Posts
2068
Joined
9/22/2006
Location
Blaine, MN
US
Edited Date/Time
6/26/2012 7:44pm
The perception is, the new KTM450 is a great bike on par with all the Japanese bikes because finally in the US, a rider is able to win races on it consistently.
But, if you look north of the border, a guy who was winning by 20 seconds every moto on the controversial YZ450 a year ago is struggling to podium every weekend on the KTM. His teammate, the guy who got 2nd nearly every moto a year ago on a YZ450 as well, is struggling as well.
Is the KTM Dungey is riding anything like a production bike at all? Has the KTM production bike not made the big improvements? Or is Dungey just THAT good?
Discuss.
But, if you look north of the border, a guy who was winning by 20 seconds every moto on the controversial YZ450 a year ago is struggling to podium every weekend on the KTM. His teammate, the guy who got 2nd nearly every moto a year ago on a YZ450 as well, is struggling as well.
Is the KTM Dungey is riding anything like a production bike at all? Has the KTM production bike not made the big improvements? Or is Dungey just THAT good?
Discuss.
Factory bikes are all about custom fitting the bike to that rider, and no one else. If you hear magazine editors talk about factory bikes they've ridden in the past of Carmichael's, McGrath, Windham, etc. They say that they are not really great to ride because most "mortals" can't push a bike to those limits to make the bike excel like it should.
The Stewart Yamaha/Suzuki deal is a classic example of a bike not fitting a rider, but works for other people really well.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
Despite where we look I don't consider this debate black & white even when we take the worse spoken of, "the biggest pile of shit for a decade" in the pits, on the forums, the horrible yzf450, the sure reason why Stewart failed, only to see him perform equally poorly on the "superior" rm450z, and even now on the sidelines again (at least that's my view).
There's nothing wrong with the yzf, nor the sxf when put in the right hands, meanwhile every race creates 39 riders looking for an excuse, and every track have these tired, non talented carpenter or office clerks trying to be Dungey while in denial.
Yeah, the YZF sux, or the SXF sux, no linkage, wait... Well the bike sux...
to answer the original question i think they are much improved but i would say that when they re-did everything for 2011 was the biggest improvement so far. i have yet to ride a 13 bike tho
90% rider, 10% machine.
Pit Row
You are forgetting RV beat RD last MX season. RV has out-ridden RD in MX and SX. This year RV did not even start. Neither did the other fast riders. And we did watch James beat RD at every race until a photographer ran out in front of him. Bad luck, sure, but there was no doubt in my mind that JS7 was faster.
I have watched JS, RV, and CR out ride Dungey. They also had some bad luck but they still were faster in my book. CR is real close. (when I was watching Dungey and Chad battle it out, I was rooting for Dungey but he often lost.)
KTM has won in Europe since they hired the best guy. Now they're winning in the US because they hired one of the best 4 guys who doesn't get hurt often. Go figure. Amazing how that works.
Post a reply to: Is the KTM that much improved?