Looks good for a KTM...
2011 KTM 350 SX-F. EFI, linkage
2011 KTM 350 SX-F. EFI, linkage
-
Hi everyone,
As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.
When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.
Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.
Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.
Thanks for your patience and support!
here is where KTM is going...
- Thread starter Motosportz
- Start date
Leftcoast leftkicker
Husqvarna
AA Class
Now if they'd drop those black rims....
fitness2go
Husqvarna
AA Class
I like the frame (not the orange color)...very Husky like!
HomeFinance
Husqvarna
A Class
I am surprised that they did not build the offroad version first since there is not an official class and the offroad market is so much bigger.
That's a sweet looking bike!
Love the hubs and use of black accents throughout the bike.
I've got a feeling KTM is going to hit a home run with this bike. I'm sure the rest of the manufacturers are sweating over this. I dont like the bulk of 450's and 250f's are gutless. This might be the perfect 4 stroke......
Props to KTM for giving riders what they ask for and not creating a bike to meet AMA guidelines!
I'd rather see Husky develop this and get the kudos, but whatever, it's still awesome.
Love the hubs and use of black accents throughout the bike.
I've got a feeling KTM is going to hit a home run with this bike. I'm sure the rest of the manufacturers are sweating over this. I dont like the bulk of 450's and 250f's are gutless. This might be the perfect 4 stroke......
Props to KTM for giving riders what they ask for and not creating a bike to meet AMA guidelines!
I'd rather see Husky develop this and get the kudos, but whatever, it's still awesome.
Dirty Bikes
Husqvarna
A Class
Agree 100%!!PC.;58680 said:
hipsterdufus
Husqvarna
A Class
DOHC, fuel injected, hope they keep the frame orange
Phoenix
Husqvarna
AA Class
Pretty cool. Love the orange frame and hubs. It will be nice of they make a 350 XCF-W. By 2011 I might be ready for an upgrade to my "320" XCF-W. That is, if I manage to not buy a new 250 TXC. 
What is the real world benefit of linkage on a bike vs no linkage? Is it just height adjustability or are there other benefits? I've always wondered by never asked...
What is the real world benefit of linkage on a bike vs no linkage? Is it just height adjustability or are there other benefits? I've always wondered by never asked...
Linkage sucks!
I just spent $105 for a linkage bearing kit and a lower shock bearing on my yamaha :rant: Guess I need to stop being lazy and service it more often
Back on topic:
I think the angle at which the shock lies on a linkless bike puts too great a side load on the shock shaft, which causes goofy handling traits. They work, but I do not feel its an optimal design. It seems KTM finally agrees.
This is my worthless, uneducated opinion anyway.
I just spent $105 for a linkage bearing kit and a lower shock bearing on my yamaha :rant: Guess I need to stop being lazy and service it more often
Back on topic:
I think the angle at which the shock lies on a linkless bike puts too great a side load on the shock shaft, which causes goofy handling traits. They work, but I do not feel its an optimal design. It seems KTM finally agrees.
This is my worthless, uneducated opinion anyway.
PC.;58740 said:
More progressive rear end which means EZer tuning for a wider range of use. Softer initially and stiff towards the end of the stroke. They tried to do this internal with valving tricks, worked Ok but in many peoples minds not up to a well designed link system. Obviously if they are moving back to it they think there is an advantage as well.
PC.;58740 said:
which is less $$$ than that spendy PDS lower bearing.
PC.;58740 said:
Nope, just like a linked shock it pivots on both ends and does not side load the shock.
2whlrcr;58784 said:
interesting, most my KTM buddys bitch about the lower shock bearing which wears out quickly and is $$$.
This is the same problem mountain bikes had for a long time. There are many ways to make a single pivot a falling rate which makes the problem worse. I heard a couple years ago that KTM changed the shock angle to make it more progressive. But the theoretical best a single pivot can do is be linear, it can not have a rising rate.
I’ve been off the mountain bikes for a few years but I think they have overcome the problem. Some of the newer shocks have the rising rate built into them with complex damping and/or air chambers I believe. I don’t know if this would work on a dirtbike though.
I always notice the problem when I ride a KTM. They can make the shock seem progressive for a big and fast hit. But for a G-out, like when sitting and rolling through a large dip in the ground, the shock blows through it’s stroke and then the bike steers like a chopper. It scares me! I have never owned a KTM though so maybe it the suspension is setup exactly for me it would not be a problem. But with a linkage it is much less fussy. For example I am 200 pounds and I rode my WR125 a few times with stock springs. It sat low but other then that handled fine. If I ride a KTM 200 with stock springs (which are about he same stiffness as a WR125) the bike handles really bad. Proper setup is probably a lot more critical on a KTM. Maybe if a company other then WP took a crack at the problem it would be solved?
I’ve been off the mountain bikes for a few years but I think they have overcome the problem. Some of the newer shocks have the rising rate built into them with complex damping and/or air chambers I believe. I don’t know if this would work on a dirtbike though.
I always notice the problem when I ride a KTM. They can make the shock seem progressive for a big and fast hit. But for a G-out, like when sitting and rolling through a large dip in the ground, the shock blows through it’s stroke and then the bike steers like a chopper. It scares me! I have never owned a KTM though so maybe it the suspension is setup exactly for me it would not be a problem. But with a linkage it is much less fussy. For example I am 200 pounds and I rode my WR125 a few times with stock springs. It sat low but other then that handled fine. If I ride a KTM 200 with stock springs (which are about he same stiffness as a WR125) the bike handles really bad. Proper setup is probably a lot more critical on a KTM. Maybe if a company other then WP took a crack at the problem it would be solved?