BoiseBee, on 22 June 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:

I have been a suscriber to the above mentioned magazine for about four years. And having to read them snub Yamaha is just something I've gotten used too. They either have huge expectations of the company or just not a good relationship. I think the only Yammie to win a shoot out recently was the 125, and thats only because there was some miniscuel reason why it was better than the KTM. Fortunatly theres enough positive info in the mag to keep me subscribing, but yeah over the last two years it's become a marketing tool for KTM  I think. That being said, their review this time was a little more scathing than usaul, and they had negative things to say about the other bikes (of course not orange), but just not so bluntly. I really didn't feel put out spending four hundred bucks to get this thing running as it should, I don't think I've ever bought a new bike that I didn't put pipe on and do mods too.  Funny thing is when they do thier long haul tests, it seem they like to pick Yamaha's and then make statements like, oh we maintained it, but we beat the heck out of it regularly and we are so suprised that valves are still in spec and the bike is running like a champ. But what the heck, I might try dropping the forks down 5mm to see if what they say makes a difference. I know they said this bike would be better with the mods we've all done, but I thought their review was poorly written. And was hoping things would change when the editor stepped down, but I guess not.

They gave an honest opinion about the bikes.  Its always subjective.  What's wrong with that.

They say that the wr450 is heavy...   well according to the specs... it is heavy.

they complain about the clutch pull...   well... go to a dealer and pull the KTM clutch, then pull the Yamaha clutch. Its not even close.

They say that the bike was hard to start...   every other review has mentioned this as well.

I have both yamaha's and KTM's in my stable and there are some things that KTM does much better.  I have a 7 year old Yamaha and I think its heavy and the clutch pull is stiff.  Has Yamaha not addressed this in seven years?   Funny thing is, I didn't really think about it til I added the KTM to my garage.

It doesn't mean that the Yamaha is a bad bike nor does it mean you shouldn't buy it..  It means that the others are better in certain areas.   Its important to be honest.

Look at the criticisms constructively.   Just do some research based on what was written.  

It sure beats the  hell out of having sunshine blown up your ass.

Edited by mauricedorris, 26 June 2012 - 12:27 AM.

Mauricedorris, while I agree that it's always nicer to get the true review versus "sunshine", I for one think there is a little bit to the statement that Dirt Rider is in the tank for KTM. And don't get me wrong, KTM builds a good riding motorcycle finally after several years of poor design and thinking. But one thing that gets me is while my friends KTM's ride well, my anecdotal maintenance history with them isn't very good. None, say it again, NONE, of my friends have had good maintenance experience with their KTMs. I've seen two engine failures, one of them catastrophic at highway speed, another ate it's cam chain guide with less than 20 hours on it, plugged all the oil galleys and blew the motor up, two with wheel bearing issues, both should have had the hubs replaced but only one of them did, another one of my friends decided to sell his two year old 525 because it was getting too old and he was worried about it blowing up, etc, etc, etc.

I'm kind of with whoever said they should grow a pair as far as the clutch pull goes. No argument that the KTM clutch pull is buttery smooth and a five year old could probably ride it all day because the pull is light. But I've also seen guys sitting by the side of the trail on more than one occasion because they had a clutch fluid leak at one end or the other. Of course you could always break a cable on the Yammie, but when is the last time you heard that happen?

As far as a new bike goes, sure, the Yamaha tends to be a bit cheaper but you make up that cost setting it up for dual sporting so I kind of view that as equal. One of my buddies and I have both bought new bikes within a month or so of each other in both 2008 and now in 2012. He pretty much rode his off the lot while I had to add some farkles and bits to make mine street legal. Sure it's a little more work but it's not that much work. And I personally like the time spent with my bike because that means I get to look it over and learn about it before something happens on the trail that I need to deal with.

As far as accessories and OEM replacement parts, KTM has a great thing going there. They have a great assortment of hard parts available and their philosophy of reusing most of the basic parts on as many different models as they can is a great decision. When you make a gagillion rear fenders because they cross over to 25 different models, it keeps the cost down for the dealers so you are more likely to find the part you need on the shelf at the dealer. And it will most likely be cheaper than any of the big 4 Japanese brands or at the most, similarly priced.

Overall, I'll stay away from the kool-aid thank you. Good bikes, but I guess I'm just not a joiner.

trailhead

I'm on vacation in Colorado and I just sat on a 2012. The stiff clutch pull is bunk. It is the same as the 06 and 09 I have. Testers must have girl hands.

Bandit9, on 28 June 2012 - 08:40 AM, said:

I agree, I wouldn't have known about the stiff clutch pull if I didn't read about it, it feels like my other bikes. I guess an easier pull would be nice, but I really don't even think about it while I'm riding.

