How much Bike?

[Cascadia]

Can anyone tell me about this bike? I've heard good things about wr's from guys on here but have no experience with them.

 

[glockman]

I have had 2 yamaha 4 strokes. They have been bulletproof. My 08 Yz450 has over 200 hours with 1 valve adjustment at about 20 hours. I change the oil after every ride and keep clean filters on it. I had a KX 250F that ate two heads with SS Kibble white valves both times in less than 100 hours. I personally love Yamahas. All my friends ride Honda 250 and 450 4 strokes and they are great bikes. In my experience, the Yamaha holds up a little better than the Honda in a 4T. I have been really tempted to try a KTM 300 2T after reading all the love stories on Motoutah about them and watching some trail videos. I ride mostly MX tracks, Cherry Creek and the dunes with some single track up AF and Hobble Creek thrown in. I think a 450 WR would be perfect for what your wanting. I gear down the front sprocket 1 tooth for trail riding on my YZ but with the WR you wouldn't need to. If you need Orange, a 450 EXC would be the closest match.

 

[Cascadia]

I have really been tempted by the 450exc. There are a few on ksl I like just haven't had the time to go by. I found an 08 wr250x earlier today but when I expressed interest to the guy he decided he didn't want to sell it. Street legal is also a requirement. I don't want to have to do all the work for that (not much), I just want it ready to go.

 

[ricsrx]

The 250x of mine is a tote goat, good or bad depends on what you are looking for, by brothers 450x has tons of power and can be ridden all day at 65mph, my250x, is wound out at 65 and would much rather be going 35-40. i have a paddle for it and it did ok at the dunes but it got a work out. my other brother has ridden nothing but Yamaha's 400 and then the wr 450 and loves them.

 

[Greg]

I have really been tempted by the 450exc. There are a few on ksl I like just haven't had the time to go by. I found an 08 wr250x earlier today but when I expressed interest to the guy he decided he didn't want to sell it. Street legal is also a requirement. I don't want to have to do all the work for that (not much), I just want it ready to go.

An '08 WR250X is a supermoto version of the WR250R, which we owned for a short while. I wrote some stuff up on the bike, here - http://www.rme4x4.com/showthread.php?78434-The-Yamaha-WR250R That thread and most of my comments were pretty positive, but I found that the lack of torque and high weight made the bike not fun to ride when the going got tough.

The quick and dirty... it's a very heavy bike for a 250, low on power and can be a handful when used as a 'dirt bike' in technical riding. They're great bikes for all around use, fuel injected with a 6 speed transmission. I geared down our bike and added a power commander and it was still VERY weak on the bottom end. The engine spins to very high RPM's and needs to, because there is very little torque. I found the bike to be very tall and heavy, stock they come in at almost 300 pounds!!

My suggestion would be a KTM 450 EXC that's already plated, I'd think that shouldn't be too hard to find. Take you time, find the right bike for you and be happy.

 

[Cascadia]

Wow, 300 lbs is a tank! This may sound like a newb question but what is plated? I'm going to guess it means street legal with license "plates".

 

[Greg]

Wow, 300 lbs is a tank! This may sound like a newb question but what is plated? I'm going to guess it means street legal with license "plates".

Yeah, 300 pounds is huge, especially when the bike doesn't have that much power to start with.

Hahaaa, yep... plated = a bike that someone has already done the footwork to get street legal.

 

[rholbrook]

My plated wr450 may be up for sell once I put a leg over the 2013 wr450. If it's a big difference over mine then I'm selling mine to get the 2013. I have an 06 that's dialed in and it has a Revlok clutch and YZ exhaust cam.

 

[Cascadia]

Does anyone have experience with a ktm 400 exc? They seem to have good reviews online, especially for the type of riding we do out here in Utah. I'd like to hear some input if anyone has any.

 

[rholbrook]

I have hears you don't want the early models. Engine issues having to do with electrical gremlins

 

[Cascadia]

How early is early? Is an 05 too old?

 

[jevyguy]

Not at all.

 

[Rot Box]

I'm not an expert pumpkin head so take this with a grain of salt, but when KTM ditched the SEM ignition in 97 (on most models) in favor of a Japanese made system it was a very smart move. However until about 01 they used a small 6 pole (4-5 poles are actually wrapped) stator in most of their lineup. It wasn't until around 01 when they bumped up the size and added 8 poles that i feel reliability issues went away. CDI's and the rest of the components seem to be very reliable after 96.

