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Bike was ripping good.
Unfortunately I had to quit in 5th lap. One of the bolts on the cylinder left with the thingy it's supposed to be torqued to...
And realized in the first lap that the gearbox wasn't new ??
But hey great race, I can't wait for next year. Need to train more and get suspensions dialed for heavy heavy sand
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Nathan Watson is on his way to big things, he and his brother, MX2 GP racer Ben have a lot of talent for sure...
However, vintage bikes and enduro do not go together. They are in fact, opposites.
For offroad racing, train, ride, test, fix bike and repeat many times before race. The KX is not the best platform for that cycle. Get a new bike. I know that's not as cool, but it's the best way to experience an offroad race and finish your best or give yourself the best chance to finish.
Everything was fantastic until i hit the beach... suspensions were off, didn't expect the sand to be that heavy.
don't know if its the geometry or suspensions but the rear was all over the shop. And i need to redo the gearing, i hit false neutral a couple of times it was dangerous.
Engine worked a treat until lap 5 where i had to quit. foursome reason previous owner re welded one the things that holds the cylinder head...once that was gone i was smoking like crazy... didn't want to kill it in that race.
You live and you learn, a lot of people are telling me to get a new bike but that defeats the purpose, this year i could've gone 6 laps easy with a bike all over the shop. i think next year i can aim for 7-8.
what to do: -repair engine and acquire a back up one
- train more than twice before race
-get a longer swingarm
-get my suspensions dialed in.
can't wait for next year.. two stroke ain't dead! i was way more mobile in the slow stuff and wasn't that much slower on straights
Gasgas used that frame until recently and was never too far from Ktm in terms of performance.
Ktm went with longer swingarms and more offset in 09 if not mistaken. I don't see any major improvements on bikes appart from electric starter for that kind of racing.
Demeester finished 5th on a Sherco 2stroke 300 while being retired.
It is different riding but once the track is bumpy it becomes an advantage. I mean I'm not trying to win it but to have fun and do decently.
I'd love to hear what everyone has to say.
My foundation for my argument is 20 years racing off-road. As one example, I recently went from a 2013 KTM to a 2017 KTM and one generation change is a gigantic improvement in comfort and speed. Before that, I had a 2006 YZ125 that I rebuilt from the ground up. I rode it back to back with my 2013 KTM and again, the gap was gigantic.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy my YZ, in fact if I rode it at the track by itself, I would adapt and it was adequate to carry me around. I can't start to imagine what 20 years of development has done.
All due respect to the 1998 KX250 … one thing that hasn't changed that much is the total power output of the 250 2-stroke. From when I rode one, I recall that this is a strong low-mid power, with some okay top. That power is also adequate.
Second to this is the fact that you already raced it once and it broke. That will happen again, either in training, and/or at the race. The amount of failures at the track and amount of time you spend in the garage will severly impact your ability to train off the bike and put in laps during your practice sessions. You're from Europe, and they have a short riding season. Not much time to waste. The KX250 was a 5speed MX transmission, add in 14/47 gearing and heavy sand in a technical section of the race and the bike will boil over and the clutch will fry.
Between now and when you race, you're going to extend the swingarm by 3cm? What do you think that will do to the spring rate and valving of the shock? Yes, you will probably spend another few hundred re-engineering a 20 year old shock absorber.
I would suggest any low hour 250 or 300 EXC or even a 250SX if you are not able to afford a good six-speed. I have used all of these bikes and I know they are a big improvement over a KX250 for what you have in mind. The more diffi cult the race, the more you will come to realize what I mean.
In time if he irons out what’s needed it can be bulletproof
I'm not there for anyone but myself and to know that I did my best. I can't give my best if I'm stuck on the side of the track with steam pouring out of my radiator and a clutch that's slipping to the moon.
I see all the teams developing the bikes for sand, it takes them many hours to get it right. I clearly need to rethink the whole thing. The only thing I'm scared of is facing the limits of the bike in the Sand in terms of stability.
Pit Row
But passing a few spanking new 450's too ??
Hopefully we can get things going better in the future thanks to everyone that participated in here
Honestly the Ktms, Husqvarnas look fabulous. It would be so much less hassle to go and buy one. I really see how well equipped they are, options that are available etc.
But then I like being the only kx 250 left out there really enjoyable feeling. For me that's the spirit of being a biker, whatever you ride as long as you are loving it.
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Does it Fit straight up?
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