Quote:
Originally Posted by kdxkid
Why the 250 instead of a 300?
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Of the bikes
that I have personally ridden, because the 250 has more actually-noticeable advantages than actually-noticeable disadvantages.
Even though I know it's actually not on paper (or in real life), the 250
feels lighter when riding it. It changes direction more easily, and is simply easier to manipulate under my legs when riding.
Also, it has more ...."snap".... than a 300. I don't mean this as it has more "hit", because mine has virtually no "hit" at all. It just revs more easily and is more responsive with a quick fan of the clutch.
Lastly, it feels smoother. I know jetting could easily have an effect on this, but all of the 300s I've ridden were sputtery and just not smooth when not on the pipe. Plus, they've all vibrated a good bit more. My 250 is just butter smooth from idle to the rev-limiter.
On the downside, the 250s supposedly make less power and torque than the 300s. Granted it's not an equal comparison, since my bike has the RB head and carb mods done, but I've found this to be so imperceptible that it's almost not true. I haven't been on a 300 yet that had more torque than my 250. I have been on a couple have been roughly equal, and I've also been on a couple poorly jetted ones that were clearly worse. Power wise, I've drag raced many a bike from a dig thru 6th gear, and haven't come across a 300 yet that could outrun it. Virtually all of these 250 and 300 enduro bikes are completely equal in regards to flat-out power.
The one KTM 250 XC that I've ridden did seem to have
just barely less torque than its 300 counterpart. But that's not to say that it still didn't have plenty, or that there was a huge difference; it had
just a tiny bit less right off the bottom. In my opinion, it's just the perfect amount, in regards that it's not too little that you frequently find yourself in the way-wrong gear, but it's enough less that it encourages and rewards you for using the clutch a little bit (which will make you a better, faster rider in the long-run versus being lazier on a 300).
Don't read too much into my opinions. I haven't ridden every bike out there, and haven't ridden many at all brand new (17+) bikes. And, these differences I'm talking about are
very small in magnitude, just barely noticeable at all. So the bottom line is, unless you REALLY care about these tiny tiny differences, buy whichever bike is most available and/or cheapest. For me, if they were exactly evenly priced, I'd pick the 250, for the reasons above. But that's strictly my opinion.