[MattR]

Hi Matt,

I'm sorry to hear about the unfortunate luck with the KTM. That dealer should have been honest with you about the engine and sold it appropriately with an adjusted price. Glad you got the news and/or BBB involved.

You had a lot of GG questions in there and many were related so here I go...
Some of the confusion you may be getting from the dealer's comments may be related to the EC version vs. DE version. The EC is a special order for the USA which has the standard european setup (heavy flywheel, full wiring system with lights, blinkers, horn, turn signals, etc.). The DE is the standard USA bike which has been slightly modified to be more "USA" rider friendly. It is more comparable to the XC line from KTM (in fact there were called XC back in 2001, see my bike). The DE/XC bike has a lighter flywheel, abbreviated wiring loom with headlight, tail light, and brake light only, and a different exhaust system (FMF Gnarly pipe with FMF Turbine Core 2 silencer).

Your preferred power characteristics some more inline with the DE/XC versions. Also, the 250 will give you more "hit" than the 300. People like the 300's since you can lug them around more in a gear higher. I love my 250 with a 10oz flywheel weight. It is the best of both worlds.

The dual map is standard in 2006 on EC bikes. I believe the DE bikes also had the handlebar switch. If not, it's no problem since the CDI will be the same. The CDI will have two additional wires on it and can be hooked up to a handlebar switch, toggle switch, etc. Some 2005 bikes had the newer CDI's and people started doing this mod.

The suspension on 2006 bikes is a Marzocchi fork and Ohlins rear shock. The older bikes like mine had a WP fork with Ohlins rear shock. There is a special order option for the Ohlins fork but it is pricey. Some members here have it and can give you an evaluation.