Help decide: KTM EXC/XC 150 2020 TPI vs KTM SX150 2020

All I can say is I’ve been on a 2018 SX150 for two seasons now, and absolutely love it. I race hare scrambles here in the Midwest USA + a handful of practice mx days. I personally always prefer an MX bike with a few ‘woods’ mods over and XC bike. My woods/track ratio is closer to 60/40. So if you’re gonna be on the track more, I think you’ll be happier with the SX.

I'm going to ask a basic question first - why the 150?

I love the 150 platform, but I actually find it harder to ride than a bigger two stroke. While that can be more fun, and the weight of the bike is incredible, its not really beginner friendly IMO unless you just want to "get around". At 176 pounds you aren't exactly light either, and could certainly benefit from more umph.

I feel a much better bike for "do it all' 2 stroke for an entry level rider is going to be the KTM/Husky/GasGas XC/TX/EX 300i

There is a reason this displacement is the best selling two stroke displacement (from the Austrian brand).

That said, if you are going to be on the track most of the time, I'd go toward a 350 4T (or a 250 4T). They rip, are still playful, and is a weapon off-road in less-than-hard-enduro terrain.

I have a 2021 150 XCW-TPI and a 2013 150SX. They are very different bikes. The XCW-TPI runs very well at low rpm and is quick handling for tight singletrack. The SX has a much bigger hit in the midrange and seems to settle in the corners much better. If you are going to ride 70% motocross, then get the SX.

The 150 EXC-W has the PDS rear suspension which is not great for jumps or whoops which you will tend to see a lot of on sand tracks. The suspension on EXC is probably too soft for track use unless you are pretty slow. Stick with the SX or I see you can get a 350 XC-F in Sweden. That may be a good choice too as it is an MX/Trail hybrid. Basically MX bike with bigger fuel tank, kick stand, and softer suspension but still much firmer than an enduro model.

Jeff_Brines wrote:

I'm going to ask a basic question first - why the 150?

I love the 150 platform, but I actually find it harder to ride than a bigger two stroke. While that can be more fun, and the weight of the bike is incredible, its not really beginner friendly IMO unless you just want to "get around". At 176 pounds you aren't exactly light either, and could certainly benefit from more umph.

I feel a much better bike for "do it all' 2 stroke for an entry level rider is going to be the KTM/Husky/GasGas XC/TX/EX 300i

There is a reason this displacement is the best selling two stroke displacement (from the Austrian brand).

That said, if you are going to be on the track most of the time, I'd go toward a 350 4T (or a 250 4T). They rip, are still playful, and is a weapon off-road in less-than-hard-enduro terrain.

They dont have the TX/XC in Sweden due to new rules.

We only got the TE and EXC that we can get plated.

wrc777 wrote:

The 150 EXC-W has the PDS rear suspension which is not great for jumps or whoops which you will tend to see a lot of on sand tracks. The suspension on EXC is probably too soft for track use unless you are pretty slow. Stick with the SX or I see you can get a 350 XC-F in Sweden. That may be a good choice too as it is an MX/Trail hybrid. Basically MX bike with bigger fuel tank, kick stand, and softer suspension but still much firmer than an enduro model.

I actually bought this bike from a friend who races SX125 2017 with a lot of goodies with 50 hours two weeks ago but have not had time to ride yet.

But from all the reading here on vital has made me yearn for the 150 engine... I will test this SX125 with öhlins ttx front and back and see if it works for my type of riding. But i still think om going to purchase the SX150 or maybe TE250 with linkage.

Jeff_Brines wrote:

I'm going to ask a basic question first - why the 150?

I love the 150 platform, but I actually find it harder to ride than a bigger two stroke. While that can be more fun, and the weight of the bike is incredible, its not really beginner friendly IMO unless you just want to "get around". At 176 pounds you aren't exactly light either, and could certainly benefit from more umph.

I feel a much better bike for "do it all' 2 stroke for an entry level rider is going to be the KTM/Husky/GasGas XC/TX/EX 300i

There is a reason this displacement is the best selling two stroke displacement (from the Austrian brand).

