Madhatter wants a dirt bike….
- Thread starter Madhatter
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ballisticexchris
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WOW Terry!! I'm jealous!! That looks like so much fun. What beautiful colors the trees and country are.
I was thinkin' that was looking familiar. Some of the best roads in Texas. And, the best time of the year to ride them.
Madhatter
Well-Known Member
Them trails be paved ......
eemsreno
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Haven't you ever Bought anything on EBay?
Pictures can make it look immaculate,
Then you get it, What a pile!
A couple days after a light rain, No dust,, No Mud.
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ballisticexchris
Guest
HA HA!! Track and mellow trails will keep a 300 in pristine condition like yours. Come on out here and ride some of the trails that flat spot rims, gouge swing arms, and smash pipes.
Nice and very clean looking 300 for sure. I like your kind of trails better!! Cheaper to maintain your bike. After almost 50 years of riding stuff that beats the crap out of bikes I'm finally ready to enjoy the mellow stuff.
Yes ... you don't have to trust the photos when you buy on ebay. Once I ordered an inflatable doll like this ...
And they sent me this doll
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ballisticexchris
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8 months
Madhatter
Well-Known Member
damn , to wake up to those pictures , I'm awake now.
Madhatter
Well-Known Member
been very dry around here of late . that's changed this weekend , got an all day slow soaking rain . most of the dirt bike tracks are closed when its this wet. I prefer mud over sand , we know mud is slippery , and to me its more predictable . stay straight watch your power and ride on through . sand is evil , looks like it will support you then it throws you on your butt.
I talked myself out of a wedding for next weekend , if weather holds out will take the honda on a ride for the first time since May . heat and a new kayak got in the way all summer.
I talked myself out of a wedding for next weekend , if weather holds out will take the honda on a ride for the first time since May . heat and a new kayak got in the way all summer.
Madhatter
Well-Known Member
nothing about dirt bikes this morning its about the temperatures here , a very cozy 27 this morning , expecting a high of 62 ..... pretty big temp swing . we will see.
Madhatter
Well-Known Member
your not surprised I didn't ride , my excuses rain and cold , hell sometimes I'm just lazy on the weekend . but did get to check out a friends KTM 300 xc w tp I (have to put a space between letters or "Mac' don't like it " . a very nice bike , it has the gears in my head turning ..... might make a change soon . I really like that KTM , it was on my list originally , but the honda was such a screaming deal , but now im thinking .......
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ballisticexchris
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KTM 300 is a fantastic bike. But a money pit. There is a pretty long list of must do stuff to keep it reliable. Safety wire upper shock bolt, weld powervalve gear pin, re route wire harness, purchase exhaust flange support, etc.
If you are riding harsh rocks and desert then purchase an extra wheelset with DID or Exdel A60 rims. The stock rims crack in anything more than track or mellow trail riding.
SilverBullet
Well-Known Member
Yes such a money pit. I'm going broke on gas, oil and tires. Imagine I even had to replace the chain, wheel bearings and fork seals on my 2002 300exc last year. Totally unacceptable after only 10 years. So I don't know what I was thinking to buy a 2019 te300i this year. More gas, oil and tires. I'm riding this one even more so might even have to buy a sparkplug and chain after 100 hours. Money pit.
Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk
eemsreno
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My 2017 150 XC-W and 125SX has been flawless! Way higher quality than the YZs, I had before. The YZs didn't have any problems but compared side by side every part on the KTM is made to higher standards.
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ballisticexchris
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Depends on where and how you ride. Screaming across the desert at race pace, slamming through rock gardens, running over 300 degrees temps for miles on slow walking pace trails, etc will show the true reliability of a machine.
I have owned and wrenched on lots of race bikes in the pits and my own. KTM's are always the ones that require the most attention to keep running. Hondas, Betas and Yamahas are the gold standard for reliability.
Almost every time I raced or trail rode my 300 EXC I was puling out Benjamin's to fix breakage and spent hours of labor fixing it for the next ride/race.
Broken power valve pin: New piston, power valve gear, and weld pin. I was lucky. Most of the time it's over 1000.00 for new cylinder, powervalve assembly, piston, rod, etc.
Flat spottted rims after every big hit. Finally cracked the front one in a race. Cheap low end factory Excel junk. Replaced with DID Dirt Stars and no more flat spots or broken spokes.
Top shock bolt coming loose after every ride even with Loktite. Drilled and safety wire.
Triple tree poor design (and still is). Falls apart and drops out of the bottom when servicing. Hard to keep tight.
PDS suspension!! Don't even get me started on that. Over 1000.00 revalve to make it handle right and every three or four races having to replace the lower swingarm bushing. Replace front fork oil twice a year to prevent pogo stick ride. Rear shock spring rubs on the air box boot.
Cylinder exhaust flange. Broken from hard hit on pipe dropping off rocks. Replaced cylinder complete and got a guard for it.
Bent subframe over and over and over just from small drops in the rocks.
Shattered plastic water pump impeller.
4 different pipes rotated while others being fixed. To be fair this is an issue with any 2 stroke.
Helicoil fork guard bolts. Scraping in rocks damage.
Crappy Brembo front brake MC. After a half dozen rebuilds I went to a Nissin.
