This should probably be a poll

[bikeslut 1]

This should be a poll, but since I'm a Pole, I was unable to actually make a poll that made sense.

This may be addressed elsewhere, but here it goes:

I think most of the sane world would agree that the Huskys, KTM, husabergs etc. perform better than Japanese Dual Sports "out of the box"

We also know that they are more expensive "out of the box", but there is debate whether the mods done to a Japanese bike EVER get it to the next level, and the mods make it as expensive as the European options..

See... part of it is the new KTMs are smoking hot... great lookers, great components, but I don't have enough time NOW to maintain my bikes like I should, and I definitely don't want my bike in the shop EVER... I've never had a dirt bike in the shop, always done everything myself... but I don't see myself pulling apart the gear box cuz I grenaded 3rd gear (NOT starting a flame war, I hope)

SO... my question... based on personal experience, not "my brothers ex-girlfriends uncle"... How would you rate the reliability AND the maintenance required... I'll start with my experience on my current bike

DRZ 400- 2000 miles

reliability- no failures that were not gravity induced, with just basic maintenance

DR350-30,000 miles... seriously... a torn carb diaphragm and a rat in the air box... only the most basic maintenance, including ONE valve adjustment (I know)

before that, a couple of older Hondas that had NO mechanicals ever

[Kevin 0]

Slut-You could be asking for a fight:

Your never talk about politics, religion, and what bikes are the best.

[Joliet 0]

196? Honda 90, ran forever just put in gas and go, probably still running and getting close to 100 MPG somewhere out there.

1973 honda MT250 elsinore 2 stroke street legal. Beat the crap out of it with very few problems.

Couple of dirt bikes in between, didn't ride them enough to really count.

2000 DRZ400s I bought it used less than a year ago. I paid $2000. Since then I have spent about that same amount trying to make it as dirt worthy as possible. It is a great bike, I wouldn't hesitate to take it on any length of offroad trip. I had to adjust the valves a couple of times and ended up getting the top end rebuilt with new valves. I believe the previous owner did not have a good seal on the air cleaner and sucked in some dirt which ate an intake valve(however the cylinder looks perfect, I would think it would have some scoring if indeed there was that much dirty air going through it.)

The problem with it, is it's heavier than the KTM and less power. If I had the chance to go ride a couple hundred miles in Baja tomorrow, I would take the DRZ and leave the KTM at home. It will get me there and back reliably with excellent fuel economy to boot. It will go pretty much anywhere the KTM will go, it just doesn't have what I call the "smile factor" of the KTM.

I have only been on 2 rides with the KTM but the "smile factor" was awsome. The DRZ is great fun, but on the difficult technical rides that I like, I think it will be the KTM for me. It will be more maintenance (200 mile oil changes instead of 1000 miles), but no more than I get to ride I have to maximize my enjoyment, and so far the KTM has been up to the task.

2000 KTM 400SX plated. It has not been used much the last few years so I am expecting some minor problems. The first one is the water pump seal is leaking, I will attempt to install a new one this weekend. The major problem with it is, that it makes my face hurt from smiling so much when I am riding it . Ken

[Guest Hammerin Hammon]

I could not handle waiting over a month for my bike to get fixed. when I used to race mountain bikes I rode about 5 hours a day. I had 2 bikes and my frame broke on my downhill bike a Yeyi Ultimate. I had cracked my frame on my cross country bike a Klien. I waited over a month to get it back. My sponsor Cantina Mountainbike Gear called Yeti and told them I was driving there with my frame. It was a long drive to Durango Clorado but well worth it. I got to tour the factory, they gave me a shirt and a new frame, but best of all they took me on an awsome local 30 mile single track ride.

I could ride a KTM but I would have to have 3 so I could rotate them in the shop.

I used to work at a KTM and Husky shop so I ended up on a KTM 250 it was a fun bike to ride but worst bike I ever owned as far as reliability, The frame cracked, the motor blew, the rod came through the case,and with the kickstart on the left side it was hard to start. It always took a month to get parts. I have 3 ( not including Schwinn) close friends who own KTM.s and it seems their bikes are always in the shop. They brag about how good their KTM.S are so I dont understand why they cant keep up with me.

I hope they hurry up and fix Schwinns KTM. He is fun to ride with.

[Joliet 0]

See... part of it is the new KTMs are smoking hot... great lookers, great components

Have you seen a KTM? Their freekin orange!!!!! Who is the brain surgeon that came up with orange?

However I am a big enough man I can get past that, and like it for it's inner beauty . Ken

[Metal Twister 0]

This should be a poll, but since I'm a Pole, I was unable to actually make a poll that made sense.

