Posts
935
Joined
2/17/2011
Location
Boise, ID, USA
Edited Date/Time
10/12/2015 11:04am
Hey guys,
So I got a 2015 KTM 250sxf (not the FE version) last week and had my first ride on it yesterday at a local track called 408mx in Northern California. Here are some of my thoughts...
Photos: @blackribbon_photography
Me and My Setup:
Weight: 155
Speed: Int
Bike: Stock aside from FMF full Exhaust 4.1
FIT AND FINISH
This bike is AWESOME, it has electric start, hydraulic clutch, brembo brakes and black Excels! Plastics don't interfere at all when I was riding it and the seat actually seemed a tad soft to me which is odd since most people complain about the firmness. The on the fly rebound/dampening adjustments that are on top of the fork tubes (literally just twist with your fingers) make it WAY easier than getting on your back and finding a flat head on the track to adjust suspension clicks.
ENGINE
The KTM's engine was killer from 3/4 to full throttle, mid came on with a nice buildup before the top end kicked in hard and smooth. The bottom end on this bike was somewhat non existent. I have ridden the 15' yz250f and compared to that the KTM really doesn't come alive until upper range (like a 125). On the track I was on this was somewhat of an inconvenience since it's a very tight and technical "arena cross" style track with lots of switchbacks and tight corners with jumps immediately after the exit. I just had to use the clutch a bit more to keep the bike up in the revs which was fine since the pull on the hydraulic clutch was SO plush and smooth. I'm going to play around with sprocket sizes since I'm running a 49t right now on the rear and I think I should be using a 51/52t for this type of riding. One last thing I noticed was that second gear would seem to run out real quick and 3rd seemed to run a little long so I was shifting quite a bit and coming off a CRF450 this was different for me. Maybe the sprocket will help with this...
SUSPENSION/HANDLING
Alright so the 4CS forks are a bit interesting to me. I just came off the PSF gen 1 forks from the 13' CRF450 and there are some major differences between the bikes (obviously). What I love about the KTM is how light and agile it is in the corners. The track I rode was very rutted and the bike was easy to change direction with and stay in ruts with. The bike feels much shorter than bikes I've been on in the past and I found myself getting up to and past the perfect manual balance point through a rollers section that usually my CRF would not feel like it could loop out. I actually like the short feel because it makes the bike feel more playful and lighter. This could also have something to do with the rear suspension vs my weight/speed. I started with the clickers set at stock and played with them a few clicks in both directions. The fork seemed to go through the stroke too fast and then almost a bottoming feeling at the end but then the front wheel would almost push a bit out of the corner. Not too sure how to address this but I'm assuming they'll need re-valved to begin with to take out the blow through and then the pushing is prob due to clicks? We'll see in time...Overall the bike's handling is point and shoot, very smooth in and out of corners, a little bit light on the front end in higher speed sections and exiting of corners but that's most likely due to user setup error.
JUMPING
I am always super excited to see how a bike jumps, simply because I like jumping haha...so the KTM is short in feel and this translates to a pretty snappy feel off the lip when you want to whip or scrub. Bike felt well balanced (aside from the suspension being a bit soft and a tad bouncy to me) and one word I would sum up the KTM's jump feel would be "Playful." Puts a smile on my face and I felt like I could move the bike around in the air pretty easily. Landing was a bit bouncy/rough because of my current suspension setup but I'm hoping to address that soon.
So all in all I'm SUPER STOKED on the bike and am really excited to get this thing situated for my speed and weight these coming weeks/months! Can't believe I'm on a KTM haha pumped to be though!
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!
Here's how the bike sits now:
Here's a few shots from the day...
RIDE #2 at 408 today...feeling quite a bit more comfortable but still need to work on suspension/sag. Lowering the forks about 5mm in the clamps made a world of difference in stability and landings! Good tips guys
I think I still need to ride the bike much higher in the revs though, feel like I'm still riding it like I did my 450's haha
So I got a 2015 KTM 250sxf (not the FE version) last week and had my first ride on it yesterday at a local track called 408mx in Northern California. Here are some of my thoughts...
