non-S models. Slavens sells it. Link: https://slavensracing.com/shop/key-switch-eliminator-plug-17-18-ktm-hqv-sicass-racing/ Not sure if your stock start / kill switches will work - although I can't imagine why they would need to change. I'll let someone else chime in.
You really don’t need a switch. Unplug the lead from the key cylinder. Find the always hot wire coming from the bike in that connector. Jumper from it to the one that causes bike to act like key is on. Or buy a ready made up dongle.
Yeah I realize I don’t need the switch. I should have clarified I like the idea of a hidden switch as a minor theft deterrent. here are the instructions I was reading. They don’t really seem to address newer than 2019. http://sicassracing.com/inst_files/26-234.pdf i don’t have to have the hidden switch though. If that sicass piece works with a vortex on a 2020 FE350s I might just use it since it’s so convenient does anyone know if the sicass dongle works on the 20 FE350s ?
Went for a late afternoon ride today, got some practice riding steeper large loose rock strewn trails / former forest service roads. Think the 501S is just as good or even a little better than my former TXC250 that had a Recluse clutch in this type of riding. The 501S still has stock sprockets (14/48) but the Dunlop EN91 tires are soft enough to get good grip on the rocks and underlying soil.
Well more Magura BS. Replaced the slave soon after buying in 2018 and today at 104 hours the master decided to crap the bed. Wonderful. The inner bladder on the reservoir is swollen. I am convinced that the Magura rubber bits are not 100% compatible with brake fluid. Going to try the All Balls Master rebuild kit. Anyone with tips or wisdom?
Good luck , I find I have to change the brake fluid quite often on my 17 the lever action seems to get mushy after 3,000 k I like to think I don’t use the brakes much , as I use a lot of engine braking but for sure use the front brake more then the rear , just built a couple side plates for my far North tail rack one to hold rotopax 2 gallon , and one for camp gear on the exhaust side , of which I have lost 2 Rotopax in the bush even tied down with Rotopax hardware and fasteners , so I went to a 5/16” bolt with a Nyla nut to hold the sucker down so hopefully this will work , Rotopax 1/4” wing nut would just snap off , I have been moto camping every weekend so having appropriate tie downs will make packing and unpacking easier , all the best with your new 2018
Oh shit sorry getting old and my dyslexia kicking in I use the Rekluse on both my bikes no issues with them , but that is probably a swear word to you as you do more technical riding
I have a Rekluse that was damaged because of a chain break , however, I still used it for 6 months , and I will find the old original give me a address
Magura sent me a piston last year and said they had not had any failures with the updated part. It failed about 2 weeks ago. I order the KTM piston which is a different design. It only has a simple oring for a seal. We'll see, I don't know of any KTM failures. Rocky Mt ATV about $60 bucks.
I think I may have solved or accidentally adjusted away my suspension woes. Right now I'm about 18 clicks out on fork rebound, one in from all the way out on compression, +1 on the preload adjuster. I also bled each fork, nothing out of the compression side, but I did get some air out of the rebound side. Shock is basically all the way out on high and low speed compression. It's feeling pretty plush now, I need to do a longer ride to confirm that for other surfaces. If it's good enough I'll start dialing some compression back in. I really don't like the seat concepts comfort tall seat. It's hardly taller than stock and feels really hard. I'm thinking about biting the bullet and having a renazco seat made. Something even taller and hopefully a little softer. If I can get even an inch more distance between seat and foot pegs I'll be in heaven.
Glad that’s working for you. I could be wrong. But with compression backed all the way off, sounds like you’re dealing with a spring rate problem. There is a common misconception that going to a stiffer spring, right for your weight, will make for a harsher ride. Just the opposite is the case. The stiffer spring will keep the shock/forks operating in the right range to match dampening. Apologies if I missed the mark on your setup. FWIW