Looking for another bike

[greg the pole]

"not streetable" is one of those terms that aren't really literal. Of course it is literally streetable. It is licensed no differently than a Goldwing.

And actually, the 500exc is now into its 4th or 5th year and is proving to be FAR more reliable than many predicted.
One chap just arrived in Oregon from the bottom of South America. I believe he just hit 500 hours! (He's from New Zealand and has a pretty cool ride-report. New Zealand to Oregon)

I have one myself. It's an outrageously fun bike to ride and very easy to work on, so maintenance isn't a drag. But I'm not fond of the idea of long highway runs on it.
It's a serious dirt bike with a license plate. Skinny, extreeeeemly light, tall. But I have no reservations for jumping on it and ripping a commute, just to charge the battery!

Fair warning though, asphalt will consume the kind of tires that this bike deserves to be shod with. And if you choose to motard one, it'd be wise to put a cush drive rear hub on it.

My Yamaha dealer just picked up Husqvarna. Those new white (orange) bikes look gorgeous on the floor next to the blue-yamis.

I can't speak for the 500 efi, but my 450 carby was not super easy to work on. That said, I attempted a valve check on a friends exc 250. What an utter pig to work on. Even after you dis assemble the entire bike to get to the head, it's a total PITA to check the actual valve gap. It took me less time to rebuild my two stroke, than to check the valves on the four stroke.
That said apparently all newer ktms rarely need valves adjusted. If it starts easily when it's hot, then you're good to go.
I can easily see hitting 500 easy hours (Read: dual purpose, not hard trail riding) and not needing a new top end.
People also freak out about two strokes needing work all the time. My second hand 300 had close to 150 hours when I bought it. I put another 140 hrs on it before pulling the cylinder. The jug needed a light hone. The plating was spotless. After putting a new piston, pin, rings, and gaskets, it's good for another 250 hrs.
The biggest plus about the 2 stroke is maintenance. Change the transmission oil every 10 hrs. Check the air filter, clean when dirty. Ride the piss out of it. My next bike will be a BETA 300rr injection. A bit softer than the xc/husqavarna te, but more suited to the riding I do. Plus oil injection means no more premix. The guys I ride with that own them love them. Great bike for the average guy.
Bikes have come a long way.

 

[snakebitten]

Bikes have come a long way.

Haven't they? Especially just the last 5 or 6 years. It's just crazy!
And I LOVE these modern 2-strokes too. Wish they had license plates these days.

As for working on the 500EXC, my opinion is based on all the modifications I did when I first bought it. (Nothing is broken yet, so I can't vouch for real world repairs.
But one bolt out of the fuel tank and she comes right off. And everything is right there to get to. It only took minutes to do the obligatory de-smog routine. Took 5 minutes to add the tuner. Takes 2 minutes to get to the battery. The air filter maintenance is trailside easy. Oil changes are minutes too.

There is a considerable difference from that 450 era, from what I've heard. And I have those 2 950's to compare to. They are HORRIBLE to do anything to, by comparison. Wonderful machines, once the carbs are jetted properly. But even an oil change is a challenge.

 

[greg the pole]

Haven't they? Especially just the last 5 or 6 years. It's just crazy!
And I LOVE these modern 2-strokes too. Wish they had license plates these days.

As for working on the 500EXC, my opinion is based on all the modifications I did when I first bought it. (Nothing is broken yet, so I can't vouch for real world repairs.
But one bolt out of the fuel tank and she comes right off. And everything is right there to get to. It only took minutes to do the obligatory de-smog routine. Took 5 minutes to add the tuner. Takes 2 minutes to get to the battery. The air filter maintenance is trailside easy. Oil changes are minutes too.

There is a considerable difference from that 450 era, from what I've heard. And I have those 2 950's to compare to. They are HORRIBLE to do anything to, by comparison. Wonderful machines, once the carbs are jetted properly. But even an oil change is a challenge.

You can basically take any of the modern dirt bikes apart on the trail. But with the KTMs it's dead easy. They are all alike. One bolt for seat, and tank (tank shorouds can stay on as long as you unhook off the rads) air filters are a doddle.
I found the valve adjustment horrible on my buddys 250. I figured an 1-2 hour job. 3 hours later we were both cursing still, and have not gotten anywhere.