This may be addressed elsewhere, but here it goes:

I think most of the sane world would agree that the Huskys, KTM, husabergs etc. perform better than Japanese Dual Sports "out of the box"

We also know that they are more expensive "out of the box", but there is debate whether the mods done to a Japanese bike EVER get it to the next level, and the mods make it as expensive as the European options..

See... part of it is the new KTMs are smoking hot... great lookers, great components, but I don't have enough time NOW to maintain my bikes like I should, and I definitely don't want my bike in the shop EVER... I've never had a dirt bike in the shop, always done everything myself... but I don't see myself pulling apart the gear box cuz I grenaded 3rd gear (NOT starting a flame war, I hope)

SO... my question... based on personal experience, not "my brothers ex-girlfriends uncle"... How would you rate the reliability AND the maintenance required... I'll start with my experience on my current bike

DRZ 400- 2000 miles

reliability- no failures that were not gravity induced, with just basic maintenance

DR350-30,000 miles... seriously... a torn carb diaphragm and a rat in the air box... only the most basic maintenance, including ONE valve adjustment (I know)

before that, a couple of older Hondas that had NO mechanicals ever

I think they all are great! The only reason I own a KTM right now is I had an offer I couldnt pass up. Ive got thousands of hard Baja miles on the old XR650l and would buy another in a heart beat. At the same time the KTM has some quality features that in my mind that make it worth the extra money, if you have it. And like always, its what you get use to. I say get what you can afford and ride the wheels off of it, they are all great machines.

XR650l - Zero problems, rode hard, and poor maintence.

KTM 640LC4- Zero problems and maintained very well.

[tntmo 901]

There is an allure, a mystique if you will, to owning an KTM/Husky/Husaberg etc. They are still considered exotic to some, but going by the last few dualsport rides I've been on I think my Yamaha is the exotic and the KTM's are mainstream.

Anyway, I admit that I have lusted after the Husky TE510 and really wish I had one in my garage. The thing is, I can't give up my old WR400. It's been so darn reliable. Sure, it's a few years old and scratched up and ragged around the edges but it starts every time I kick it and the valves are always within specs when I get around to checking them. I keep talking about tearing it down and rebuilding it but another season passes and it still keeps putting a smile on my face.

I don't have first hand experience with the Euro brands, but my bikes from the land of the rising sun have been taking care of me even when I don't take care of them. Ride what you like, the world would be a sad place without variety!

[Chief Gunner 2]

Quote from tntmo: "Ride what you like, the world would be a sad place without variety"

Well said Brother!

I'll ride just about anything except those Super Cheesy Chinese knock offs

Look a KTM wannabe

Yamaha or Suzuki wannabe?

Oh and then there is this one, looks like a Honda CRF with ATK plastics

I have not heard anything good about them except that they are dirt cheap.

Give 'em a few years and they will probably get decent, allot of the bike & car makers started off building junk.

Anyone here remember when no one wanted to buy a Korean Car, now those Kia's, Dai Woo's and Hyundai's are listed as some of the most reliable and best valued cars out there.

They (the Korean auto makers) have put a serious hurt on all the other car makers.

All I have to say about those Chinese bikes is this.....

until they can prove to me they are as good as any brand mentioned earlier in this thread.

Gunz

[Metal Twister 0]

Good point Chief! When I say they are "all good machines" I must admit that I forget about those cheesy things they called motorcycles. I dont even think about them, much less take them seriously!

[dirt dame 561]

I will add my two cents in. Admittedly I had a strange problem with the electric starter on my TE 450, but other than that, no problems. I have talked to other Husqvarna owners who beam and brag about how reliable their TEs are and how they never have to do a thing to 'em, and you hardly ever have to adjust the valves, etc, blah blah. So I will wait and see. On the other hand, KTM owners always seem to have a leak or a squeak or some dang thing happening to their machines. That is one of the reasons I decided on a Husky instead of a KTM. I had (and still have) a KTM. While it has been a great handling bike and has never left me stranded anywhere, it has had its share of annoying problems. Almost immediately, the rear subframe broke, then the chain adjusters seized up, all the engine gaskets seem to sweat all the time right from the git-go and there were electrical problems, poorly made switches that needed to be replaced and my exhaust pipe split (and not on a welded seam) twice before I replaced it with an after market pipe. As some of you may know, I am a light person, don't beat my bikes too much and I lavish lots of care on them, so I would expect a machine that costs that much money to have more nicely finished details.

My old KLX300 barely has had anything go wrong with it, other than the gas tank splitting about 4 years ago and Kawasaki was nice enough to warranty that, even though the machine was long out of warranty. And I finally had to adjust a valve after six years of running. It is slow, has no electric start, a bear to start if you dump it and not the greatest handling machine, but really trustworthy in the long run. Same with the teeny Honda, it requires an occasional oil change and air in the tires.

