350 regret?

I gave the 350 a try back in 2018 after riding YZ 400/426/450’s since 1998. I’m 6’1/210 in riding gear and I just never really gelled with the 350… BUT… I really blame it more on my riding style than the bike! I have a tendency to lug a little more than rev and that didn’t really work so well with the 350!? (Ironically I could ride my Son’s 250F, rev it and get around the track with no issue!!?) I sold the 350 and have been on 450’s ever since!

 I have a riding buddy with similar skill level and nearly my size too and he HAULS ASS on his 350 so its really more of a personal riding style than anything else in my opinion! I would strongly encourage you to see if someone will let you ride their 350 or hit a demo day if possible! 
Good luck with your decision! The 350 is a GREAT bike, it just wasn’t the bike for me! 😎 👍❗️

I know 2 or 3 different guys that can flat lay it down on their 350’s! They all tend to be more “Rever’s” than “luggers” tho! For me I just couldn’t seem to ride the 350 the same way I would ride my Son’s 250f and I have no logical explanation for that either!? My personal feeling wasn’t that it was a fast 250, but more of a slow 450 to me, so I sold it and never looked back! And again, I blame myself NOT the bike! If you tend to rev your 450 really hard (Think Justin Barcia 😝) I bet you’d really enjoy a 350! If you tend to ride a little lower in the RPM (Think Ken Roczen😎) the 350 might not be ideal for you either! 
AND I mean no disrespect to the 350 or the guys that ride them! They can be a lethal and extremely capable Moto tool in the hands of the right rider…regrettably that just wasn’t me! 😎 👍❗️

My regret? That they didn’t develop the 2023 motor sooner. It gave the 350 the extra bottom end it was lacking on the 22 and prior motor. Well at least for my 210lb ass. 

Agree with what they said. You can go one tooth bigger on the rear to give it more bottom, it helped a lot. It does better when revved out compared to trying to ride it like a 450, just doesn’t have the bottom end like a 450.

The 23' feels like a 400.  Way more low end power.

Coming off a 450 you have to give it more time than someone coming from a 250f or a 2T. For most guys, 450”s can make us lazy, and your corner speed has declined. You have to adjust to the 350, it took me about 10hrs before I stopped short shifting it like I did with my 450. Rev it! The charms of the 350 are: it handles like a 250 and carves inside lines with little effort. You can ride it aggressively and it does not tire you out, if you can do a 20 minute Moto on a 450, you can do 30 minute Moto on a 350. It’s easier on your body. For the most part they are super reliable and respond very well to tuned ECU”s. I have not ridden a 23 yet, but my 21 & 22  350”s were 2 of the best bikes I ever owned. I think if you are a larger guy, say 220+, your decision may be a little tougher, the extra torque of a 450 probably better for the weight differential. 

Just more data...  You've probably seen this already, but if not.

https://youtu.be/kgHqJ0UGefY

Every one I know either disliked them from the beginning or eventually decided to go another route. Can't speak to the latest model.

Too funny you say that because my small ass doesn’t really want anymore bottom out of a 350 and will probably keep my 22 ktm for the rest of my life 🤣

It’s different and takes a little time to fully appreciate.   There are some tracks where I prefer my 450.   The 350 is better at a larger range of tracks for me.   In Illinois we have a stadium series and the 350 is better in the tights 

I was on a 350 for 2 years, I have been back on a 450 since October of 22. Prior to riding the 350’s I had raced a 450 (all jap bikes) since 2006. The only thing the 350’s had done were exhaust and remapped ecu from twisted. Super fast, pulled hard in every gear, tons of bottom and plenty of top of you wanted to hold it wide open. I mostly ride woods though, so the 350 felt great to me. Was able to move it around easier then the 450.

The current 450 I have been riding is a 21 ktm450. Believe it’s like 13 pounds heavier than the 350.  If I lived in the north or in a clay based area I’d ride the 350. Being here in Florida , I give the 450 just a little edged. 350 is still a super great bike though. I did race a regional last year on the 350 (placed 6th). Starts where a little tough, but had no problem staying with the 450’s. I personally would take a 450 on 90% of moto tracks. 

I guess it comes down to what you're looking for.  I have both a 2022 KTM 350 XCF factory edition and a 2023 Honda CRF450RWE.   I love my Honda, but sometimes I find my KTM to be a more entertaining bike to ride, because it makes great power and revs to the moon, while my Honda 450 is deceptively fast, but doesn't seem as snarly and lively as the KTM.  If I could only have one, I'd probably have a 350. 

