Disagree. KTM works hard to market their bikes as "ready to race" and veterans on here familiar with the "intense maintenance schedule as compared to a daily driving cage" are used to that and often will honestly say they did nothing to their bike that made it 800 hours before a rebuild, because in their minds "the known fixes" (as hilighted by the "whiners" ) and regular maintenance are considered "nothing". BUT it isn't that obvious to a newbie. At least cut Jim some slack - of course it's great to know how to work on your own bike, but it isn't crazy for the busy person with $ to think that the dealer should know what to do and be able to take care of it for you. By the way, MY WIFE knows KTM only uses carbs in their rally bikes and that they were still running them in the Moroccan rally. Maybe she could do some research for you?
I dunno, pretty much anyone knows when you buy a brand new bike you need to re-jet it, de-smog and do a lot of adjusting and fiddling to get it dialed in right. "Ready to race" means that an EXC can be driven granny-slow through the woods (me) or hit the Hare Scramble circuit. (few of my buddies)
Interesting analysis. THANKS rickypanecatyl. Cost is the main thing holding me back. I have the money, I just do not want to be stupid and immature in how money is spent. And why do some KTM owners (or former) turn into such ????:huh Typical KTM zealots here sound like some religious fanatics. Quite amusing, or puzzling (what is missing in their life that they need to do that anonomously here???):huh the verbal abuse or put down thrown by KTM groupies here. Some fat wuss guy who does not even ride dirt:huh nor owns a KTM posts all over this forum spewing all sort of *expert* bs Then these guys blaming the poor guy who paid so much then the fricken' motorcycle did not work! That sucks, makes KTM and the dealer look bad. Yep, I went in and spent time getting a quote and looking over KTMs. They look FANTASTIC! But I do not think I want to spend that much, I have fun on a much less expensive motorcycle and like it fine. Great if guys like their KTMs or Yamaha, Suzuki, or Kawasaki, whatever, glad you guys like your motorcycles. The aggro/ critical words thrown anonomously here by punks are uneeded- stop wasting you breath.
didn't you already post this once, like 7 posts ago FWIW my 07 450 exc has been a fantastically reliable bike. I think I have close to 7000 all offroad miles on it at this point.
I don't mean to disagree with your use of "fantasically reliable" - it does mean a lot to be able to do 7,000 miles with out any problems. And I think most "Westerners" would be really happy with 7,000 trouble free miles on a dirt bike. However most Asians and many Latins and Africans approach riding differently. The same bike you have fun on, you use to commute to work every day. I'm an American from Washington and at first I wouldn't have thought it was possible to have fun "racing" on CRF230L type bikes but the truth is, it can be pretty fun. They have enduro classes like that where all the competitors are "racing" on their daily rides. WE may end up with 7,000 purely off road miles in a year or two but 5X that many in street miles. I don't want to belittle your experience of 7,000 trouble free dirt miles in any way but the realilty is: 1. 7,000 miles is not many miles. 2. "Dirt miles" are far easier on the engine than street miles (unless of course it's really dusty and you don't have a good filter. For the life of the engine that would probably equate to less than 3,500 freeway miles. I'm not one of those Americans that when I come back home I tell everyone Asia, or Africa or whatever is better. But what I've learned in the world of riding from them is how "poorer" people economically who love to ride can still ride when bikes cost 2X as much. A common dual sport bike in Thailand is the 2 stroke Honda CRM 250. It easily averages 5X the longevity of the average EXC200. All the time I see them running with the clocks broken at 70+k km! And so guys avearaging 1/2 the income can still pay 2X the price for a bike and come out ahead. The point of my earlier thread was hoping that some reading it would see the value in a bike like a KTM 450 EXC but that: Weighed 10 lbs more Was down 5 HP Cost 50% MORE :eek1 BUT would last 10X as long! I'm sure it's buildable if enough people wanted it! It'd be a great idea for long distance adventures, economic hard times as well as us 3rd world countries!
pfft. Everyone (who doesn't own one) knows KTM's are high strung race bikes constantly needing attention.
What was the location of the OP? I'm sure this east v west stuff is deeply fascinating but I'm unsure of it's relevance to this thread. Also, given your past history here with your KTM threads you'll excuse me if I take your comments with a large pinch of ....
