KTM/GasGas/Husky for a tall rider

I'm 6' and have only ridden a Kawi once or twice and felt the cockpit was really small, this was 2017 though.  KTM felt great though.

Im 6'2" and ride a 2022 MC450.  I put on a tall Guts seat with wings, tall bars and bar risers.  It fits me well.  No complaints

I’m 6’4” and ride a MC450.  I’ve got a taller bend bar in the forward position and that’s it. Seems fine to me but I’m no expert. 

My brother is 6'3 and rides a 2023 Husky FC 450. No issues for him. He seems to actually like it a little better than the 2022 GasGas MC450 he had, even though it is slightly lower. He says he can't feel the difference, and neither could I coming from a KTM. I'm no expert test rider, but if you are an average weekend warrior you might not even be able to tell any difference on height.

FWW: Benny Bloss is almost 9' tall and does not use tall bars or seat on his Beta or previous KTM's.....

dude makes any bike look like a 85 lol

My son is 6'4''.  Rode a KTM 250 for years and is now on a KTM 450.  We just put a tall seat on and the taller bars and he's fine.  He loves the overall bike and is comfortable in the cockpit.  

I am 6'9" and Benny Bloss is just making a lot of work for himself by not going with a taller seat. Going from sitting to standing, even just getting the shifter and brake pedal to be able to be used while sitting and standing. A tall seat was one of the best things I ever got. 

It has been so long since I really rode anything so I don't have any input on which bike fits best. But I would look at the seat to foot peg height difference  and length of the seat to bars , not only the overall seat height. A larger more open cockpit will help more than a taller seat height. Sometimes a taller overall seat height will also come with a more open cockpit. But I've ridden a YZ  that was taller , but had a shorter peg to seat distance so they felt shorter while riding. I remember riding a KX250 that was setup for a rider more than a foot shorter than me. And it felt almost like a trials bike to me. The seat to peg distance was so short my knees had nothing to grab.  

  I recently rode a Varg that had the suspension worked on to lower the seat height. But seat to foot peg was the same as stock. And it felt comfortable defiantly would be better with a taller seat for me. Not having to worry about being able to have my foot so I could shift made it more fun and easier to corner.  

I'm 6'7" and had a previous gen (21) KTM 450 and currently have a 24 KX450.  I had a +1" seat and lowering pegs on the KTM and I'm just as comfortable if not more comfortable on the KX without a tall seat and stock pegs on lower mounts. 

I'm 6'4" and ride a kx450 but have ridden KTM 450's a few times.  I have my current bike modified with lower pegs tall seat and taller bars.  It is much more comfortable and I can ride longer, but I will say when I ride a stock bike you can definitely feel the difference in turn in and ease of cornering.  I'm not racing anymore so I don't care and would rather be more comfortable nowadays.  Just from feel I'd say the kx is a larger bike but the ktm has a pretty flat seat and other than the footpeg to seat height difference from my modified bike it was still pretty ridable.  

6'3" on a 21' Husqvarna FX350, 15MM taller seat, Fastway pegs in low and back position and whatever bar you like in the forward most position. 

The tall seat helps most with being able to actually grip the bike my knees were above the seat when trying to grip it. Helps a bit with knee angle as well especially wearing knee braces in a 3 hour hare scramble it can get tiring bending your knees back up and back after shifting. 

Please stay away from any kind of tall bar or risers they screw everything up, makes you too far back on the bike its just not good. If you are tall so are your arms you don't need the bars closer to you. 

6'1" here, with a '20 450sxf.  I've put flo -12mm pegs, seat concepts tall seat, and higher bend fatbars.  Love it.  I test rode a stock '24 yz250 Saturday and it felt like I was on my daughters 85.  

I wish us tall guys could get a minimal backsweep bar that is an inch or two wider.  I can get wider bars on my mtb and they feel way better than the widest mx bar I could find, may need a longer throttle cable though, sell it as a set mark it up id buy it!  I hope someone at renthal or pro taper looks at this!

I am 6'3" and ride a '17 Husqvarna FC350.  Have Fastway pegs in lwr/back position, and Enduro Engineering +5mm risers w/SX Race Pro Tapers.  Tried a higher seat and didn't prefer (bike seems tall enough stock) iit though definitely need more grip for my legs.  Going to try a Guts RJ Wing stock height.  Will try the bars w/out risers also per your recco.  Always chasing better cornering , thanks

I disagree,  but to each their own.  Tall bars are the first thing I do on a new bike. 

KTM is one of, if not THE, "biggest" bikes out there. From personal experience, bigger than Honda CRF and Beta RR. Since Husky and GasGas are white and red KTMs I'd assume they're the same. I've never owned a Kawasaki, or a Suzuki since 1981 so can't say.

I'm two RCHes short of 6"6' and have done the same thing to every bike I've owned over the last 25 years -- Honda XR650R, numerous KTM SX and XC, Beta RR, KTM 950 etc.

Standard "enlargement" package:  Seat Concepts tall seat, Fastway footpegs set low and back, BRP top triple clamp 1 1/2 tall for mounting a steering damper below it, and Renthal Windham Bend handlebars.  Makes a KTM feel like you're 5"8. 

Don't forget suspension, ESPECIALLY correct spring rates. 