They also take a beating, and keep going. A serious beating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cllGOicGRY
here's some riding and color commentary from last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c_NHyxKPVw&t=482s

 

[Defekticon]

Mmmm yeah. So Going to the KTM dealer tomorrow to look at a KTM 350EXC. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

 

[BaldKnob]

The 350EXC would be my choice if I decided to upgrade. Excellent power and revs forever, it is more controllable for Eastern woods riding and tighter single track. It's much harder to hang on to that 500 after an hour of 6-7/10 pace. Again, this is a race bike and is overkill for puttin' around town. YMMV

Just to distract you, have you seen Kawasaki's mini-ADV, the 300 Versys X? Looks sharp to me but I was hoping for a 650 in a more dirt-worthy chassis. BMW has a new 310 thumper that might be dirt-roadable and Honda has the Rally 250L that would rip up a dirt road.

 

[BaldKnob]

My next bike will be a BETA 300rr injection. A bit softer than the xc/husqavarna te, but more suited to the riding I do. Plus oil injection means no more premix. The guys I ride with that own them love them. Great bike for the average guy.
Bikes have come a long way.

Greg, have you ridden the 2017 XC? The counter balanced engine is super smooth and the bike is probably 30lbs lighter than the Beta. I think the E-Oil Injection will be on next years KTM as it is brilliant in the way it rations the oil. No way to make a wrong choice between the two. Both handle incredible and make stupid power so pick a color.

 

[greg the pole]

Greg, have you ridden the 2017 XC? The counter balanced engine is super smooth and the bike is probably 30lbs lighter than the Beta. I think the E-Oil Injection will be on next years KTM as it is brilliant in the way it rations the oil. No way to make a wrong choice between the two. Both handle incredible and make stupid power so pick a color.

No not yet. One of the guys rides a 2017 TE300, and another an XC250. Two guys ride the 2016 300rr Betas.
Talking about the TE, he said the new suspension is brilliant. It's an open cone fork of some sort, not air, which wouldn't work here since I winter.
The XC gets great reviews, and I will get a proper ride on it.
The Beta guys offered to swap for a ride to get a feel.

I want to get away from the PDS shock and go to a linkage set up, so no XCW. The Beta is smaller, and for my height (5'9") and they technical riding I do, it would suit me well. I don't go on track, and don't need balls to the wall power. That said, I will not be in the market till later this year, so by then all the 2018's will be out. If there's something new and exciting on the 2018 TE300 (e.g. EFI, or injection) many guys will curb their 2017s in, and I might be able to pick one up cheap.
For the time being, my 2011 works well (got the starter finally sorted out) so I'll pile on the hours on it for the time being, and pounce in the fall. Funny that everyone talks about vibes on the two strokes. I don't notice it...

 

[BaldKnob]

I'm 5'8 (on a good day) and the lower seat on the Beta is appreciated but definitely, ride the KTM when possible. KTM puts on a great Ride Day and if you bring the gear, they let you ride their bikes. The XC has WP's AER air fork and were the 1st air fork I've ever ridden. It felt plush for my weight (2 bills) and controlled when pushing. I was very impressed, considering the negative press about air forks. Worlds better than the 4C fork. My short ride on the 300RR was nice and I have a dealer in town but it vibrates to a degree that causes my hands to tire. If Beta addresses the vibes, I would buy red just for that oil injection. Premix is dead.

 

[greg the pole]

I'll wrangle a ride from one of the guys in the group. Ditto for the Beta.
I ride in snow, and down to about -10C. not sure how the air forks would handle that. Besides, the xc has no light (front and back) and thats a requirment up here in alberta.
If i went the KTM route it would be the blue one, especailly if it had efi, or injection. As I said, the TE guy raved about the suspension. And yes 4CS is a Total PITA. Even the 2CS is a bit of a pain with the internal compression bladder.

Had a very short ride on a 300rr race, and a 300rr, didn't notice the vibration. I spoke to the top selling beta dealer in the province, and he said the 300rr suspension settles a further 1" after 10 hrs use, so great news there. Plus to me the 300rr felt more compact both in height and in lenght.
One of the Beta dealers nearby sells all their demos at the end of the year (sept/oct) at a big discount, fully kitted (rad braces, pipe guard, skid plate, linkage guard, and decent hand protection) for about $2k less than a new one. I'd be very tempted to pick up a 2017 300RR with 30 hrs, with $1500 of accessories already installed

 

[snakebitten]

ALL of the discussed contenders are wicked cool bikes. How can you go wrong?

$2K off with $1.5K accessories would never be a remorse situation, that's for sure!

 

[greg the pole]

ALL of the discussed contenders are wicked cool bikes. How can you go wrong?

$2K off with $1.5K accessories would never be a remorse situation, that's for sure!

yep. win win.

 

[Defekticon]

What a day....

