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I'm a 47 year old vet weekend warrior who spent my early 40's racing (30+, 35+, 40+) Daytona's, Muddy Creek's, WW Ranch, SOB and various LL area and regional qualifiers and now I sometime find my way over to race REM or ride Pala or Milestone. I ride about 50-70hrs a season and mostly professional practice ride these days. Since 2011 I've ridden most every make of KTM 2 stroke and 4 stoke models and many of the most recent Husky's. When I do race, I'm typically in the 1st pack of weekend warriors behind all the older fast guys, albeit usually at least 10 seconds a lap behind the Barry Carston's, Earl Mays, and John Grewe's of the sport.
At my speed or my lack of corner speed and inability to carry momentum like you can, I will hang my hat on needing more top end over-rev to be able to clear obstacles out of the corners, something you won't relate to anymore at your pace. The spacing between 2 & 3rd gear puts guys at my pace in very odd shift points on the face of a jump and other scenarios.
If you were to race a stock new generation 250sx and then I were to give you the same bike with improved gear ratio's and more top end over-rev, I would be willing to bet you would also be a few tenths faster per lap. And let's forget about being fast, in my case I am much more concerned with being comfortable and confident. While I could certainly adjust to the new generation bike, my point is the new generation bike does not deliver the level of confidence due to what I feel are real and significant drawbacks. Like you, I am a KTM loyalist but I'm not going to drink the cool-aid when I know KTM missed the mark on this particular model and has yet to address these issues.
People can choose to believe my point of view or not, I share it for those who find it to be informative. I'm very much looking forward to upgrading to the new model someday to enjoy the new frame and counter balancer, but only when I feel the rest of the bike exceeds my current ride.
The Shop
Seriously though, I make 1st gear usable on my setups, otherwise you run out of gear on fast sections if you like to keep it in the meat of the power. I'd be curious to know if anyone has setup theirs with a useable 1st, and if so is the gap still a problem?
I'm spoiled with a lazy man's big bore 4t now so my viewpoint is a bit different, I shift a lot less than everyone else, and 3rd gear starts are not needed since 2nd runs about 30+ mph.
I now understand though, if you are in 2nd you would have to shift almost immediately to 3rd, 2nd is way too short
Thats all it takes for this bike too. Maybe add a tooth and use 3rd and 4th. Also the pc exhaust is adding insane power thatll help fill in any gaps, jd jetting is getting pretty rave reviews and theres your jetting solved, top end solved, and gearing..
Or just keep crying because the bike doesnt fit your exact style, skill, speed, tracks, and idea of exactly what YOU think you need. It has to fit a wide variety of riders, needs, skills etc. Sorry ktm didnt invite you for some test sessions and adjust based on YOUR feed back.
Opyguy also this isnt directed at you, just at the thread in general.
no offense taken, i enjoy the dialogue and opinions, learning a lot. FWIW, I dropped to a 49 tooth and still never use second, I find that being a gear higher tires me out less, settles the suspension more and no doubt the bike can pull a higher gear. Also, pc silencer really made a huge difference in over-rev....everyone raves about the pc pipe, I'm actually tempted to switch from my wmf to the pc....in any event, good thread, a lot of info.
The track we were at has big double not far out of a slick hard packed corner. On my yz I can roll around the corner in 3rd and then roll the power on as traction becomes available until I am full throttle to clear it. One of the guys runs a 48 tooth sprocket on the back and has to clutch the bike hard in 3rd to clear it, the other runs a 52 tooth and has to go from 3rd to 4th.
Another topic that came up was wheels. One of them commented that hopefully the 19's come with good wheels, not the cheap Excels.
No doubt the current 250sx is a good bike but there could definitely be some improvements made
Honestly, one of the best overall bikes I’ve ever raced was an 04/05 Suzuki RM250. It corners better than my current bike, but about everything else on the KTM is better. If I was going to go buy a brand new 450 to ride- it would be a 17 Suzuki 450. I wouldn’t want to race it much but that bike works really damn well even though it’s essentially a 10 year old bike. My riding style suits that bikes chassis because I am NOT an overrev guy. Point being there are some bikes out there that I would rather ride for different needs vs. my current race bike.
So for you, yeah I’d understand desiring a little more point and shoot power for a vet. At 7500 to 13000 rpm the gear change from 2nd to 3rd is very linear on the 17, but 2nd doesn’t have much pull at lower rpm. An FMF gnarly would help, but that’s just a bandaid to a larger miss for your specific needs.
Sounds like you’ve found the ideal machine. I think it may be easier to iron kinks on a bike a few years old than it is a bike a few months old. Did you ever ride the 2003 gold framed beast 250 SX? Could swear people said in stock trim it boasted 54hp.
I wish I could go back in time and ride that bike at my current skill and also ride my dads 96 360sx.
Your YZ is a good bike. But I bet you could do the same jump on their bikes with a couple laps on each without problem or hesitation.
Pit Row
Play the vid at 10 seconds in to see the corner in 2nd gear, shifting to 3rd for a jump.
https://youtu.be/95UjsRkE2a0
Put that jump face 10 feet closer and now you probably put yourself in a situation where it's easier to make a mistake.
My local track is very fast and gets very choppy and whooped out on a busy day...there is one corner where I use second, but I'm trying to concentrate on getting it in third so I can get through the following obstacles better without having to shift....
Been working on carrying 4th through a couple of other bowl turns so as to get up to speed quicker without a shift.
I find that forcing myself to run a higher gear in every corner is improving my corner speed...I find if I carry fourth well, I'm immediately going faster upon the exit and can just hammer it on without having to make a shift through rough ground or before an obstacle....
I'll see how I go with this on my yz 250 two stroke when I start riding it.
Im becoming a big believer in carying the highest gear possible in a corner.
Was at a mx school at park4 in Melbourne a while back and I was shocked when the instructor Cheyne Boyd told me he uses 2nd gear in most corners on that track. That guy is very very fast! I just couldn't make it work for me..
Come to think of it, I would consider Cheyne Boyd to be a revver, but considering the massive corner speed he carries...why be in second? It works for him ,but I just can't figure out how
Everything can be summed up in a few sentences:
Is the new platform better? yes. Radically better? No.
Does it have more power/less power? I don't fucking know, Chief. Nor do I care. You can make these bikes into a VET woods bike with no power or a 54HP fire-breathing monster with a few 100 bucks of changes either way.
This literally is a bike anyone can enjoy, simply because of its versatility.
Post a reply to: 2019 KTM 250SX - anyone ride one yet?