Posts
871
Joined
9/14/2009
Location
CA
Edited Date/Time
1/24/2012 2:29pm
Well first question, does Yamaha even have a factory team? I know they supply him with a factory bike, but they don't pay any riders salaries like Honda or Suzuki etc. San Manual pays Bubba his giant salary, and is contracted to them not Yamaha right? If so, why doesn't he choose to ride a better bike, ie a Suzuki?
The Shop
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As for Suzuki being the best, its easy to see how both Reed last year, and Dungy this year could corner on a dime, its simply the best handling bike out there. They had a bike that was developed and tested by RC and they said he could tell the difference if you changed the suspension one click without telling him. He developed the bike and even got Suzuki to shave down certain areas of the frame for more flex to enhance handling! Thats illegal now, but too late, They got it done already.
Nothing is for certain, but I think its a pretty educated guess.
RMZ 450...248.0 lbs
KXF 450...247.1lbs
KTM 450 SX-F..230.6 lbs
YZF 450..249 lbs
KTM 350 SX-F..245 pounds
Pit Row
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Q: WHAT DOES THE 2011 KTM 350SXF REALLY WEIGH?
A: KTM says that the 350SXF weighs 230.2 pounds, but on our scale it weighed 237 pounds (without gas—which is how they are weighed by the FIM and AMA). In a perfect world, the 2011 KTM 350SXF would weigh 220 pounds. Why? Because that is the minimum weight limit for a bike in the 450 AMA National class. Additionally, the inherent philosophy of building a mid-sized 350cc engine is that you can put it in a 250 frame and compensate for the loss of horsepower with a lower overall weight.
Q: WHERE DID THE WEIGHT COME FROM?
A: At 237 pounds, the 350SXF is not light. Why? Let’s assume that the typical 250F weighs 220 pounds. To make it into a 350SXF, you have to add in the beefed-up engine components, steel clutch basket, stronger frame and larger rear tire. That is conservatively about 6 pounds more. Next on the agenda is the fact that fuel-injected bikes typically weigh about 3 pounds more than a carbureted bike because of the electric fuel pump, thicker gas tank and added magnets of the magneto. Finally, KTM elected to mount an electric starter on the 350SXF. And, even though the KTM 350SXF starter motor is slightly smaller than the 450SXF unit, there are still the issues of the battery, starter gear and starter itself. All this weighs about 5 more pounds (because you get to deduct the weight of the kickstarter, kickstarter gear and idler gear). The total weight gain is 14 pounds. When you add 14 pounds to 220 pounds, you get a ballpark figure of 234 pounds. By this calculation, the 2011 KTM 350SXF is about 3 pounds heavier than it should be.
For comparison, the 2011 KTM 450SXF weighs 242 pounds. The 5 extra pounds are attributed to the 450’s larger cases, bigger crank and longer frame rails.
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