Posts
231
Joined
5/12/2010
Location
Anaheim, CA
US
Fantasy
3688th
Edited Date/Time
8/1/2017 2:49pm
I was hoping I'd luck out and come across a few who have ridden both and have some feedback regarding the two. I'm coming off a lifetime of 250 2 strokers and hoping the transition will be as seemless as possible. I'm very sensitive to light & nimble handling/flickability of a bike, granted these 450's are much heavier than what I'm coming off of - which is the reason I'm looking for the bike that has that smaller, lighter, and most manueverable feel to it. I believe I read somebody say that the Kawi feels longer than other bikes, which would steer me away from it, but that could be a botched memory. Any feedback would be appreciated! I'm also still in debate in regards to buying new vs playing the Craigslist lottery, leaning towards buying new but some Craigslist listings do look promising at times.
Go get the KTM.
The Shop
Of course, I might add that the Cadillac we're talking about is carrying 25 cinder blocks in the trunk, has a JATO rocket strapped to the roof, has a crappy boom box sound system which is stuck on 11, and wants to throw you through the windshield every time you even consider remembering what it was like to lift off the throttle.
Donnell's Motorcycles in Independence, Missouri
Pit Row
The Kawasaki is good and I actually really liked it, but for my style of riding (off road) I didn't care for the forks and it needed a few changes to make it the best it could be for offroad. The KTM is like butter off the bottom end and then just pulls hard through the mid. The bike needed nothing except a skid plate and radiator braces/guards. After that, it was perfect for me. The AER forks, once broken in, have been pretty solid. Much better than the old 4CS.
I also rode a buddy's KX450F with cone valve forks and the trax shock that was setup for the national enduros. It was really solid. The motor was very similar to that of the KTM, but the suspension was killer. The only thing it was missing was the electric start. I also didn't care for the big top heavy tank. With it full of gas you could definitely feel a difference.
Nothing much to say for the Suzuki. It was pretty much stock and was OK. Nothing to write home about, but it was fine. The power wasn't exciting, but it was fairly smooth. The suspension was 'meh'. It would have been better if i set it up for myself, but usually at 170lbs, I don't even have to set the sag as it's usually right in the ballpark stock.
In the end, you can get killer deals on the Kawasaki and Suzuki. I would have been thinking about a Kawasaki, but a shop helped me out on a deal for a KTM that I wasn't about to pass up.
My local dealer once told me that they will never sell a KTM for less than MSRP because they are only allocated a select number of bikes from KTM and they know they will sell that many so they have no reason to give out any deals.
Had a 450sxf -16 last year, its much bigger than the Honda, and it felt really heavy in the air
Get a 250f or a newer 250 smoker.450s kill the fun for me.
Post a reply to: 17' Kawi or KTM 450 'smaller/nimbler' feeling?