125-200cc 165 first ride

finally go to take her out for her maiden voyage as a 165. WOW, FREAKIN AWESOME!!! cant believe 40cc makes such a difference. lugs like a 3/4 scale 300! on hills where normally id have to be hitting it pinned in first, I could cruise up in second & even third sometimes. so much more bottom end. mid was strong & top still good(top maybe a little less hit than 125 but not much in it really). noticed the engine has a KTM sounding whhrrr now(washing machine kinda sound), maybe the FMF pipe though. sounds kind cool if im honest. a few of my observations from my first outing:

PROS -chunky bottom end & mid
-wheelies much easier/can pop front over trail trash easier in 1-5 gears
-sounds a little meatier
-much less clutch abuse
-easier to ride fast in technical stuff/doesnt fall off pipe as easy(easier to get it on the pipe too) & when it does easier to recover from without stomping down gears & melting the clutch as much!
-lugs WAAAYYY better on hills

CONS -noticeably more engine braking(still bugger all but noticeable)
-noticeably more vibes(again bugger all but noticeable)
-pipe hangs down a bit too far(she already has 2 spots of 'character'-one under bottom section from a log & one from pipe hitting rad when I binned it!). just need to be a bit more pipe conscious.

all minor gripes for such an amazing engine. it truly makes it a lazy mans 125! I just wanna ride it again! well done Sir Walter, well done.

BTW did 100km today & went onto reserve just as we got back to the car. 1/3 fireroad(WFO), 1/3 transport(cruising) & 1/3 singletrack(1-3 gears). so lectron good for around 130-150km till dry I reckon as reserve holds quite a bit. ms3 metering rod set 1mm richer than stock(48.5mm from 49.5mm) & PJ half a turn from fully closed/lean. engine felt good, crisp & no bog(which may be a result of the 165 kit or maybe going richer on rod). may try a little leaner on the rod(around 49mm) but no complaints. Kudos to Kelly for that side of things. 165 & lectron=SWEET

Going from 125 to 144 to 165, all vibes are the same for me. never noticed a difference.

+1

havent ridden for 4 weeks so maybe the reason it felt more vibey. a combination of that & paying more attention to engine sounds/feel after putting 165 kit on-always a bit paranoid when put new piston in for first hour or 2. didn't notice when riding only when sitting on it & idling. now broken in I can just relax & ride it-HARD! normally check engine mounts & swingarm bolt every second ride or so but ive been slack, will go over them again. have a second nylock locknut on both lower mounts to prevent losing them as I lost a mount nut on 300 couple of years ago