I kept getting my knees trapped too far forward with the guts wing seat. Took it off. Just taller bars on my GasGas 350.

6’4” and I have happily run just Renthal RC High bars on my KTM’s.  Very comfortable.  I used to run a tall seat but felt I was giving up too much in the corners.  I may try again.   

I'm 6' and am looking into Bars....How or what does the RC bar do that makes it suitable for a taller rider?

when checking the bars and bends I ignored that.

Is "RC" Ricky Carmichael...if so I would have thought that would be the last "named" bend a tall person would want?

I’m 6 foot 5 My 2023 Mc 450 feel less cramped than my 2021 yz450! Ran both with a tall seat and windam bend rethals! Ended up putting the lower flatter Villopoto bend on the mc450 as the windam bend felt too tall on the mc450 compared to the yz! The euro bikes come with more open ergonomics 

Yes as in Ricky, but also the tallest bar that Renthal has.  I used to run Windam/Reed 603’s but those are around 98 in hight. 
 

I’m 6’1 on a KTM and the Fastway pegs that are 5mm down and back completely changed how I felt on the bike. So much more comfortable overall. Stock seat and stock Husky pro tapers for me. 

I run the RC Highs on my KTM as well. They are very similar to the ‘16 OEM KTM in most dimensions but about an inch taller. I thought the RC would be wrong as well because of his size but they are great. The sweep measurement is important(the pull back from center). The OEM KTM and the RC have minimal sweep which makes the bar feel more like a MTN bike than a beach cruiser(exaggerated for explanation). This pulls your arms forward a little and opens up the riders triangle. The added height helps in the standing attack position. It keeps you less bent over, still plenty enough for good control but just a little less, more like a 5’6” guy with regular bars. That helps your back at the end of motos. It also helps your neck and vision because you’re a little more upright and you can maintain a better head position. It also helps keep elbows up and especially out, both seated and standing. I’ve said this in other posts, there is a definite learning curve when steering the bike after the change, especially seated. Don’t throw these bars on and go to a race. Get a couple hours ride time to allow your body and mind to adjust to the differences. 

Last sentence is facts 

Im 6'2 and ride a 24 KX450 with nothing but a Guts winged seat. I rode a 23 KTM and it felt bigger than my KX.

I’m 6’3, rode Kawi 450 from 06-16. Used McGrath bend. When Kawi added the options of moving bars and pegs. I would keep stock peg position and move bar mounts forward and spin them backwards.

I have been on a ktm since 2020, currently riding a 23 450. I have used ktms stock bars (pretty much McGrath bend) on 4 ktms I’ve had. On the 23 I recently put on a set of -5 down and -10 back pegs on. Gave me a little better control through deep whoops 

6'1" 34 inch inseam.

All ktms, husky I run stock, on one of them, running 5mm down,  10mm back pegs to get a bit better room under the shifter.

+5MM or +10MM risers are fine I'm more referring to running the big CR high with risers. I have that same enduro engineering kit where you can mix and match the different spacers and I tried about every combo and eventually settled on not using them at all. 

You really need to be running the bars inline with the forks for best handling and when you are doing that with a roughly 65ish degree head angle for every inch you raise the bars they get 1/2" further back making the bike smaller. 

I run a KTM low bend which is a pretty straight bar which I feel opens up the bike a lot. 

You’re totally correct about the bar movement when raising them. I don’t use risers or lowered pegs, have my mounts in the forward position with the RC High rolled a little forward from neutral but not much. The inch I gain in height makes up for the 1/2 inch I lose in distance. That being said, everyone’s body type and body mechanics are different so what works for me may be very different for someone else. 
 

OP, really sorry for the tread hijack! I like the KTMs as a tallish rider but haven’t been on the Kawis so I can’t compare. 

I'm 6'6". I have a 2018 KTM 450 and switched to a KX450 in 2022, and now I'm on a '23 Husky FC350. On the KX450 I had the bars in the forward position and the pegs in the lower position. It felt infinitely better than my KTM and it felt like the best fitting bike I'd ever ridden. Whenever I switched back to riding the KTM, it felt like I was riding a small 125 or 85.

One evening I was bored in the garage, so I decided to get out my laser level and tape measure to figure out exactly where the KX was taller/longer and why it felt so drastically different. I also happen to be a cycling nerd where frame geometry is a big deal, so I was curious how the bikes differed. 

It turns out that they are almost identical, save for a few millimeters here and there. Certainly not a big enough difference to have the drastic effect I was experiencing. By my calculations, it was just the forward bar position and lowered pegs that were the difference. So I got some Xtrig clamps and ran the bars in the forward most position and lowered pegs for the KTM. After those two changes, the KTM felt just as good, fit wise, as the KX.

I ended up selling the KX and buying a 2023 Husky 350 and applying the same changes (xtrigs + lowered pegs).

For what its worth, people at the track are often surprised at my height in the pits, saying that I don't look like a giant on the bike.

Yes I like to certainly nerd out on the stuff I think because I'm really into mountain bikes too and the geometry stuff is super improtant and easy to mess with on that end. 

Also something I forgot to mention with the down and back pegs is if you have big feet like me size 13 boots they moved my peg to shifter distance back just enough that I was able to shift easier as well. Most of the aftermarket extended shifters are hard to find stock of and seem to be not nearly as durable with the KTM spline design.