help please!

mxracer_0141

mxracer_0141

PR Member
so ive been riding/racing 2 strokes for all my life, hate to say it but its my time to make that switch to a 4 stroke. as soon as the 125 sells im headed to a dealership. Im clueless about what 4 stroke is the best or most reliable, dont get moto mags anymore so im wondering if any of you guys could help me out and steer me into the best 4 stroke out there for a resonable price of course lol.
 
mxracer_0141 said:
so ive been riding/racing 2 strokes for all my life, hate to say it but its my time to make that switch to a 4 stroke. as soon as the 125 sells im headed to a dealership. Im clueless about what 4 stroke is the best or most reliable, dont get moto mags anymore so im wondering if any of you guys could help me out and steer me into the best 4 stroke out there for a resonable price of course lol.
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Ha, well first off...no new bike is reasonable in price these days. ;)

How's your riding style?

As for the bikes, the shootouts in the past 2 years have been so relatively close to one another that all colors are just absolutely amazing bikes. Personally I really love Honda's. They grip the track very well, the power is everywhere (like all 4 strokes pretty much) and they feel super light in the air. Yamaha's are similar feeling, KTM's like I've said before I can't feel comfortable on, but that's just me. You gotta just get out there and ride a couple different ones and see what fits you the best.

My opinion is either 1.) Red and 2.) Blue 3.) Yellow 4.) Green 5.) Orange. But like I said they're all pretty much awesome these days!

@TwentyThreeMx: how was your switch from Yami to KTM ? You even ride that thing yet?
 
Still got the 125 sharc. Shoot me a text if ur interested in it its a 05.4403464704. And I personally like the hondas myself I'm a c/b rider but I really like the yamahas too just not keen that its a first year for a new design.











Andrew Jude #141
 
Cool Andrew... Thanks.
I've got some things in the air right now....Will know more by the end of the weekend.
 
GeorgiePorgie said:
Ha, well first off...no new bike is reasonable in price these days. ;)

How's your riding style?

As for the bikes, the shootouts in the past 2 years have been so relatively close to one another that all colors are just absolutely amazing bikes. Personally I really love Honda's. They grip the track very well, the power is everywhere (like all 4 strokes pretty much) and they feel super light in the air. Yamaha's are similar feeling, KTM's like I've said before I can't feel comfortable on, but that's just me. You gotta just get out there and ride a couple different ones and see what fits you the best.

My opinion is either 1.) Red and 2.) Blue 3.) Yellow 4.) Green 5.) Orange. But like I said they're all pretty much awesome these days!

@TwentyThreeMx: how was your switch from Yami to KTM ? You even ride that thing yet?
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my switch was pretty good. they say the 350 has less engine breaking and such than most other 4 strokes.. the Fuel injection is so crisp and snappy.. i think those 2 things made switching easy. i feel pretty comfy on the bike, ive got like 3 hours on it so far. it honestly isnt that different feeling of a bike..just a big fugly front fender to get used to bouncing around!! lol i rode ktms in the past and always thought they felt awkward.. but i dont feel like that at all. no different than if i hopped on somebodys kawi or honda or something!
 
Suzuki's turn well. Honda's push. Kawasaki's are just BIG motorcycles. Yamaha's are fancy with all thier mass centralization stuff. KTM's are perfect in every way. Husqvarna's are weird. As are Husaberg's. And I know nothing about the TM.
 
i would go with either a kawi or the suzuki. I'm pretty good friends with a guy thats a tech for honda and he says honda's valve design is poor and causes them to have valve problems. Honda's run good but I wouldn't want a bike with tons of valve problems or take the risk. I know alot of people who has had valve problems and some who don't have problems. Can't beat the handling of the suzuki tho, never rode a bike thats handled as good and ran as good as it.
 
Cody Havel said:
Suzuki's turn well. Honda's push. Kawasaki's are just BIG motorcycles. Yamaha's are fancy with all thier mass centralization stuff. KTM's are perfect in every way. Husqvarna's are weird. As are Husaberg's. And I know nothing about the TM.
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That has to be because of our different riding styles. I have the exact same opinion you have except that Suzuki's push, Kaw's are big, yes...and Hondas stick to the track like glue. lol. I've never rode a bike that that you could brake hard into the turn and lean at the same time, then get back on the pipe and it's sticky.
 
