I know this isn't very sexy or as a cool as an old 2-stroke build. Just thought I would post my thoughts and opinion out here on what I am going to try to do over the next month or so.
I have been riding/racing MX for over 40 years, I have been on 4 strokes for almost 20 years (2004 YZ 250F was my first 4-stroke) and have been riding Austrian steel frame 450's since 2014 (2014 KTM 450 was first). My last two bikes have been the 2021 GasGas EX 450 (which I turned into a MC) and a 2019.5 FC 450 Rockstar Edition. At just over 205 lbs I never really felt like a 450 was way too much bike. No, I never used all of the power of a 450, but I was able to manage it using my right wrist pretty well.
With all of the hype around 350's, now that I am 51 years old and wanting to try something different, I have decided to drink from the fountain and join the #churchof350. My reasoning around purchasing the XC-F vs. the SX-F probably isn't completely logical, but it worked in my head at the time. I do plan to ride this bike on the track "most" of the time.
I know have one ride (about 1.7hrs) and I can feel the bike already breaking in. I am trying to be patient on not go too crazy until I can fully break this bike in. BTW, one of the reasons I decided on the XC-F was the new Closed Cartridge spring fork.
First Impressions exceeded my expectations. I did a quick 5-6 laps at Fox on the vet track first to just get a feel for the bike. The suspension was plush (soft) as expected from the XC-F line as well as the rear spring is probably way too soft. After slowing down both the forks and shock I was impressed with the overall handling. It turned so much easier than my past 450's and did feel lighter though not as light I would have though. The motor was really good in both map 1 and map 2. I did a few more motos on the Fox main track and really enjoyed the bike overall. I do feel the rigidness and little more twitchiness that all the of the professional testers seem to point out though it wasn't that bad. Maybe the spring forks help this bike?
So what's next? I am putting on ProTaper SX bend (ended up getting the new ACF as that was all I could find in stock), going up two teeth on the rear sprocket and putting my 19" rear wheel from my previous bike before my next ride. My goal is to continue to break in and put some time on this bike.
Patience will be tough. I already have a full PC exhaust, XPR Vortex ECU and FCP engine mounts sitting in my garage. If I can find time, I want to do some trackside comparisons of each of those but it's a little warm here in SoCal to be hanging at the tracks all day and swapping parts.
If anyone is interested, happy to keep this post going and share my new bike experience.
I’d enjoy following along! The new KTMs are really growing on me, especially the move to spring forks for the XCs.
Thanks to TBDMX for the awesome graphics designed around the factory shrouds!
This weekend I will be testing a PC Exhaust and Vortex! Can't wait!
Fun time today at Fox raceway!
I first went out and tried to get a baseline feel of the bike with the new bars and 49 tooth rear sprocket. The ACF bars really made a difference in vibration and feedback. I have been running the SX bend for a few years now and really like it. The gearing was also much better as it made 3rd gear more rideable.
Next I put on the PC full exhaust. In map 1, it really took away some of the roll on power but pulled a little better in the mid and top. I am coming from a 450 so still learning that this bike likes to be rev’d more. Honestly if this was the only thing I was going to do I would probably not be super happy. Map 2 was actually much better. The initial throttle response wasn’t as bad and the mid and top was better.
Lastly I added a Vortex ECU mapped by XPR. This really does bring this bike to life. I got back all of the throttle response I lost with the PC exhaust plus it just pulls that much better throughout. I haven’t tried all of the maps yet just the initial two.
At 2.5 hours the bike is already breaking in and feeling better. Honestly the stock suspension with the new CC forks are so good. It’s probably a little soft especially the rear spring.
Heading to Cahuilla tomorrow to get some more time to break in!
Are you going to stiffer springs front and rear?
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Short answer, not yet!
I am 200lb now and logic says the forks with 4.6Nm are a little light but the shock with a 45NM which is very light. I probably should be using at least 4.8 in the forks and 48 on the shock.
With that said, the bike works really good as is. With the shock at 105ish of sag I can still get about 33mm of free sag. Riding the bike they shock feels really good. Today at Cahuilla I noticed it might be a little fast in a few places which to me is just a sign of it breaking in still. The forks on the other hand are so plush and comfortable they work really well. I can bottom the forks, but it's not like I am "clanking" them left and right.
I am trying to get to 6-8 hours first and see how it feels. I will admit I am still riding at probably 80% as I break the bike in and if I push harder, the suspension would definitely be way too soft. Once I get this broken in, I will most like go up in spring rate on both front and rear. Oh, plus I want to lose 10lbs in this "trust the process" of a new bike!
Heavier springs and clickers will probably get you in the ballpark
Ok, four hours in and this bike is so much fun. The bike is definitely breaking in and the suspension is getting pretty soft. Going to try out a .49 fork springs and a 5.0 rear spring tomorrow at Cahuilla hopefully.
I still have a set of fcp engine mounts I want to try, just letting everything else break in first.
Ok, 24 hours in and this bike is amazing!
(I normally run a 19" rear wheel, just had the 18" on as I wanted to use the tire)
Nice one! Lots of changes since the last update. Thoughts on the REP linkage + fcp mounts? Also are they 23.5 ride clamps? And PC vs akra?
Picking up the little details. Nice!
