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Why KTM motorcycles are ruining off-road motorcycle riding

By FORMA MOTO,
in General Dirt Bike Discussion

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FORMA MOTO
FORMA MOTO

This current fad of people going all ga-ga over KTM motorcyles is hilarious.   Over priced, under engineered 'fashion' statement motorcycles are duping people left and right into this fake enginee

Hans Schmid
Hans Schmid

Waaaaaaaaaa

Willix
Willix

You want some French cries with that?

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Grand Master

8675309

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Alternatively you could have the SSS carts put into WP forks. Seems to work for a lot of moto guys and they'd be asking more of the suspension than you.

That way you don't have to wait for something that won't happen.

You're killing my dreams over here. Sat on a new x today, shock felt good. Forks felt like a yz.
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Grand Master

BushPig

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You're killing my dreams over here. Sat on a new x today, shock felt good. Forks felt like a yz.

 

As I said before the X is a step in the right direction but I will only be impressed when there's a new WR with E start and SSS.

 

Don't forget, Yamaha aint the underdog here... they are a huge company and could fart this out in a second if they actually wanted to.

 

They don't seem to want to so.....

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Grand Master

hawaiidirtrider

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You're killing my dreams over here. Sat on a new x today, shock felt good. Forks felt like a yz.

Because it is a yz...with an 18" in back...better than a yz but thats a weak attempt at improvement. ...but the yz 2t faithful may still lap up the scraps yamaha sells.

Edited by hawaiidirtrider
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dirteta

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Because it is a yz...with an 18" in back...better than a yz but thats a weak attempt at improvement. ...but the yz 2t faithful may still lap up the scraps yamaha sells.

It's not only a yamaha thing. People keep blindly buying ktm's and until recently crf 450x's which didn't change since their inception. Lemmings!!!

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Grand Master

hawaiidirtrider

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It's not only a yamaha thing. People keep blindly buying ktm's and until recently crf 450x's which didn't change since their inception. Lemmings!!!

KTM has been evolving though.. and I do give them credit for that.. even if they miss the mark at times. They have kept providing good bikes and as an example the ktm 300 has been a great offroad bike for many years. They just have to get off their ass and upgrade their starter to be as good as their 4 strokes.. but it's easy to not when the other big manufacturers just didn't produce. Yamaha is a perfect example. They put up a half assed attempt at making an offroad bike that they know how to make great and guys get giddy like school girls.. but at least yamah is making a 2 stroke.. such a low bar with the other japanese bagging completely. On the other hand KTM/Husky,sherco, Beta.. even gasgas being so screwed up made a better estart version of enduro 2 stroke.. and went out of business.. but looks like they are coming back.. barely..but still coming back. ..but guys will be fans of whatever bikes for whatever reasons. They have fun on a brand or see others say a brand is good and follow.. hmm lemmings. 

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ScrewMx_Hd

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Im mixed on them. After my brother retired his yz 250 and i retired my crf 70 my dad bought my brother an 08 450 sxf (race bike i believe) and he got me an 08 ktm 65 sx. My brothers bike was bullet proof and mad fast being a stock bike. He did trail riding with his friends and ama races on the week ends. With a little keep up it never went bad. My bike on the other hand; second time riding it hit a double in third quickly went into a corner, pulled the clutch and it died. Kicked it again idled and it blew up. The bike was brand new almost

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hawaiidirtrider

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Riding ktms is like being ductaped to a turd with a jet engine superglued to it. You may not like the way it handles, it may not make it through the race.....but them suckers are fast! I'll give em that.

Come on Honda...What is that? Sour grapes because KTM smoked Hondas ass in just about every offroad championship. .. Give credit where credit is due. KTM is kicking ass and taking names . Thats just what is. You're starting to sound like the guys who say the yz250x is good without 6th gear,estart and 50 more cc's...brand loyalty to a fault.

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Armbarn sailor

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Come on Honda...What is that? Sour grapes because KTM smoked Hondas ass in just about every offroad championship. .. Give credit where credit is due. KTM is kicking ass and taking names . Thats just what is. You're starting to sound like the guys who say the yz250x is good without 6th gear,estart and 50 more cc's...brand loyalty to a fault.

I just gave a pretty good review of the 16 450xc....what more do you want? It's a couple pages back and doesn't dog the bike at all. I am brand loyal, I know Honda will always handle well, will always have head shake, will always be dependable and will never break the bank. I know what I'm getting.
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Grand Master

jz125

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This current fad of people going all ga-ga over KTM motorcyles is hilarious.

