XACT PRO 6500 vs KYB Conversion 23' KTM 450 ?

You are set on local suspension guy doing either one?  So shipping and/or DIY are not factors?   For me, the less shipping and easier DIY of the 6500 seal the deal.  Don't need to mail entire forks back and forth to someone.  Literally no down time.  Cartridges come and you install them between rides.  

sending out my forks today for kyb conversion. After talking to a few guys it sounds like a no brainer. One racer I talked to just replaced his 6500 for the kyb and was general pissed that he spent all of last season racing with the 6500 when he could have had the kyb set up instead, his words. My bike is being set up for baja, not sure who much better it is for moto. 

KYB is going to be better but they should not be close to the same price unless your tuner is really hooking it up on the KYB kit. If so, good deal!

KYB, no brainer.

If you're that unhappy with the stock stuff, don't let 200 more dollars keep you from going all the way. Trust me. I loved my 6500 kit though. Not saying anything bad about it. Just don't ride it back to back with KYB forks lol

The 6500's brought me unreal traction. I almost didnt believe it. If that's your only issue then save the cash and get them. I didn't find them as plush as Kayaba forks and that's what bothered me. 

I have 6500 on one 450 sxf bike. Kyb technical touch on the other. Identical setups in terms of shock valving, handlebar, sag, tires etc.

Run 380 instead of 400ml oil on 6500, 300ml instead of 350ml on kyb. Both has recommended valving from WP and Technical Touch. Have tested other valving stacks also.

Kyb is on my practice bike, 6500 on race bike. Pretty much same/similar but i like that i can adjust preload on 6500 between track conditions even if we are just talking about 1-2 clicks.

Would anyone even give the edge to 6500.

WP inserts for sure over the KYB (I have both)

BUT it is critical to get the right tuner to set up the 6500's 

The 6500 sets I've installed for people were purchased through solid performance,  and they were good out of the box. Every kyb swap had to be valved, but worked well also. Some also prefer the dal saggio cartridges. 

The 350 setting out of the box is great. There is a 450 setting available also but i preferred the 350 when testing back to back.

Just dropped some oil, 4 clicks on comp and that's it. I would not pay any tuner for setting them up properly.

That's awesome that you have the knowledge to tune those things - my expertise is limited to dropping them off and picking them up when they are done 

You are running 300ml on the kyb and the valve stack from TT? I have them on my 350, when I did my fork seals I only got 300ml out and I thought it didn't seem like enough so I asked who I got them from. He was adamant he put at least 330ml's in them. That's what I've been running for the last month or so and it's been good but I've been riding different tracks lately and am coming back from an injury. If so I won't be afraid to try less oil, they were working really well before..

It’s not which kit, it’s really up to the guy shuffling the shim stacks and giving oil height recommendations to suit the rider/ type of riding. 
 

being that said, I have friends with both and also the del saggio inserts. They all say they are happy, but I’ve ridden a few of them and I wouldn't be happy with their set ups. I skip the inserts and run cone valve forks and a Trax shock, so I can’t help you on deciding between them. I’d say that both “can be” set up well, but again…. that’s going to depend on who is doing the work. 

I have the 6500 kit on my 23 350 and balanced the shock with valving and the right spring rate. For me, it is fantastic. I’m with Langham on the set-up. I had Mark at REP do the work and it is fantastic. The difference between the cone valves and the 6500 kit is a few grand. Keefer did a comparison article on a few different set-ups if you’re interested in checking that out. Either route will be way better than stock. 

Call Adam at SMS Racing in Mckinney, TX and get the 6500 cartridge kit. Dude is a wizard with WP suspension. They did all of Jake Masterpool's stuff last summer. 

IT's all about the setup. Spring rate, oil amount, shims, preload (I run zero preload on forks for off road)... it's all about the setup!

Unless you have 4cs forks. Then you HAVE To toss the internals and get something else... LOL

I would not call taking 20cc oil out of each leg tuning 😁. Had way to much left on the stroke even after hard flat landings. So easy conclusion.

Yes, 300ml. 5.0nm, 7mm preload paired with 45nm rear spring on 2022 chassi.

Support your local dealer.

Mark Johnson is one of the most reputable, innovative, and creative WP experts in the world - and he is the only person I trust to tune my suspension. 

I'm happy to pay for his experience because I don't even want to pretend I know how to stack shims and measure oil levels.

I won’t go anywhere else! Mark and his team are fantastic!

I had mark do up a set of 6500's with some of his in house parts and revalve on my shock. Im very happy with the 6500's as they are plush, have good bottoming resistance and good hold up. He also has a mod that he does to the 6500's which gives the 6500's more of a kyb feel, which nobody else is doing. I didnt realize how good my rep 6500s were until I rode my 21 yz450 back to back with my 350sxf... at that point I was very impressed with marks work and I came to the decision that I need to get my yz suspension revalved😆🤦🏻‍♂️. To be honest, im a big kyb fan and was going to go that route for the inserts. I was kind of hesitant to go the kyb route as some people kept saying, dont expect the inserts to feel like the kyb's on your yamaha. 

Tons of folks prefer the 6500’s over KYB. I can’t say I would say one is better than the other. Really depends who set them up and any mods done. Tyler Medaglia switched from KYB on his national bike to 6500 for both MX and woods and is super happy. Better front end traction with the WP vs the KYB. 

Wanted to resurrect this thread since there is some valuable information in here already.

Wanted to get some additional opinions from those who have experience with the KYB inserts and the 6500 conversion on a 2023+ KTM (sx-f 350)

 Sounds like the KYB inserts may offer a more plush feel from the top to the mid stroke? 

If both can get me the same plushness with the same hold up, I more partial to the 6500 for the sake of simplicity.

If I am going to spend the money I do not have a problem spending a few hundred more but do not want to regret my decision.

6'4, ~250lbs with gear, C class vet.

In my experience with a complete KYB A kit fork from Enzo (that I’m running now) and all the sets of cone valves I’ve ridden.  They are both pretty amazing but cone valves ( basically 6500 kit) have more small bump sensitivity. Bottoming, like way end of stroke seems very similar. 
The biggest difference I feel is with the KYB stuff you can drive the bike straight thru jump faces like nobody’s business. The cone valves go thru more of the stroke, but way less than my Ohlins did. I think KYBs are better for super aggressive riding styles. Cone valves are very good I love them but just more comfortable and less racy feeling. For me how KYBs feel is more racey. Not apples to apples (6500 vs KYB conversion) and not sure if that makes sense lol 

If you have a good tuner there is really no bad choice, Even Chase Sexton keeps going back and forth between the two, and he has infinite resources and endless testing sessions available.

 for both, it is critical that the fork is set up for your skill level and weight, or else they feel like shit.

 I have a friend who visits here from Europe and brings his own $6000.00 KYB "A "kit fork from Technical Touch tuned just for him, because he says he doesn't like the feel of the WP,  but he runs consistently faster lap times riding with my WP 6500 insert fork.🤷

If you go with the 6500s, ive got a set of 52 ssprings that are perfect for your weight for sale. Also have the matching shock spring for your weight.

Imo the biggest cculprit for bad forks is poor shock setting