OP already got his bike many posts ago remember? My bad experience with the KTM 690 doesn't change the fact you got 7,000 miles on your bike, nor does it change the fact that 70,000 miles is more miles than 7,000 nor does it in any way affect the point of my post. My point was I personally would be willing to pay 50% more money for a "performance" bike slightly up in weight/down in power but lasting 10X longer.
So why not save $2000 and get a Husqvarna Te511? I know reviews for the KTM show it to be top dog, even compared to the Beta, but $2000 can buy a whole lot of accessories.
Yep, looking for some discussion from KTM owners. I have just looked at KTMs and read about them, watch my buddy on his. So THANKS, I like to get some good information rather than hype (FWIW from the interwebs:huh). Like many, this past few months I have been considering which motorcycle and trying to decide...
Well Ricky, your bike was hammered to shit but you got a golden parachute, so why still grind the axe? I don't expect anyone to be responsible for my dirt bike maintenance, it's my job. All my friends, regardless of what they do for a living work on their own bikes, even my friend that's an MBA. Not many dealers know much about what they sell, it's a fact. It's a low volume business, so not many dealers are going to spend the money to train techs. It sucks but that is the reality. I know of two shops that I would trust to work on my stuff, two out of 50..... Is it KTM's fault that the dealer sucks? Maybe but maybe not, go find an independent shop or a better dealer. Does crying on the internet solve your problems? In your case, it sure did but you certainly cried more than most. As usual, the people that don't understand fuel injection are the first to cry about it, while the intelligent folks do some digging and figure it out. Carb or FI..... spark or fuel, you need both......
Well said. Understand how much power your bike has "in reserve" at any given speed, and ride accordingly. I've ridden thousands of highway miles on my 20 horsepower, 5 speed DR200. The WR250R has an extra gear and a lot more power and torque - more than enough to safely ride highway.
Aaron I just stumbled on your 690 build thread this morning and it was excellent! I sure appreciate the info you posted, and respect your tenacity, perseverance and creativity. But I think its unfair to expect the average guy to have to go thru that to get a relialbe bike - or even expect that to be common knowlege. At nearly every breakdown my bike had, I explained honestly to KTM NA how I was using my bike and they insisted the 690 wasn't like the EXC line and could be depended upon for the high miles I was using it for. I don't want to be naive, but at the same time if you don't trust the company selling you the bike you have... if you can't count on what they are saying that's pretty sad! C'mon guys don't take things so personally! Crazy Brit the reason I and probably you are continuing on this thread is that the original topic of the tension between relieability and performance is an important issue even after the OP got his bike and it's worth having intelligent discussion on.
I agree, good point. One note - I'd be surprised of the DR200 has any more than 15 HP. 20 is more than the stock KLX250S. This makes your point even more valid about riding within your (and your bike's) safe working limits.
I didn't think/sense anyone was taking this personally. If you really feel this way, it might be time to quit.
This is so,KTM has to jump through some hoops to get their dirt bikes plated in the US,the tall gearing and wonky jetting are maybe the most obvious. I just like that they do it with out making the bike weigh 320 lbs. If a guy is looking for something to ride around town or mostly street/dirt roads there are many better more casual bikes to be had. Even the FI bikes need another ECU or some trickery to be done to the stock ECU to make them run like a proper dirtbike should,then they're illegal according to the EPA. There's no bike smog check being done currently ,but,there might be at some point though. I do like having what is really a plated race bike with the 530 and any KTM dualpurpose bike,I dont ride it on the street any farther then needed to get to a trail. Some knowledge is needed to make a KTM dual purpose bike run like it should,its the price of admission,all dirt bikes are prone to being fiddled with,I dont mind it. The oil transfer issue is far from prevalent,mostly the 08 bikes had it,pretty rare to have it come up on a newer model.
I have a 2007 450 EXC. I rode it on the CO-OR part of the TAT (2400 miles). Sorry no experience of the new 350/500. [/QUOTE] I'm thinking about doing that same route summer of 2014. Not sure if my KTM 950 is the right bike for as much dirt as possible. I'd love to have a 500 exc, but my wife would love a new kitchen remodel more. What are the roughest areas of the trails/road & is my 950 going to be difficult to manage on the tough sections. I travel as light as possible. Knobby tires.