Photos: @blackribbon_photography
Me and My Setup:
Weight: 155
Speed: Int
Bike: Stock aside from FMF full Exhaust 4.1
FIT AND FINISH
This bike is AWESOME, it has electric start, hydraulic clutch, brembo brakes and black Excels! Plastics don't interfere at all when I was riding it and the seat actually seemed a tad soft to me which is odd since most people complain about the firmness. The on the fly rebound/dampening adjustments that are on top of the fork tubes (literally just twist with your fingers) make it WAY easier than getting on your back and finding a flat head on the track to adjust suspension clicks.
ENGINE
The KTM's engine was killer from 3/4 to full throttle, mid came on with a nice buildup before the top end kicked in hard and smooth. The bottom end on this bike was somewhat non existent. I have ridden the 15' yz250f and compared to that the KTM really doesn't come alive until upper range (like a 125). On the track I was on this was somewhat of an inconvenience since it's a very tight and technical "arena cross" style track with lots of switchbacks and tight corners with jumps immediately after the exit. I just had to use the clutch a bit more to keep the bike up in the revs which was fine since the pull on the hydraulic clutch was SO plush and smooth. I'm going to play around with sprocket sizes since I'm running a 49t right now on the rear and I think I should be using a 51/52t for this type of riding. One last thing I noticed was that second gear would seem to run out real quick and 3rd seemed to run a little long so I was shifting quite a bit and coming off a CRF450 this was different for me. Maybe the sprocket will help with this...
SUSPENSION/HANDLING
Alright so the 4CS forks are a bit interesting to me. I just came off the PSF gen 1 forks from the 13' CRF450 and there are some major differences between the bikes (obviously). What I love about the KTM is how light and agile it is in the corners. The track I rode was very rutted and the bike was easy to change direction with and stay in ruts with. The bike feels much shorter than bikes I've been on in the past and I found myself getting up to and past the perfect manual balance point through a rollers section that usually my CRF would not feel like it could loop out. I actually like the short feel because it makes the bike feel more playful and lighter. This could also have something to do with the rear suspension vs my weight/speed. I started with the clickers set at stock and played with them a few clicks in both directions. The fork seemed to go through the stroke too fast and then almost a bottoming feeling at the end but then the front wheel would almost push a bit out of the corner. Not too sure how to address this but I'm assuming they'll need re-valved to begin with to take out the blow through and then the pushing is prob due to clicks? We'll see in time...Overall the bike's handling is point and shoot, very smooth in and out of corners, a little bit light on the front end in higher speed sections and exiting of corners but that's most likely due to user setup error.
JUMPING
I am always super excited to see how a bike jumps, simply because I like jumping haha...so the KTM is short in feel and this translates to a pretty snappy feel off the lip when you want to whip or scrub. Bike felt well balanced (aside from the suspension being a bit soft and a tad bouncy to me) and one word I would sum up the KTM's jump feel would be "Playful." Puts a smile on my face and I felt like I could move the bike around in the air pretty easily. Landing was a bit bouncy/rough because of my current suspension setup but I'm hoping to address that soon.
So all in all I'm SUPER STOKED on the bike and am really excited to get this thing situated for my speed and weight these coming weeks/months! Can't believe I'm on a KTM haha pumped to be though!
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!
Here's how the bike sits now:
Here's a few shots from the day...
RIDE #2 at 408 today...feeling quite a bit more comfortable but still need to work on suspension/sag. Lowering the forks about 5mm in the clamps made a world of difference in stability and landings! Good tips guys
I think I still need to ride the bike much higher in the revs though, feel like I'm still riding it like I did my 450's haha
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
4CS are interesting, you can get them to work well. If you feel that harshness on small high speed bumps and square edge bumps, you can take out 5-10cc of oil from each fork tube. It's a bit of a band aid fix, but helps.
Mike and Rusty Holland.
Mike at A1 with help from PC.
RIDE #2 at 408 today...feeling quite a bit more comfortable but still need to work on suspension/sag. Lowering the forks about 5mm in the clamps made a world of difference in stability and landings! Good tips guys
I think I still need to ride the bike much higher in the revs though, feel like I'm still riding it like I did my 450's haha
Pit Row
If your interested in some advice, I would just come into the sweeping corners one gear lower, the rest of the track your fine.
Anyone know what affects what in terms of gear length and what kind of power patterns happen when teeth are changed?
Post a reply to: 2015 KTM 250SXF First Ride Review at 408mx w/ Photos/Video