GeorgiePorgie said:
That has to be because of our different riding styles. I have the exact same opinion you have except that Suzuki's push, Kaw's are big, yes...and Hondas stick to the track like glue. lol. I've never rode a bike that that you could brake hard into the turn and lean at the same time, then get back on the pipe and it's sticky.
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Well, I'm talking about the newer bikes here. I do feel the Suzuki's turn exceptionally well. The older Honda's were a dream to ride. The engine and handling were awesome and the suspension was pretty good. I rode a 2010 Honda and it felt sort of stinkbug like. Almost like the older KTM's. So the front end, to me felt weird. Like it just wasn't happy. Sort of disconnected. I had a '06 Honda and that bike was awesome. Way different and much better machine in my opinion. I don't have much to say about Yamaha's except I like thier suspension. I dislike Kawi's. But if you're a big guy, you might like it. As for the other bikes, I really can't give any good feedback on those. But I encourage the purchasing of weird bikes. Just because. As for KTM's, the new frame on these bikes are awesome. I haven't had the chance to ride a 2011, but I hear all good things. But really anything '07 and newer is pretty dang good. The '07-'09 require just a little extra setup with suspension (mostly the shock) to make them perfect. The 2010's were really good right out of the box. And basically all the really weird stuff about KTM's, like thier old world handling and harsh suspension went away after the 2007 revamp. They still feel different from the Japanese bikes, but they actually work now. And just to add one more thing to this. If I were to buy a used KTM, I'd look at a '09 and newer. The '09 and '10 suspension is very good. Better then the '07 and '08 stuff.
 
If you are looking for reliability the Yamaha's are hard to beat. I have seen many more hondas and kawis with catastrophic problems. Not so much with zuks either. KTM is somewhere in the middle.

Mind you this is just what I have seen not some technical shoot out info or national statistic !!!!!
 
Good point about the 06 Honda. I just assumed from reading reviews that the handling is just as well as it was. They say "you'll feel right at home on the bike as Honda riders always have." So that's misleading. Guess i'll have to ride a 09-11 to see if it's as sticky as the 04 and 05 that I was riding through school...but if what you say is true i'll be mad disappointed!

I've heard of catastrophic mechanical failures with them too, luckily I never had to deal with one. I'm sure its like pulling the short straw when its time to buy the bike. I don't remember who on here but they posted a pic of their yami punching a hole through the case after like what a couple hours or less? And then I've seen all those freaking destroyed honda motor pictures too...
 
i have an 06 CRF & i rode Jon16s 09 and i thought they we're very similar! the power on jons bike seemed a little less than my bike but my 06 has a hi-comp piston,dubach exhaust and a complete twin air power flow system and jons was stock!
 
Maybe that 2010 Honda that I rode just had a funky setup. I don't know. It was all stock though. All I do know for sure is... for me, the 2006 Honda is lightyears better then the 2010.
 
I have had my 09 crf450 since new and I am still trying to get it sorted out. I believe the new ones share the same traits. I've put the pro circuit linkage on, and the suspension is at FC right now. I also sent off the throttle body to try and eliminate the flame out problems. I like the thing over all, but it has taken a lot of time and money to try and get it where I like it, and I'm still not quite there.
 
I had two 06's, an 08, and now a left over 07. I had my order in on a 09. When I rode one I cancelled it. the handling was totally different from the previous years. The 06 and 07s are very stable, never stalled and start first kick. the 08 had a steeper steering angle and a steering damper that did nothing. It made the 08 very twitchy at speed and hard two handle in ruts. the 08 motor was basically the same as the 06 07s.
The 09 handles worse the the 08 in my opinion. the 09 stalled and didn't start very good.
I am holding out for the 2012 Kevin Windham edition. Hopefully its alot like my 07.
Just my opinion!
 
$2000 obo for the 125. I ended up picking up a 2011 yamaha 250f saturday. sick bike. havent got to get it on a track yet cuz of all this damn rain weve been getting, im itching to ride it. ill post some pictures of it later. thanks for all ur help guys
 
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