Quote:
Originally Posted by Finesse
@ subxero YES FINALLY. Someone I completely trust and who knows me, my riding, and my budget very well told me to stay away from the 150s and go with the bigger motor because a) it has better low end grunt and b) you won't have to wind it up so much to get the power when you need it.
I'm going to look at a 2015 Freeride 250R on Thursday. I got along very well with that bike at the Hammer Run and I think it would make a great single track partner. Some of the things I've been hearing about the Betas are real scary - notably that they have an issue with the throttle slide sticking and the throttle will suddenly be wide open and the kill switch doesn't work in that case. They are also $8400 out the door and I can't find a used one under $7000. I just don't have the money and I really want to get a couple months under my belt getting used to a new bike before I do any serious rides.
I've stayed away from KTM because their bikes are huge and "ready to race" (aka not mellow, I like mellow) but the Freeride seems to be an exception and was actually super easy to handle and much much more fun and easy than my KLX pig. Plus it's got a 36 inch seat height (everything else is 38) and weighs even less than the X trainer at 202lb - that's what my DRZ 125 weighs!  |
I wouldn't worry too much about the beta carb and sticking WOT. Pretty sure the beta uses a keihin pwk style carb, they are the best. Stuck WOT issues are typically mechanical issue, grips put on wrong, cable poorly routed, dirt causing slide to stick, clogged pinched vent lines. I'm sure if it has happened on a few bikes someone has figured out the issue and has an easy fix for prevention
KTM advertises "ready to race" but their bikes especially their 2 strokes are pretty tame and often come with adjustments to make the power delivery just how you want it. For example i think all the 2 stroke bikes 125 -300cc no matter the model all have an adjustable power valve with 2 modes of adjustment. You can change to 1 of 3 springs for big changes in delivery, Green being mellow, yellow in the middle and red spring being aggressive. On top of that there is also a power valve adjuster screw for more subtle changes. So you could put in the mellow green spring, then turn the adjuster to as mellow as it goes and it would be like riding and 4 stroke. They also have an ignition map "switch" under the seat somewhere i believe. It is more of an plug than a switch but it used to be that unplugged was mellow map, and plugged together was aggressive map or other way around, you get the idea.
I have some decent time on a 16 ktm 250xc and it is fairly mellow compared to my yz250x and i think that my yz250x is pretty tame. I rode an 18 300xc only for a short time but i also thought it was mellow, the power was very linear, controllable and tractable. Easy bike to ride
I don't know a whole lot about the ktm free ride. I'm sure it is a good bike, from what i have read and heard it is more trials oriented over the beta xtrainer and not quite as good as a trail rider. I wouldn't worry too much about it though, again, i'm sure it is a great bike and either or will perform extremely well for you.