As for the 400's I've heard some mixed reviews on engine reliability, but I don't really understand what the issues were. The 520-525's share basically the same RFS engine design and I've heard very few complaints about them being unreliable. I do know they are fairly demanding on routine oil changes and having 2 oil filters I can see them being neglected. Like any 4T you need to keep up on valve adjustments whether you think it runs fine or not. As for the bike I feel like a fish out of water on 98-02 KTM's which will keep me from buying another one (unless I find a 380 for a bargain ). I love both the 2T and 4T engines but I cannot get in my groove on one to save my life everyone is different though.

Sorry for the novel hope this helps.

 

[Rot Box]

Found an interesting article comparing the WR400 and 400EXC http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=422852

 

[jentzschman]

Great, more info to stew over now!

I have know, rather heard, that the 2T are far more less expensive to maintain then the 4T, but suffer in top end power...

As of now, my thinking is about 60/40 road riding unless I start riding more off road with guys I am meeting on here. That said, I absolutely want a street legal bike.

I am totally novice when it comes to dirt biking, but have been riding street bikes for years.

As of reading this thread, I can not decide if I want to forgo the power of a 450 and opt for the nimble lightness of the 250 or keep the power...

Can a yz250 2T or 4T get plated here in Utah or the wr250? (and how do those bikes compare?)

Sorry if I am stealing the thread. Just been finding a ton of info on the subject of bike selection and size. I am about 98 percent that I want to stay with a yamaha though.

 

[Cascadia]

Not telling you which brand to go with but my 08 ktm 250 xcf-w did awesome on both trail and street. I probably rode it 60/40 street/trail. Had no problems with overheating around town or keeping speed. I could cruise at 75 if I wanted. It was also very nimble on trails. I am 6'1" and 180. It got me around great. It was a 4 stroke but with the 250 it felt more like a "3 stroke" to me. It was also 6 speeds which made it nice around town, and with the rekluse clutch it was even better.

You can pretty much get anything plated, just depends how well the bike will do in both terrains. I have seen plenty wr's plated this summer.

 

[Caleb]

As of reading this thread, I can not decide if I want to forgo the power of a 450 and opt for the nimble lightness of the 250 or keep the power...

Get the best of both worlds and buy my KTM 300 It's lighter than the 250s with the power of the 450s. If you want to ride it, I'd be glad to meet you out at 5 mile or somewhere. You'll see that it has every bit (if not more) top end than the 4 strokes do while still having the nice low end grunt you get from the 4 strokes.

As for plating, you can plate pretty much any bike in Utah (2T or 4T, doesn't matter) you just have to have the safety equipment (mirror, signals, lights, horn, etc)

 

[jentzschman]

I have heard that the KTM are not as reliable as a Yamaha or Honda. Again, this is what I heard.... I know very little to nothing about off road bikes.

Both street bike I have had were Honda's but I have read/heard amazing things about Yamaha's reliability with their off road machines.

As far as your offer to try it out, sounds great, thanks for the offer.

 

[Rot Box]

I have heard that the KTM are not as reliable as a Yamaha or Honda. Again, this is what I heard.... I know very little to nothing about off road bikes.

Both street bike I have had were Honda's but I have read/heard amazing things about Yamaha's reliability with their off road machines.

My money is on the KTM 4T being more reliable/longer lasting than the new breed of Honda's :-\ Yes the Yamaha's valves are very low maintenance and their service intervals are great. They are arguably the most reliable/dependable 450 out there. That said they are outdated in terms of weight, handling, gearing, suspension and ergonomics--KTM left them in the dust a few years back. As for 2T's they are all very very reliable if treated right but keep in mind 2T's don't make the best highway cruisers and they also get nearly 1/2 the fuel mileage. If you're wanting to leave your house and ride a decent amount of pavement just to get to the trail you might want to pass. Not saying it can't be done and not trying to talk you out of a 2T but a lot of guys end up going to the dark side because 4T's make much better highway/long distance bikes.. That said technical trails and/or single track? Give me the 2T! :greg:

 

[jentzschman]

And the KTM 300 is a 2T correct?