I felt it when I did my first ride, but after a few minutes I didn't really notice it, and haven't since. I've seen hydraulic clutches fail too,and I think I will stick to my cable. I have never replaced a clutch cable on any Yamaha I've ever owned. The only cable I ever had to replace was a throttle cable after six years of use on a 426. What I found with the e start is if the bike is really hot from crawling on the single track it won't start with the button, but kicks everytime. But if I let it cool down for a minute or so, the button works first try. I haven't tried it in the cold yet, but I never had a Yammie that liked the cold anyway so I wouldn't expect it to work and wouldn't even try. I'm on the fence on moving the forks down five mil. Maybe I don't have enough body wieght, but I haven't had the front end nose dive on me yet. So it might be something bigger people will notice. And I really like the brakes as too, not grabby at all and pretty smooth I thought. I may not be a magazine test rider, but I didn't really notice all that they are talking about. I appreciate the information, but how about a little less bias and a little more reality.

Edited by cwallershasta, 29 June 2012 - 10:27 AM.

after putting the hot cams in my bike i don't need a clutch...it grunts from any gear i start in, 2nd 3rd or 4th...i just have to decide how fast i want to ride...i pull the clutch only to stop or if i crash...

trailhead2004, on 27 June 2012 - 06:36 AM, said:

I have had very similar experiences with KTM. I read all the articles about them and have ridden a few. WHEN they are working perfectly they are awesome and hands down better than my WR, BUT every single KTM I have ridden with has had more problems than I care to deal with. So, I stay with my "slower" WR that really ends up being faster because I don't have to stop to fix things all the time.

Someone here said something about the 11 plastics fitting up? I'm interested in the rear fender. I want a white one, I think it would look awesome

Hi all..

Picking up my '12 wr450 in a couple of days and I have a few questions.

In regards to the new exhaust you guys are fitting.. is it the whole FMF system your fitting or just the slip on muffler? any links to the exact item?

To get the most out of my new bike Im led to believe that the following should be done..

Comp ECU
FMF powercore 4 exhaust??
remove air box plugs
throttle stop mod.

Ive been out of the game for afew years now and just want to know what to do with the bike once i get bored of its stock setup.
Im in Australia and im guessing our bikes come with the same standard ecu..?

Hope you can help,

Thanks, Mark.

MENACE757, on 30 June 2012 - 04:17 PM, said:

The FMF PowewCore 4 slip-on is the one most are using and keeping the stock head pipe with that factory power bomb. One more thing that's not on your list is, getting the Comp ECU remapped. Remapping the ECU made the biggest difference on mine, they come very lean from the factory and changing the muffler makes it worse. I had the dealer plug in the FMF map and it richened it up and it even helped it start easier.
I'm not even sure you need the Comp ECU, I thought here in the states we were the only ones with the non programmable ECU.

I love my 2012 just put on a drd sounds great not loud now i just need the tunner

Wow what a nice ride. My buddy Mike and I had the most awesome day, It hasn't stopped raining.Trails are slick with polished roots and rocks. You might say the dust is down. Tests the tractability of machines. His an 08 RMZ 450. Nice except for low speed trail junk. Too MX but turns like a wizard on the tight trails. He gets on the Yammi and I gotta pry his hands off the bars.

Dezert_Man, on 30 June 2012 - 12:14 PM, said:

Not sure about the 2011 rear fender but I do know the 07-09 replacement plastic (rear fender) from acerbis bolts up like stock.  I just put a white acerbis rear fender on mine and it looks great, just like the 2013 yz.

Anyone installed a oversize front rotor on the 2012 wr yet?  Trying to find out what other years fit, lower left fork leg and caliper #'s are different this year.

Edited by mc1hd, 03 July 2012 - 09:58 AM.

I replaced the front rotor when I bought it. I have bent those wave rotors in the past and stopped using them. I use the EBC off road rotor and it's not over sized, but thicker, tougher and good looking too.

cwallershasta, on 03 July 2012 - 10:55 AM, said:

Yeah I put mine to the test and it failed. I bent mine when I slide out in a rock garden with some baseball sized rocks. ended up replacing it with one of these.

http://www.dirttrick...rake_rotors.htm

Hey guys. An update for anyone having starting issues. After talking to the service manager at my local dealer we decided to do some investigating. Stuck a sniffer in the bike and found it was way fat at idle. Little bit of tweaking with the dealer programer and it starts with a tap of the button now every time.

trailhead2004, on 27 June 2012 - 06:36 AM, said:

There is no doubt whatsoever that the Yamaha's have a significantly better maintenance and reliability history than the KTM.      

But so what?????      that article in Dirt Rider was not reviewing a 10 year comparative ownership experience between yamaha's and ktm's.  The review is about the bikes that they currently have in front of them.   I see no basis or reason to discredit what they said, even the subjective statements.

I don't care to drink any kool-aid, be it orange or blue.  I have owned and ridden both and at times  (including now) have had both in my stable at the same time.   I can find faults with each of them

zuch95701, on 15 July 2012 - 08:02 PM, said:

That's weird... the programmer doesn't allow anything below 1/8 throttle to be adjusted .... Yamaha themselves even said that adjustments couldn't be made to the idle through the programmer.

Please post the changes that you and the dealer made in the mapping so that we can try it for ourselves and see what happens.

Thanks.