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Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
If you really can't decide, buy both. Sell whichever you don't like.
Jumping in here. Picked my 17 up on Saturday. I saw one at the local dealership in person Thursday afternoon and by Friday morning I had decided to pull the trigger.
Coming off of a '14 250, revalved and resprung suspension, FMF fatty and shorty silencer...
I rode Field of Dreams, a fairly fast sand track. I'm 150-160lbs, slow 'B' rider on a good day.
Immediately the bike felt great. EXTREMELY smooth, both suspension and power. I left the air pump at the dealership in my rush to get to the track so I couldn't play with pressures. Went to 18 clicks on the forks rebound noticing a little harshness in breaking bumps but minimal difference and I didn't go further with adjustments.
I thought the '14 suspension was decent...this stuff is light years ahead.
The biggest thing was the confidence the bike inspired. It did everything you expected, tracked straight and didn't kick at all.
Power was very linear, I felt a ton down low through mid range...fell flat on top. It seemed to like being ridden in the meat of the curve.
Ergos were great.
Feels very light, from even lifting on/off the stand, to the manners on the track.
Riding it tomorrow on a hardpack, square edge track. We'll see how that goes. Overall I couldn't be happier.
The Shop
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Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Not a killer deal but I figured what the hell.
That said, the YZ is a great bike and looks killer. Might even be able to find a nice deal on a used one. My brother grabbed his locally for $5900, pretty much brand new. I'm comfortable paying the premium, some aren't...
KTMS used to suck and were ugly. Now they're awesome and dog humpin a pillow sexy.
First stop I turned the fork rebound from 17 out(stock setting) in to 10 and the shock from 15(stock) to 10 and the bike started feeling a bit more stable. Still had a bit of bounce up front and well as hunt and peck at both ends entering turns so I went in 2 more. Even more stable, but still had slap down harshness and a bit of dive in corners and the squat in the rear. Tried 144 psi, but that just made them feel like mush so went to 146. Less mush, but dive and slap down so reached down and turned fork comp from 12(stock) to 8, not a big difference so went back to 148 and the dive got better and so did the slap down. Went to 6 and the dive was almost gone and no more slap down.
With the forks firmed up the squat in the back became more pronounced so I had to start going in on comp from 15(stock) to 10 and noticed the black under the fender so went in on the HS from 2(stock) to 1.5. A little better so more, then more. Same with the rebound as the more I went in the more it started to stick to the ground and finally added a turn to the shock spring to help with the feel of being pitched to the rear because I was most of the way in on the adjusters and it wasn't all the way there yet.
Overall it went from almost scary soft and springy to pretty good with a decent balance front to rear and no harshness in bumps or on landings, just a little on soft side. Beats stiff and deflective any day of the week to me and when I tore it down to see the settings and start testing it confirmed to me everything I felt. It has almost an off road type set up with no mid valve compression, a massive amount of free bleed in the rebound circuit and very soft shock compression valving compared to the '15.5 and '16 KTM shocks. The icing on the cake is that the 42n shock spring(4.3kg) only comes in at 4.15 on my spring tester.
Forks:
psi- 148
comp- 6
reb- 6
Shock:
static sag- 32mm
lo com- 4
hi comp- 1
reb- 6
Pit Row
(***Resisting the urge to post in Pulp MX crazy chick thread***)
Outside of price..it looks to be better at the yamaha in every category now. The YZ250 is a REALLY good bike so this must be off the charts.
What I like most about the SX is the ability to not tire me out after 5 laps the way my '14 did. I can ride the '17 for what seems like double the amount of time. Chalk that up to my fitness, but as a weekend warrior in their late 20's, riding a bike that doesn't beat the shit out of you is where my heads at right now. That said, I don't like four strokes and this bike allows me to meet halfway to laziness while still having the 'pop' of a two-stroke. I've got issues.
The hardpack review has to wait. I got a late jump to Thursday evening practice and the track was tacky and deeply rutted. I rode 2 fifteen minute motos and never got 'in the zone'. I have to get used to riding a bike with such low end power and smoothing out my throttle control.
That said, it tracked great in the ruts and the low end (when used properly) allows you to cruise through them. Any sudden clutching or cracking the throttle was greeted with a high front end as traction was through the roof.
I OJ'd the piss out of a 50' double and was pleasantly surprised at the bottoming resistance the suspension had...no jarring impact despite my amateur move. Tomorrow back to sand and Sunday should be the more square edged hardpack track. I'll update then.
Can I ask your weight, class and what type of tracks you're using these on?
Having just read back through the last few pages I also noticed the 2nd-3rd gear issue and thought the countershaft must have been a 13 until I looked. Definitely going to go to a 48 rear to get further out of a corner before I have to shift. Ended up doing the same last year on a YZ300, but figured it had a bit to do with the all bottom/no top of the big bore kit.
My riding buddy is picking this up in the morning, Stoke is high.
Do you guys really use 2nd gear on these bikes? I've been on KTM 250s since 2012 and have yet to use 2nd gear on anything but the starts. I can come to a near standstill in 3rd gear and the bike will pull me out with only a little feathering of the clutch.
Post a reply to: My Wallet Talked. It Said 2017 250sx. (Ride Update)