jsleeper
Husqvarna
AA Class
I rode several KTMs at Hollister this weekend for their demo day. This is the first demo ride I have ever done, and the first time I have ridden any KTM. I wish Husky would have a demo day, it is a great idea and a great introduction for people like me.
250xc: I rode this bike and was very disappointed....probably because it bucked me off in a corner leaving me with scrapes and bruises after one of the worst crashes I have had in a long time. Not sure what happened but, all of the sudden I was slammed to the ground. I will blame it on the linkageless suspension, but that is probably not fair. In truth the motor felt weird, but the bike was comfortable. The motor was peaky and difficult to ride smooth with not a lot of top-end. No thanks.
150sx: I was hoping for this bike to be awesome. I love my wife's WR125. So I thought, this bike would be a WR125 with well....more power. Nope, I purposely rode the WR125 around the track, then hopped on the 150. It really did not feel anymore powerful. The WR125 feels stronger on the bottom end, with a little rush of small bore torque (snap) coming out of corners. The 150 did not have the same snap out of corners, and did not seem any faster on top. Plus it was ultra twitchy.
Husaberg 390: I really like this bike. It is super smooth and fun to ride. But the suspension is way too soft. It would compress, then rebound. But maybe it just needs the clickers adjusted. It also seemed to sign-off very early (like a CRF250x). It felt choked up. Probably can be fixed very easily.
450sx: Very, very good motor and surprisingly light feeling bike. I like this bike a lot, but did have trouble keeping it in ruts when corners. A few times I pushed right out of the rut. But probably because I had just been riding the featherweight WR125. I do have to say, after riding the WR125 all day, I was nervous of the potential power of the 450 before getting on it. After about 1/2 a lap I realized my 15 year old Rotax powered flattrack bike has tons more power and toque (to be fair, it is far from stock and is extremely messaged). I was a bit disappointed, because in my mind, the only reason to buy a 450 is to have scary fast power at all times. But I guess, people want controlled power now, who knows. I remember my 05 CRF450 ripping my arms off and pulling wheelies all over the place...what happened to the 450s?
350sx: This bike was really, really good. If it had a bit more torque it would be perfect. It had a ton of power and handled just right. It felt like my TC250 just way faster. I did not have to ring its neck to get down the track, but also did not have to fight it in the turns like a 450. I would really like to have this bike.
That is all I could ride, after all, I was all bruised up from my experience with the 250xc. I walked away from the demo ride really happy with my Huskies, and grateful for what KTM is trying to do (especially with their multiple 2 strokes). But, I cannot see myself paying 2-3K extra for a KTM when I can get a Husky that is just as good. But that is just my opinion.
JS
250xc: I rode this bike and was very disappointed....probably because it bucked me off in a corner leaving me with scrapes and bruises after one of the worst crashes I have had in a long time. Not sure what happened but, all of the sudden I was slammed to the ground. I will blame it on the linkageless suspension, but that is probably not fair. In truth the motor felt weird, but the bike was comfortable. The motor was peaky and difficult to ride smooth with not a lot of top-end. No thanks.
150sx: I was hoping for this bike to be awesome. I love my wife's WR125. So I thought, this bike would be a WR125 with well....more power. Nope, I purposely rode the WR125 around the track, then hopped on the 150. It really did not feel anymore powerful. The WR125 feels stronger on the bottom end, with a little rush of small bore torque (snap) coming out of corners. The 150 did not have the same snap out of corners, and did not seem any faster on top. Plus it was ultra twitchy.
Husaberg 390: I really like this bike. It is super smooth and fun to ride. But the suspension is way too soft. It would compress, then rebound. But maybe it just needs the clickers adjusted. It also seemed to sign-off very early (like a CRF250x). It felt choked up. Probably can be fixed very easily.
450sx: Very, very good motor and surprisingly light feeling bike. I like this bike a lot, but did have trouble keeping it in ruts when corners. A few times I pushed right out of the rut. But probably because I had just been riding the featherweight WR125. I do have to say, after riding the WR125 all day, I was nervous of the potential power of the 450 before getting on it. After about 1/2 a lap I realized my 15 year old Rotax powered flattrack bike has tons more power and toque (to be fair, it is far from stock and is extremely messaged). I was a bit disappointed, because in my mind, the only reason to buy a 450 is to have scary fast power at all times. But I guess, people want controlled power now, who knows. I remember my 05 CRF450 ripping my arms off and pulling wheelies all over the place...what happened to the 450s?
350sx: This bike was really, really good. If it had a bit more torque it would be perfect. It had a ton of power and handled just right. It felt like my TC250 just way faster. I did not have to ring its neck to get down the track, but also did not have to fight it in the turns like a 450. I would really like to have this bike.
That is all I could ride, after all, I was all bruised up from my experience with the 250xc. I walked away from the demo ride really happy with my Huskies, and grateful for what KTM is trying to do (especially with their multiple 2 strokes). But, I cannot see myself paying 2-3K extra for a KTM when I can get a Husky that is just as good. But that is just my opinion.
JS