[bikeslut 1]

See... part of it is the new KTMs are smoking hot... great lookers, great components

Have you seen a KTM? Their freekin orange!!!!! Who is the brain surgeon that came up with orange?

However I am a big enough man I can get past that, and like it for it's inner beauty . Ken

In the dirt bike world you need "your" color... The Japanese already took the good ones

thanks for the replys guys and dame... I think given my riding 'skill' the DRZ may be all I deserve until it's toast.

[Guest Hammerin Hammon]

See... part of it is the new KTMs are smoking hot... great lookers, great components

Have you seen a KTM? Their freekin orange!!!!! Who is the brain surgeon that came up with orange?

However I am a big enough man I can get past that, and like it for it's inner beauty . Ken

In the dirt bike world you need "your" color... The Japanese already took the good ones

thanks for the replys guys and dame... I think given my riding 'skill' the DRZ may be all I deserve until it's toast.

So you are going to ride it till you are to old to ride.

[Joliet 0]

See... part of it is the new KTMs are smoking hot... great lookers, great components

Have you seen a KTM? Their freekin orange!!!!! Who is the brain surgeon that came up with orange?

However I am a big enough man I can get past that, and like it for it's inner beauty . Ken

In the dirt bike world you need "your" color... The Japanese already took the good ones

thanks for the replys guys and dame... I think given my riding 'skill' the DRZ may be all I deserve until it's toast.

It's not like honda has a patent on red. I think it is a goofy tradition. What boring world it would be if the car manufacturers did the same thing. I don't know why calling "dibbs" on a color would make any difference to another manufacturer. I feel for a new motorcycle company just starting, they will be stuck with perrywinkle (which might very well be better than orange). I think I can get used to orange, it will just take some time. And just for the record I have been a Honda guy for 38 years, a Suzuki guy for 10 months and a KTM guy for 1 month.

[bikeslut 1]

See... part of it is the new KTMs are smoking hot... great lookers, great components

Have you seen a KTM? Their freekin orange!!!!! Who is the brain surgeon that came up with orange?

However I am a big enough man I can get past that, and like it for it's inner beauty . Ken

In the dirt bike world you need "your" color... The Japanese already took the good ones

thanks for the replys guys and dame... I think given my riding 'skill' the DRZ may be all I deserve until it's toast.

So you are going to ride it till you are to old to ride.

dirt bikes are for "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" Manufacturers WANT us to all have OUR brand... they want loyalty, and they want us all discussing our next bikes... go to thumpertalk... a bunch off people asking "my friend has a yz, and he says my cr is crap... is it really?" (but with worse grammar)

I always considered myself a Honda guy, but my current two bikes are both Suzukis... they meet my needs right now.

as far as being too old to ride... my wife, my mom, my grown kids (the younger ones still ride with me) and most of my employees (1300+ ) will tell you I am ALREADY too old to ride... motobro will probably tell you the same

Like skiing, basketball, and tackle football (3 pasttimes I have given up due to too many injuries), I will stop riding when the recuperation takes more time than the participating.

[unclecameron 0]

I had an LC4 and was worried about having to get a home loan for parts/repairs. I had to replace (in a year of riding it almost every day) a starter thingie ($26), installed in hour and the float needle seat receptacle o-ring, otherwise it behaved fine aside from me abrading off blinkers Loved the bike, you can feel the better quality because of the frame is made of higher quality stuff, and the bike is similar throughout. They do feel more highly strung and delicate than an XR(which I've had several), so I tended to treat mine slightly nicer. My XR's I could be sent to abuse counseling for the way I treated them...very little love, much abuse, and they mostly were fast and had great limp home ability unless you did something truly spectacular/stupid, and even then sometimes. I would leave the XR out behind the shed for a year, and then ride Baja with it and be pissed if that caused problems I doubt I would've tried that on the KTM, if for no other reason that something expensive looking might have to be shipped from Austria. The biggest difference you will find on the bikes is the unknown variable sitting on the seat, period. After that, pick what suits your needs and makes you grin like an idiot, they're all good bikes

One data point. Hope it helps, now go ride

[SCHWINN 0]

blah blah blah,80% rider 20% bike, buy what you can afford, buy what makes you happy, and by all means buy what makes you comfortable so you can concentrate on the task at hand. By the way my ktm fire was my fault, I slammed the new steering stabilizer down on a bunch of wires not paying attention to details and $387.00 later here i am, riding with a big smile on my face.

[Guest Hammerin Hammon]

blah blah blah,80% rider 20% bike, buy what you can afford, buy what makes you happy, and by all means buy what makes you comfortable so you can concentrate on the task at hand. By the way my ktm fire was my fault, I slammed the new steering stabilizer down on a bunch of wires not paying attention to details and $387.00 later here i am, riding with a big smile on my face.

My Hondas dont need stabalizers. Bla. Bla.