oh and i just whent to a local dealer that has KTM and there is a used 2008 450xc - has skid plates and nerfbars and its 11k new but the dealer's price is $6,500---what do you guys think? pretty good right?

 

People are saying now that the KTM"s are junk and really unreliable.

 

REALLY?!?!?! I haven't heard anything much about them as far as user experiences. They look killer and come with some really sweet features. I'll have to do so research. Anywhere in particular you read up on them?

 

really ? why ?

 

There were some issues/recalls on the first model year. My buddy had a few broken parts last year`racing that probably shouldn't have broken on a new machine. On the other hand, once those few issues were worked out, his has been great this year. I see a ton of KTMs, they all seem fast, and I rarely see one broken down. 6500 may be a good deal, but you should be able to get a new one for less than 11K, they stopped production on these since there are so many prev model years still boxed up. That is real close to the price of a new Japanese 450. If you aren't racing it, it is doubtful you need the upgraded KTM componentry.

 

Look at YFZ660R's sig he aparently does'nt like his. They also had a recall on the rear brake. I've just read most of the problems are them not being assembled right by the dealer.

 

Ya, i've seen his sig. Id like to here his story.

 

Well, it is a well known fact here (and elsewhere) that I was looking really hard and having a hard time choosing between these bikes.

The straight forward bottom line is... you have the KFX 450R

Then you have the KTM 450XC and 525XC

And then you have the same two powerplants offered in a different polaris frame with different intake and exhaust.


In stock form, the KTM's are always faster... better stock intake, exhaust, tires, and suspension. Between the 450XC and 525XC it depends on what you are doing and what you are used to.

I myself really liked the 525XC right off idle and when lugging harshly... but otherwise I really could not feel much difference between them except how they would rev in certain conditions..... and as it would turn out, I was dead on about that.... BECAUSE THEY ARE IDENTICAL EXCEPT BORE SIZE.


I won't lie, I wanted the KTM at first, because it came with all the good stuff... and I felt it was worth the extra over the Polaris and Kawi.... until I got the offer I could not refuse on the Kawi.

At that point for me, I thought it was insane to give $5,000 + more for the KTM.

Now that I have my Kawi 450R and have spent some money on aftermarket items, I know I have made the better decision for myself... at those price points.... and with the new tires and Jardine RT99 exhaust, I feel it is six of one, half dozen of another.... I feel it's right there with the KTM and I still have a LOT of money left.


But for $6500 for a KTM... it depends on "how used" it is.
If it was that price brand new I'd say go for it for sure.

But used... I dunno... you have to judge the condition and possibilities.

For what it is worth, my Kawi 450R was $5,000 brand hammer new, special edition too... I couldn't pass that up.

 

Thank you... I read it all and it was all good reading to me.
I tend to side with sportrider though... as that seems most in line with other reading I have done.

I'm one of the ones who thinks they shouldn't be able to call it synthetic unless the base is all PAO or Ester or a combo. I understand the group III is pretty good and can rival these in some things... but so can some really well refined dino labeled oils.

Anyways, it just causes too much confusion in my opinion. So now I would like to see oils advertised by the grouping and percentage. That's the fair and right way.

As for the Rotella syn... I really think there is little difference in base quality compared to the regular Rotella. Lots of folks like and have good results with the Rotella syn.... it's just does not impress me much in a few applications. In my opinion it does not 'cling' very well... and I think a lot of that is because in some applications it shears down from an SAE40 pretty quick.

It faded fast in the Kawi, and the sight glass allowed me to see it took air entrainment pretty quick too. Came out like water almost too. The 15w40 Rotella has proven to be more stable.... and I think the bottom line is that the base is similar in quality, but heavier, and it contains less viscosity index improvers... 35 is a much larger range to cover than 25.

I'm thinking that for motorcycle use, a fellow would have to go to a much more expensive synthetic oil to get a much better oil than the Rotella 15w40.

Amsoil Motorcycle, Mobil 1 Motorcycle test well... 20w50 testing better than 10w40 on both... and 15w50 Mobil 1 seems to do well too. But I don't remember if Maxima or Bel Ray or some of the others were included... I'll have to check.

My problem with the high end stuff is that it costs more per quart than Rotella does per gallon. Unless it can extend intervals, or seriously extend the high performance life of an engine... a fellow might just be blowing his rebuild money on fancy oil if you know what I mean...

The oil for 3 oil changes costs me $11 worth of Rotella... versus $48 or so for the fancy syn...
By the time you figure tax and all... that's a good $40 every 3 oil changes.


Do you reckon a fellow is better off to throw that $40 in the rebuild jar?





Myself I am really really thinking about trying the 15w50 Mobil 1.
The 5 quart jug is $22... $4.40 a qt... v/s $2.75 a qt for the Rotella.

Think that might be worth it?

 

Use to be that "diesel" oils had a decent high-pressure additive package, and weren't a bad choice for an integrated motorcycle transmission. But, recently they got "reformulated" with downgraded levels of ZDDP (just like car oils did back when!) to make them catalytic converter compatible, and no longer contain optimum levels.

Consider this when making your oil choices!!!