The QC on what the bike left the factory with has been spotty in the past. Some have had different rate shock springs. I suspect this is now tightened up.
The DE is patterened after the GGNA era XC. The XC however, did have a higher compression head AND a more aggressive CDI. It was also valved a bit stiffer. I had a '00 XC and now run the CDI from it in my '03 EC (converted to DE trim). Alphabet soup huh? Not as bad as talking about new KTMs though.
The DE makes perfect sense, why supply(and charge) us for stuff we don't want/need? First, the emmisions stuff is the first to go, total waste of money. Don't supply any lights and get rid of the front brake light switch. Make an affordable Hebo kit available with the current excellent light shell, and a small Acerbis style LED tailight/lic plate holder. Basically like a new KTM XC or XCW. Keep the spark arrestor silencer, CDI map switch, and EC suspension setup. The hare scrambles guys will be happy, and the enduro guys set with a $100 kit. Add up all this component cost and additional assembly labor savings, and pass it on to us. Do a special run for USA/Canada and maybe we can get these things for a reasonable price.
They could make the full harness, 2K-3, and DOT compliant lighting available in a hard parts catalog if desired, but for a 2-stroke it would probably be a waste of time considering how things are going.
Building up an MC for off road is not really the same as say building a YZ because the MC starts out at a much higher price. If the DE is not hot enough for you, you can remove the primary weight and get the head and CDI from the MC.
Considering the current trends and the competition's offerings, I find it strange that this wasn't discussed and addressed a long time ago.
