[jturgeon19]

Has anyone out there tried a newer (06-07) KTM 450XC. Got bike of the year last year from Dirt Rider, and I'm teetering between that and a CRF450X. I'd like to do a bit of everything. woods, trails, mx......what do you think?

[coljam]

Uh, I am wondering if you noticed this is a CRFs page.

[Asmith]

Has anyone out there tried a newer (06-07) KTM 450XC. Got bike of the year last year from Dirt Rider, and I'm teetering between that and a CRF450X. I'd like to do a bit of everything. woods, trails, mx......what do you think?

I like the CRF 450X better.

[crfsonly]

first, you could not go wrong with either bike. ktm makes quality bikes and so does honda. in my opinion honda and ktm are the cream of the crop from a design and quality standpoint. having said that i have a 450x and it's been bulletproof, rock solid, and rides and handles great. there are several things about the ktm that for me personally i am not a fan of. one is the suspension. i've ridden many of them 200, 300, 450, 525 and they all feel harsh especially in the hard squared off stuff. the read shock, with its linkage-less design i believe is partly to blame but even the forks feel this way to me. aside from that, they also feel like they have a high center of gravity to me (the 4-stroke ktms). i'm sure none of this is something that can't be worked out but this has been my experience. lastly, and this can't be worked out...they are orange and i bleed red.

ken

[coljam]

first, you could not go wrong with either bike. ktm makes quality bikes and so does honda. in my opinion honda and ktm are the cream of the crop from a design and quality standpoint. having said that i have a 450x and it's been bulletproof, rock solid, and rides and handles great. there are several things about the ktm that for me personally i am not a fan of. one is the suspension. i've ridden many of them 200, 300, 450, 525 and they all feel harsh especially in the hard squared off stuff. the read shock, with its linkage-less design i believe is partly to blame but even the forks feel this way to me. aside from that, they also feel like they have a high center of gravity to me (the 4-stroke ktms). i'm sure none of this is something that can't be worked out but this has been my experience. lastly, and this can't be worked out...they are orange and i bleed red.

ken

My my, Ken, what a wonderfully PC answer you gave. It's good to have someone like you with such reasonable sensibilities. Unlike (dd) others (dd) I won't (dd) mention (dd).

lol -- jk DD