Air box issues. Replaced the hold down spring a few times.
Lots of tabs broken and rewelded. Foot pegs tear off and destroy mounting tabs.
OEM radiators are right off a 125. Very soft and bend easy even with guards.
Chain guide bends when riding ruts or rocks. Got tired of hammering back. Went with TM designs.
The list goes on but this is unacceptable for any bike.
My Beta is a 4T and has not had near the problems of the KTM and has been rode twice as hard and more hours on it.
Madhatter
Well-Known Member
good morning all . in the time I have had the honda I have learned a lot .
# 1 , buy what you want not what your friends say you need .
#2 , honda crf400x is an awesome bike , but there are better ergo's for my size 6'2' with different bikes .
#3 , as long as I'm in the woods and sitting the bike is great
#4 , standing is not so good on this bike as the triangle , bar peg seat angles are rather tight , and as I stand I feel as though I will teeter over the bars . the super Tenere has a better more open triangle for standing . (62 year old knees will only go so far )
#5 can't trust the low speed 1st gear stuff , flame outs at any time , induces the stall fall .... the honda seems too have a reputation for this . more than most .
# 6 , as im never going to be a fast rider on dirt ( im slow on street ) but I want to have fun and the deep woods trails is were I have enjoyed the honda most .
#7 , so a chugging 2 stroke that resist stalls compared to the flame out queen is what im thinking now.
# 8 , was impressed with friends set up on his 300 TPI as the bars were mounted forward and just in his drive way it seemed so much more comfortable stand-in on the pegs . no teeter totter here.
# 8.5, might get a chance to ride his bike this weekend and I will ride the honda ,maybe .
#9 , I checked out a trials bike at the beta dealer it has a very open stance for standing , so looking to not ride the teeter totter .
# 10 , the other choice is to buy a full own dual sport that I can ride street on , or street legal the honda .
#11 , there are times when one needs to stand to help the bike do its thing and being confident in that position will help . and im not .
# 12 , as far as brand goes , I lean towards beta , I like their attitude , but if I trade sell or buy it will be about ergo's . at 62 times a wasting . I need something that makes me want to ride it . like the Tenere only a dirt bike .
# 13 , dirt bike or dual sport dirt bike that is the question .
# 14, the honda has strong points ,power power power , and very fast .(Baja king) there is a reason it races there.
# 15 , after the crashes and numerous stall falls , the bike is unfazed . I've learned to tweak the carb and when I get that right it doesn't stall as often if ever , but in my mind im not sure I can trust it. and trust is everything .
so its fun to speculate on this problem of getting a new bike , the beta dealer has a 2019 trade in 300 rr race edition with lots of goodies for a good price , then there is the KTM choices and with bars in forward mounts may work best for me . then there are dual sports KTM 500 exc v. Beta 500rr-s which cycle world has said is the number one dual sport of 2020 , so sad for the KTM . but ergo's will decide this time .
# 1 , buy what you want not what your friends say you need .
#2 , honda crf400x is an awesome bike , but there are better ergo's for my size 6'2' with different bikes .
#3 , as long as I'm in the woods and sitting the bike is great
#4 , standing is not so good on this bike as the triangle , bar peg seat angles are rather tight , and as I stand I feel as though I will teeter over the bars . the super Tenere has a better more open triangle for standing . (62 year old knees will only go so far )
#5 can't trust the low speed 1st gear stuff , flame outs at any time , induces the stall fall .... the honda seems too have a reputation for this . more than most .
# 6 , as im never going to be a fast rider on dirt ( im slow on street ) but I want to have fun and the deep woods trails is were I have enjoyed the honda most .
#7 , so a chugging 2 stroke that resist stalls compared to the flame out queen is what im thinking now.
# 8 , was impressed with friends set up on his 300 TPI as the bars were mounted forward and just in his drive way it seemed so much more comfortable stand-in on the pegs . no teeter totter here.
# 8.5, might get a chance to ride his bike this weekend and I will ride the honda ,maybe .
#9 , I checked out a trials bike at the beta dealer it has a very open stance for standing , so looking to not ride the teeter totter .
# 10 , the other choice is to buy a full own dual sport that I can ride street on , or street legal the honda .
#11 , there are times when one needs to stand to help the bike do its thing and being confident in that position will help . and im not .
# 12 , as far as brand goes , I lean towards beta , I like their attitude , but if I trade sell or buy it will be about ergo's . at 62 times a wasting . I need something that makes me want to ride it . like the Tenere only a dirt bike .
# 13 , dirt bike or dual sport dirt bike that is the question .
# 14, the honda has strong points ,power power power , and very fast .(Baja king) there is a reason it races there.
# 15 , after the crashes and numerous stall falls , the bike is unfazed . I've learned to tweak the carb and when I get that right it doesn't stall as often if ever , but in my mind im not sure I can trust it. and trust is everything .
so its fun to speculate on this problem of getting a new bike , the beta dealer has a 2019 trade in 300 rr race edition with lots of goodies for a good price , then there is the KTM choices and with bars in forward mounts may work best for me . then there are dual sports KTM 500 exc v. Beta 500rr-s which cycle world has said is the number one dual sport of 2020 , so sad for the KTM . but ergo's will decide this time .