Back story to this thread:

Last spring we sold my wifes DR200 with the intention of finding something more roadworthy. Last fall we went looking for a bike for my wife. The intention from my perspective was for her to pick out one that she liked without trying to direct her to a specific model. I let the salesman do his thing and wandered off to look at other stuff. We went to two dealers (Petes Cycle in Bel Air, MD and Coleman Powersports in Delaware). She sat on at least 10 different bikes. Africa Twin, Weestrom, KLR, DRZ400, Ninja 300 (all too tall/too top heavy/not the right riding position) and finally she sat on a CB500x. She fell in love with the CB500x. Awesome.

We didn't find Colemans offer particularly appealing on a two model year old bike that was still in inventory. So we went to Petes looked at an NC700 and the CB300?. We didn't like the price there either, and they didn't have any CB500x's out of a crate. We sat on the idea of the CB500x and decided to find one used and pay cash since ADVrider had quite a few a way less than what dealers were asking. Some came and went but none within reasonable driving distance. Ended up not looking anymore and just sort of put the whole search on the back burner.

Fast forward to today. I go to B&B in Manheim, PA. A Yamaha/KTM Dealer. Oh boy all my favorite things. I walk straight to an XSR900 and almost make up my mind right there on the spot. Wow that is a cool damn motorcycle. Tiff walks straight up to a brand new Tenere and says "I think I like this, it looks amazing in black". ??? She said my eyes started to sparkle. Then, right next to it is a 2015 FJ-09. She gets the salesman to pull it out, gets on the bike and says "This is it, I want this bike the weight is lower and easier to balance than the tenere.". :-X

We look at a WR250R, KTM's, and an FJR, she really wanted the FJR till she saw the price tag. Fast forward to us coming back to the dealership a few hours later after re-evaluating our plans and eating lunch. I buy the KTM 500 EXC on the spot. I sat on it. I Effing loved it - immediately. Holy cow that bike has an amazing lightness and balance to it. It feels like a mountain bike. I can't wait to get this thing up to AOAA and break it in. They had a 350EXC and a 450 Six Days that I glazed over. I'm also now on the hook for an FJ-09 with the wife. I may be buying the one she sat on next week. It's heavily marked down and Yamaha is doing 3.99% for 36 months right now.

Ethan (My 5 year old) saw the KTM EXC 500 scale model bike, so he got a toy. Everybody left happy. I'm ecstatic that my wife finally found something that just clicked for her right away. This thread has a very happy ending! Thanks for ya'lls support and advice

Obligatory picture

Bonus, My salesman is a S10 owner! I invited him out to the Romney event too.

 

[Checkswrecks]

::012::


Congratulations! Sounds like a great day.


The Timmonium show begins Friday if you want to drool some more.

 

[BaldKnob]

Fantastic choices and I hope you enjoy both of them. I do feel for your wallet but it's money well spent. The EXC's are so good, KTM stopped making the XCF-W lineup as they are essentially the same bike. Never ridden the 900 triple, I imagine it's a riot too.

 

[greg the pole]

Fantastic choices and I hope you enjoy both of them. I do feel for your wallet but it's money well spent. The EXC's are so good, KTM stopped making the XCF-W lineup as they are essentially the same bike. Never ridden the 900 triple, I imagine it's a riot too.

The 900 is one of the best motors yamaha put out in the last 10 yrs
https://flic.kr/p/PhxNm3

 

[BaldKnob]

The 900 is one of the best motors yamaha put out in the last 10 yrs

I'm picturing Yamaha making a Gen 2 FJR with a big-bore triple and 150lbs lighter. Not my bag but it's time for a new FJR.

 

[greg the pole]

I'm picturing Yamaha making a Gen 2 FJR with a big-bore triple and 150lbs lighter. Not my bag but it's time for a new FJR.

Yamaha is pretty conventional when it comes to motor development. When they started with the MT/FZ09 they put in years of studies, market research (europeans mostly) to come up with the concept. They knew fully well where the triple would go into. So far they have that motor in three bikes, all with the same frame, wheels, brakes etc (FZ/FJ/XSR). I don't see them making a big bore triple, unless they see the $$ in it.
Ditto for the MT/FZ-07. Started with the street FZ-07, then the XSR-07, now the MT-07 tracer in Europe, and soon to be housed in the T7 tenere.
The MT-10 was a great idea, but has limited application.

I'm no mechanic, but wouldn't it be a lot of work to redesign a motor that's chain driven, and adapt it to shaft?

I'm guessing they will focus on the T7 first, then maybe a redesign for the big tenere. The FJR is due for a proper redesign, and not a refresh. Original design dates back to 2002. That's 15+ years.