No regrets for me as it made me about 20% faster than my 450 once I learned how to ride it and granted it was the first year model 350 which was a pig that had to be rode hard.

With these new 350's I would never go back to a 450.

Being on the older side, I'm more familiar with 2stroke 250s from riding them for so long.  Bought a 450 some years back and just couldn't feel comfortable on it. Chunky feeling power that felt like too much at times and not a fan of a lot of engine breaking.  That centrifugal force feeling of the big engine was also odd for me. 

Then, rode a 350 and loved it.  Power is such that you can rev it out and feel ok about it or slightly get down in the revs and it still pulls.  Also, not as much engine breaking or centrifugal force feeling from the engine.  Have ridden some more current 450s and they're fine, but I prefer the 350 as it reminds me of being a bit more 2 stroke-like feeling in some ways. 

I love my 23 250! I had a 20 350 and loved it but fell to peer pressure and got a 450. I qualified in 450 B and college at Lorettas on the 450 but it was just too much bike for me at 5' 8" 145 Lbs. Longer really pushing it I couldn't hold onto it. The 23 350 is awesome definitely a lot more grunt over the previous gen, and it loves to rev which I really like being able to ride it like a 250 sxf.

All I know is I see guys buying 350’s and then buying all kinds of mods to increase the power.  Kind of seems to defeat he logic they had going with the 350.  The 450s they said wire them out and we’re too much probably got all the same mods though.  People are funny.

First year I had my 350 I loved it.  2nd year I hated everything about my 350.  Sold and went back to a 450 and haven't looked back.  450 is a damn easy bike to ride.

It's not as simple as "if the 350 isn't fast enough you should have just bought a 450".  You can make a 350 faster (they are already pretty damn fast stock), but you will never get rid of that heavy engine inertia feel of a 450.  A modded 350 can really hit a sweet spot of "just enough power" while still having the light handling feeling of a 250.

They're easier to ride because the power is more spread out. 450 makes it's ponies at 9500rpm and 350 does at almost 13k. Similar power curve to the yz250f just with a bit more punch.

If you're fat, lazy and out of shape it's a great bike. If you ride 4 days a week and are fast as hell it's probably not the bike for you.

I recently went from a YZ450 down to a KTM 350. It took me a bit to adjust to less torque on the bottom end but I have gotten used to it and do like the 350. For me the YZ450 at higher rpm’s was just too much whereas the 350 is much more manageable at higher rpm’s. 

The 350 is so much lighter and less explosive on the top end which I do feels allows me to ride longer- as mentioned above.

Power-wise it feels similar on the top end as my 2011 CRF450 I had (I think HP was similar to my 350). This power level is just right for me. 
 

I don’t understand the vital 350 craze. 450 for me. 

Are 450’s easy to ride…or so hard to ride they will wear you out?

Seems people claim they are both…

Yeah, I spent a couple weeks researching 350s and definitely got mixed reviews with some saying they take more effort to ride because you have to shift and clutch more vs being lazy on a 450.  If I found the right deal I may have pounced but it sounds like the ideal combo is a '23 engine but with the '22 and older chassis.  I don't like that they bandaid fixed the new frames by making them overly stiff so that they weren't stretched and clapped out by the time they had 50-70 hours on them.  So they overcompensated in stiffening the frame to get more life out them. And I'd prefer different forks.  

Now, if Yamaha (or Kawasaki) came out with a 350 with spring forks, I'd buy it tomorrow as that would be perfect for me.

350s are still very fast, i went the 250f route was pretty happy til i rode an rmz450 lol i know im gonna get some hate for that but it was like the slowest fast bike if that makes sense easy/mellow power, 

Ride the 350 like it’s a 2 stroke and it rewards you. Rev it out, use the clutch, and shift it.  Think you can lug it around like a 450 and you’ll hate it. I’m normally at the front of the pack on starts if not pulling the hole shot against 450’s. Once you figure the bike out it’s just as capable as a 450, but with less weight and you get in and out of corners faster since you can have a better roll speed with it. 

20% faster on a 350? That's amazing. With a 2 min. lap time that's like 25 sec. a lap.

I was close enough to buying a 350 last week that I went into a dealer and sat on a '23 Gas Gas 350.  It would have been $7700 OTD which was a decent price and I likely would have bought it if it had the '23 KTM motor.  According to Keefer, that older generation frame is better but at 195 lbs, I think I'd want the '23 motor as it sounds like a better option for bigger guys coming from 450s.  My 14 y/o is 6' but skinny so as he puts on muscle over the next couple years, he'll be ready for a 350 and it will be a good excuse to add one to the quiver....especially if blue or green ones make an appearance.