That said, if you are going to be on the track most of the time, I'd go toward a 350 4T (or a 250 4T). They rip, are still playful, and is a weapon off-road in less-than-hard-enduro terrain.

I do partially agree with this. I moved from a 250xc to the 150sx, but that was solely for the endurance aspect of the hare scrambles. At 37yo 5'10" and 165 lbs no gear, the bigger bore bikes felt overpowered and tiring for me after 2+ hours of racing. The woods are a great equalizer of displacement. The 150sx is so g-damn light and nimble it's incredible. But on the track, I feel the opposite effect. It's overly tiring. Rode a friends 2019 350sx on a track day and, wow, that was awesome. All said, if I was more track, I'd be on a 250f.

SX is 20 plus pounds lighter. Throw on a higher compression insert, cut the slide to 6.5mm and put in a 32.5 pilot. The tpi 150 is slow.

I would probably get the SX. And if you have some spare money, find a second set of suspension (second hand Öhlins should be easy to find in Sweden) and set it up softer for when you ride enduro.

A Rekluse Radius CX auto clutch would also be really beneficial for the enduro riding.

wrc777 wrote:

The 150 EXC-W has the PDS rear suspension which is not great for jumps or whoops which you will tend to see a lot of on sand tracks. The suspension on EXC is probably too soft for track use unless you are pretty slow. Stick with the SX or I see you can get a 350 XC-F in Sweden. That may be a good choice too as it is an MX/Trail hybrid. Basically MX bike with bigger fuel tank, kick stand, and softer suspension but still much firmer than an enduro model.

Dave_theswede wrote:

I actually bought this bike from a friend who races SX125 2017 with a lot of goodies with 50 hours two weeks ago but have not had time to ride yet.

But from all the reading here on vital has made me yearn for the 150 engine... I will test this SX125 with öhlins ttx front and back and see if it works for my type of riding. But i still think om going to purchase the SX150 or maybe TE250 with linkage.

I believe ktm sells a piston and cylinder kit to convert the 125 to a 150. That is probably cheaper than selling the old and buying a new bike.

I just spent a year and a half on a 2018 KTM150XC-W(pre TPI). I also rode a 2018 150SX a handful of times in the past year. Skill wise, I'm a mid pack B rider in the woods, Midpack C on an mx track. I rode everything from tight woods to arenacross to outdoor moto on that bike.

If I was more interested in MX than woods, I'd get a 150SX, the power delivery is more MX friendly, the suspension is stiffer(not an air fork fan but they aren't THAT bad), and it is lighter. However, KTM's new 125XC with a 144 kit may be the best of both worlds if you're hellbent on a smaller bore 2t and want to ride woods and mx. I haven't ridden one but it sounds like a solid "in between".

If you're buying the bike for a track make sure it has a linkage rear end. If you buying for the woods I know people(including me) that have both linkage and PDS and like both depending on the conditions. Pingree and Langston (both on KTM at the time) said that PDS works great in smaller high-frequency bumps and sand, but the linkage works better everywhere else.

Giraffe579 wrote:

I have a 2021 150 XCW-TPI and a 2013 150SX. They are very different bikes. The XCW-TPI runs very well at low rpm and is quick handling for tight singletrack. The SX has a much bigger hit in the midrange and seems to settle in the corners much better. If you are going to ride 70% motocross, then get the SX.

Correct, the TPI changed the 150 much more than the 250/300. Much broader spread of power. I would get the TPI unit now.

The EXC suspension is completely useless at bumpy motocross track in stock form and EXC wide ratio transmission doesn't work too good either for motocross style riding.

I would take the 150SX and maybe add flywheel weight and play with the power valve settings to make power band more manageable for trail riding. It's also much easier to soften SX model AER air forks with just lowering air pressure for trail riding than making XPLOR spring forks work for motocross riding which are on the European EXC models.

I would stay away from the XC and TPI personally. XC's are super soft in the suspension department, not great for moto. After a string of 250sx bikes I purchased a 250tpi as I wanted e-start. After a RK head, remap and power valve adjust I still hated the power delivery for even the smallest amount of moto or fast double track. I suppose if you are into slow slippery extreme trials it may be ok... I sold mine right away at a loss.