Part of the appeal, at least to me, is the fact that in some states it's not hard to get a plate for a Euro bike. I bought a Yamaha WR250 a couple of years ago and the friendly folks at VaDMV told me there was no way I'd ever get a tag for that bike. That was right after they handed me a tag for the Husky WR300. On the East Coast just about every off-road pumpkin bike has a tag on it. We don't have the same riding opportunities that our western brothers have.
I think it's a 250 4t thing. I don't know of any 250 4ts that you can bounce off the rev limiter for too long and not pay for it. My son's backward 2011 450 has been reliable much more so then his 450 Honda that had the typical valve clearance problems. Of course 450s typically don't get revved as much for as long. I think a big part of KTMs success is that they kept developing two strokes.
Kelly, I really hope I'm wrong but so far they seem to self destruct sooner than one would think especially for a blue bike. I love my super tenere and it has 12000 trouble free so far. Different animal though.
One recent change that could influence which bike we buy is the strength of the dollar. It's getting stronger which means lower prices depending on the relative strength of the euro and the yen.
At least where I live off road seems like a dying sport......young punks are all four stroke guys......old smart guys ride two strokes......KTM has had the smartest marketing strategy plain and simple.....and was smart in killing the red bikes and does seem to have, put more blood back in the husqvarna crown......hate them or not they are pretty smart......
I'd love to ride a 2t but the short range and poor fuel mileage kill that dream. I'm at least 100 miles between fuel fills.
Doug I wish the prices of bikes would drop, but I doubt they would drop significantly if they did. Look at the prices the new Husky's are going for today. They reflect what KTM has been charging customers for their bikes for years. I don't see the Japs being in any position anytime soon to majorly compete against the Euro woods bikes and help lower the price.
If I could trade my 310 for a 14'+ yz450 I would in and instant. The one I trail rode fit my style much better......hopefully they make a 450fx, if they do I'm dumping the husky
My cr165 will go 85 miles and Blake's will do 100+ w/ an IMS 3 gal tanks and Lectron carb. We tested em by getting lost in Idaho last year.
I had no problem with fuel mileage on the 300, it would do over 100 miles on the stock tank. Course I spent quite a bit of time jetting the keihin. That being said the bike is sold and I have a new Beta 300 RR on the way. The strength of the dollar had a large impact on that decision.
I was 15 years old when it took about 4 zillion yen to make a dollar. I had a paper route for 7 months and bought a brand new yz125 for about $1,000 Maybe those days will come back...not likely lol