 

Over priced, under engineered 'fashion' statement motorcycles are duping people left and right into this fake engineering game.

 

Iv'e seen this same thing before with cars: Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Maserati, Ferrari, Fiat, Lamborghit, etc, etc.

 

Create a really stunning 'hook' of a machine, that everyone wants to own, then sell enough to figure out how to keep them from blowing up, and falling apart, hopefully by the next model year or two.

 

Oh, don't get me wrong....Mercedes does make some really great cars. But MOST of the cars they make are not so hot.  They are poorly designed, over priced, and un-reliable.  Same with the other euro manufactuers. Fiat make several really great cars, like the 500. But all the rest are just garbage commerce.

 

This is EXACTLY what KTM is doing. 

 

Throw 15 different models on the market, all based on old technology, but with shiny billet parts, or ultra-impressive specs, and see what happens.

 

KTM is providing their customers with sub-standard quality and engineering on dozens of levels, selling it as 'high-tech' and then ignoring all the issues with oil starvation, throttle bodies, frames, triple clamps, shock mounts, CDI's, bars, brakes, rims, hubs, all failing, braking wearing out extremely fast, or in the case of motor internals, make them to such terrible tolerances that you cannot change broken parts with new parts, unless you buy the matching case it was machined to.

 

I have never seen or experienced such CRAP sold as a premium brand in my life, accept Audi in the 90's and Maico in the 80's. 

 

I've owned (2) 2012 KTM's that both failed on several levels, that the KTM factory, KTM usa and my dealer could not resolve. 

I even had KTM USA tell me 'that's just the way it is with new bikes sometimes. We don't have an answer to your problem, sorry". 

 

My dealer was so frustrated that they now refuse to work on any KTM that has been modifed in the suspension, electronics, or motor, period, even out of warranty.

They also will not replace any internal motor parts below the piston without replacing the entire motor, no exceptions.

 

Yeah I know: ..... " My KTM is great, I've never had a problem with it" .  Well good for you. You are in the 50% that actually get a 'good' one.

 

Did you know that until recently  (2010) KTM would and did make as many as 6 different gasket sets for one model of motor, depending on what portion of the year it was made? They actually look up gasket kits by serial number, because the factory produced a motor with so many flaws and failures that they had to upgrade the motor in the production line 6 times in one year....rather than just get it right and then push it on the general public. 

 

I talked to an KTM partially sponsered Enduro team at a D36 race in 2012 about KTM reliability, and this is what they told me:

 

" Oh, we get 50-75 hours out of the factory motor, no problem. They run great, most of the time. Not quite as long as the Yamaha we used to run, but they are Ok. The real problem comes when we try to rebuild them. We cannot get a rebuilt motor to last 1/2 as long as a new one, because there are so many parts in the KTM motors that are stressed at 100% from day one, that the whole motor, not just the top end, wears out very fast". We try not to rebuild the motors, we just sell off the whole bike and start over with a new one."

 

Hopefully, honest, non-Germanic companies like Beta and Sherco will take some of KTM's market share away.

 

Long die KTM.

I NEED SOME ATTENTION. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ATTENTION. I WANTED SO BADLY TO POST SOMETHING SO I TRIED AND TRIED TO THINK OF SOMETHING AND ; OH YA! I GOT IT! I DON'T LIKE KTM GETTING ALL THIS ATTENTION LATELY. THAT IS WHAT I WILL USE

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Grand Master

KTMRider4Life

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So many ktm's... ok ..I'll tally my bias just a little..

here's oriol mena.. ..still so many ktm's..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X7NgbOCMwk

has beta fixed their suspension yet? I keep hearing you have to watch the fork fluid real close and if it starts turning grey your basically screwed, low quality internalsl with failing metallurgy. They say the best bet if that's happening is fork replacement. What a crock!
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Sierra_rider

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has beta fixed their suspension yet? I keep hearing you have to watch the fork fluid real close and if it starts turning grey your basically screwed, low quality internalsl with failing metallurgy. They say the best bet if that's happening is fork replacement. What a crock!

 

That's only on the 'zokes, not the sachs. There are some options to fix them, and under normal circumstances the Marzocchi's are a much better performing fork than the 4CS. ?

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