Amatuer 350sxf review

[noobi]

I thought this might get more responses here than in the other bike forum


Well I had a ride on one of these today, my mate is one of the first people in the country to test ride it. So naturally I had a go aswell.

Its not bad, fuel pump noises are a bit strange, but the suspension seemed to work pretty well on some gnarly roots and bumps when moving, considering its a mx bike and I weigh about 6kg... so I was surprised to still be attached after riding over some wash outs and stuff, it also tracked relatively well over off camber slippery roots, which I didnt expect.

It handles well, but only when your moving, it doesnt like going slow, at all, the suspension gets all sketchy at very slow speeds, but once moving, 2nd and 3rd gear stuff it was pretty nice.

It doesnt feel like a KTM either, which I dont like the feel of at all, but this 350 feels somewhere in between a gg chassis and the ktm one, just in the riding position, its very consistent in its size between your legs, may sound strange but I didnt enjoy riding the ktms that I have because the frame feels odd.

The engine is good, the efi makes it rideable in the snotty yuck clay, but the throttle was so light I got arm pump trying to keep in steady, its got plenty of power but doesnt have that big snap right off idle that efi 450s have, so I didnt face plant any trees, but the throttle is directly attached to the rear wheel but in a very linear kind of way, not too agro, I only had one throttle related indiscretion, the damn throttle is soo light.

The clutch seemed to be heavy compared to other bikes iv ridden, still got nothing on the gg clutch, brakes were also pretty touchy, had it swap ends on me a few times.

So I dunno, it would take a bit of work to get me onto one, put some resistance on that throttle, sort the suspension for slow speed, a fww maybe.

Anyone else ridden one yet?

[GMP]

Not feeling like a typical KTM sounds like a big improvement. Does it feel heavy? 1st gear tall? Think a G2 throttle, FWW, proper revalve, and gearing would make it a good woods bike?

Another point, you don't want to blow up a KTM 4 stroke. Talked to a guy whose 250F ate a valve and it was a total loss, would have cost over $2500 in parts to fix.

[Skidad]

Originally Posted by GMP

Another point, you don't want to blow up ANY 4 stroke. Talked to a guy whose 250F ate a valve and it was a total loss, would have cost over $2500 in parts to fix.

Fixed that for you Glenn.

Any 4 stroke can eat a valve or any other expensive top end part and trash the motor. The 250 KTM motor is fantastic and one of their best efforts. No real reliability issues even with big bore kits of 280, 290, 320 and 350 sizes. I'll take it any day over the Yamaha motor plus it'a a 6 speed. The new KTM 350 motor is a more robust 250 design which is a really good choice by KTM.

Also the new 2011 250 KTM SXF with FI (and linkage) is substantially stronger power wise than the 2010 motor (which was no slouch). Early reviews are very positive.

Very nice to see KTM put in a 6 speed tranny on the 250/300 2 strokes. What's interesting after doing some parts # crunching it looks like it will retro fit back to the 2004 (2003SX) motors. KTM should offer a kit for those who want to do it.

[GMP]

True, I guess I was still thinking about the FSE250 thread and building a WR250F motor. You can always get the Yam up and running cheaper and quicker as there are simply more parts around, new, used, and aftermarket. From what I see and what Les tells me from working on them they are pretty bulletproof in a woods bike. A lot of the 250F (in general) bad rap comes from the MX world, most are reliable in enduro form.