REP Linkage - When I first put on the linkage, I had stock suspension with just stiffer springs and stock/soft valving. The linkage really helped calm the bike down in the rear and made the bike track very straight on acceleration bumps. I would say definitely worth the cost.
FCP Mounts - If I remember correctly, I waited until around hour 10 to put these on. I was really trying to let the bike break in before making changes to see what felt different. Honestly, I am not really sure I could notice a big difference.The bike was good before and still good after. I have ran FCP mounts on a few different Austrian bikes now so they have become a goto mod. With that said, the combination of everything is working really well.
RE 23.5 - yes, they are 23.5 offset. Honestly, I think of all the changes to the chassis, this made the biggest difference. I was able to get back some stability without too much sacrifice in turning. Now, I also just had my suspension re-valved (for my weight and/or speed) and still working through some chassis balance. With the stock suspension, I had the bike turning really well and was able to feel stability. With my re-valved (stiffer) suspension, I am dealing with a little slower turning bike, very stable and also just a little firm. I am trying to find the right rear ride height before raising the forks. REP recommendation is 107mm of sag is on the higher end and I am assuming contributing to the slower turn feel. I also only have a couple of rides on the new suspension so still breaking in.
PC vs Akro (vs Stock) - I originally got the PC has kinda of a "default" mod as well. I really liked the PC on my previous Austrian 450's. On the 350, I thought it gave a good mid-low "hit" and pulled through mid and top really well. I did loose a little bit of bottom end, but felt it was ok. I ended up putting the stock exhaust back on after smashing the PC end cap at GH and realized how much low-end (recovery) I lost. I made the mistake of riding a friends 350 SX-F with the same/similar ECU and Akro and really like the linear, smooth, quiet power. I decided to pull the trigger and only have one ride on it. I feel like I am still giving up a little low-end throttle response (not as much as the PC) but at the same time the bike is super linear and smooth. The quietness is really deceiving and takes some getting use to. In hindsight, if anybody asked me which exhaust to buy from a purely "performance" perspective, I would tell them to save their money and leave the stock one on.
If you want a cheap upgrade that you can feel, buy a ZRT Throttle. These throttle gives you a "sensation" of more bottom end and a overall quicker acceleration.
Bikes looking great 👍
we have some pretty similar mods, haven’t tried 23.5 clamps yet
This is a helpful thread... since you are 200lbs, I feel good about running 51NM shock and 5.0NM fork springs at 220lbs on my 23 450.
I don't see the need for aftermarket pipes on 450s, but this 23 I found to he obnoxiously loud. Managed to score a lightly used akro and i really like it... feels like better top end, but I think that's because the stock pipe makes your head explode when revved.
Interesting about the clamps, I feel that the bike doesn't turn as well as my 2020.5 husky 450.
Getting a bike to turn for you can be so rider specific.
IME, fork height and offset do play a big role. Even so, minor adjustments to suspension that effect ride height (front and rear) and balance can make a difference as well. For example, when my forks were stock (and soft), it was easier to force the front end down and therefore easier to "make" turn. I am pretty sure with my stiffer suspension, it's just not settling in as much which is then giving me different turning sensation.
The last thing I did to my 350m (other than graphics) was to add the RE 5mm spacers to my bar mounts. I am 6'2" and typically do this on most bikes but for some reason I waited 20+ hours to try it. I immediately felt more comfortable in turns laying the bike over in ruts. Even the bike technically doesn't turn as "easy", the bar mounts made me more comfortable leaning.
If the suspension action feels good and balanced, assuming the bike is "understeering", I would try to either raise the forks in the triple clamps (brings the front end down) and/or stiffen the high speed compression (raises the rear) on shock. You might make the bike turn better, but you also may change the feel of the suspension as you put more weight on the front end and less on the rear.
Thanks dude, your bike looks awesome btw.
Coming from my 2020.5, the 23 450 is a big beast... indid the 6500 inserts and put the 10mm spacers in to shorten them. Run them flush, but its effectively lower front like you say. Also, running stock shock and running HS all the way in like you suggest.
At 6'1" I like your idea about the bars, I've run husky evo pro tapers from day one, thinking about trying some straighter, slightly taller fat bars I found at the bottom of my parts bin. I think those husky bend are slightly lower than oem ktm???
Thanks Bruce!
On the bar front, I am a big fan of the ProTaper SX bend. I don't think they are as flat as the stock husqvarna. I have ridden bikes with taller bars and it's not as comfortable for me.
Following.
bought first dirt bike, hope I made the right choice on this 24 350 xcf. Been on sport bikes for years, but never one of these. Still haven’t road it. Installing new plastics first.
also bought and installed a rear spring for my weight 220.
not sure what else to upgrade, I did get radiator and front rotor guards. Thinking wrap around hand guards.
How are these stock tubes? Is that a must do asap? Thanks.
Yes, on HD tubes.
If you ride woods, wrap-around handguards are nice. I'm out west and we don't have many trees so I run stock.
Oil change after 1-2hr.
Any long term reports on these bikes ? They are blowing these out at $7999 right now. Is the frame as stiff as some say ? Sounds like the mods on the ‘25 have loosened it up a bit , but is it worth the 4K extra ?? I will be using the bike to race district 37 out in the California high desert. Lots of whoops and sharp edges out there.
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