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As someone who has ridden both MX and MTB a bunch here are some of my thoughts: Start out with flat pedals, you will most likely be dabbing a foot here and there as you get used to MTB riding. Five Ten or Ride Concept shoes are great Go tubeless for sure, get a tire pressure gauge or a quality floor pump that has a good gauge (or both) Riding on kind-of-wet trails is ok, if the trails are really muddy that you make ruts on don’t ride If you take a break on the trail, move off the trail...

Always wondered why akrapovic doesn’t make a silencer for YZ 2 stroke line

I emailed Akrapovic for the same thing and they connected me to the national sales manager for Akrapovic (I believe). Dude was a total dick. He made it very clear Akrapovic does nothing with KTM Akrapovic parts and that I could pound sand. Not sure what his problem was but dude was not friendly.

Coming from an inverse portion as the OP - I grew up riding motos (mostly trail riding on family property, not mx), and switched to mtbs when I went away to college. Nearly twenty years later, I was able to afford / justify purchasing a new moto (it's a tax write-off as a trail builder!). It's been interesting to compare & contrast the two experiences, as they are similar yet different in so many ways. It often seems to me that riding a moto is more like skiing in that being pro-active in your bike handling requires concentrating a lot...

That's a damn good looking bike.

I was right, bikes have new shrouds !

If there is no frame cutout when it is released, the "I can feel 2NM torque difference in my tank bolts" crew is gonna lose their minds.

The seats with the middle cutout and a level or slightly downward tilt on the saddle help the taint area a lot. The next is a saddle that's the correct width of your seat bones (pelvis), you can go to a good bike shop and get sized for the right saddle. Then proper positioning on the bike, saddles can move forward/rearward and it helps keep you sitting on the proper part of the seat. This can also be set by a good bike shop. Big pads on the seat and in your riding pants are just a hotspot maker in...

I switched to this seat with the built in taint cooler, night and day better. I was worried it might be too wide in the low position when going down steep hills, but it’s a non issue, if anything it’s nice to have something to grab with your thighs, kind of like squeezing the tank with your legs. Las Ramblas was tacky tonight ! Good stuff. Quite satisfying

Outside pedal down and weighted in tighter corners, especially flatter ones. Seat up when climbing, slammed for descending. General rule of thumb for seat height when up is knee should be slightly bent at the bottom of the pedal stroke. When climbing, try to stay "on top of the gearing" rather than grinding or spinning away. Many suspension calculators out there to assist in dialing in sag, rebound etc.

OP, have fun on the YT. Great Bike. You'll notice all the tire choices,just research. Carry and extra tube and CO2. If you have a desire to go to a bike park, do it! That is a rush- almost moto rush. Find somebody that’s been or just go and somebody will help you out. I waited years to go up lifts , wish I would have done it sooner. Enjoy. Also once you get hooked and get non moto friends to go, have em ease into it because when they crash that is usually it and they won’t ride again...

Being a Moto guy I was a non believer in going tubeless on my mountain bike. My buddies all tried to convince me how much better my bike would handle and how few flats I would get. After about 6 months I finally pinch flat a tube and went tubeless. All I can say is don’t wait. Bike handles much better and I haven’t got a flat in over two years.

Some of it is simply conditioning your ass/taint to being in the seat for extended periods of time. Some of it could be poor saddle positioning. It almost sounds like your seat is tilted too far back. Start with it completely level then ride for a while. Make (tilt) adjustments (nose down) if you feel like you're sliding off the back, or (nose up) if you feel yourself pushing yourself back onto the seat. Moreover, after these adjustments, sense where the pressure points are and see if moving either way takes that pressure off. If you're really desperate, you go...

With some brakes it doesn't matter which way you mount them so you can just flip the levers around. Setting your sag and tire pressure is as important as moto. Definitely go tubeless.

tire pressure makes a HUGE different in how the bike feels. I run 22 front 25 rear on DH casing tires. I'm 190 pounds.