In addition to plate holders & turn signals, both have dual exhausts (here we go again) - probably to meet noise standards. Hmmmmm.
I heard a rumor that Honda wants out of the dirt motorcycle industry all together. We will probably begin to see major motorcycle lines of theirs moving towards dual sport use.
I heard that a few years ago. It's evident, since they quit producing adult sized trail bikes a few years ago. I'm surprised that they still make MX bikes. It must be profitable enough for them at this point in time.
They pulled out of Baja and told everyone that they were tired of winning. But the truth is more economical, baja is a huge money sink. That and Colton's gps tracking just feet from Caselli to finish with the win, lent to more public disgrace than Honda wanted to admit. I see the future of Honda slowly dwindling down.
A local riding buddy has a 250x with a 280 kit and nicely sorted farkles. He seems to like it. It's a 2006 that he bought new. He replaces valves every season because it sucks valves pretty quick. Other than that it's reliable.
hay lets discuss the difference between reliable and durable ?? reliable = never pushed it back to the truck durable = haven't adjusted the valves in 3 years stills runs great what are ya'lls thoughts ?
I'll never shed tear for this company .... I've had Japanese bikes shoved up my back side long enough in my life time... Its all business and only business to these guys ...And the beat goes on ... -- Its a ktm world till further notice. SP is gonna rub these bikes out. Get used to that idea. -- I still remember the japan brands buying all the good riders so their bikes win all, ALL, races yrs ago and up to recent times... But not today ... ktm buys the riders and wins the races ... Get used to that idea also. Don't forget how the ama in America has spoon fed them our racing also for how many yrs now?
No doubt and I was trying to be a bit facetious. Funny how every 2 year old Japanese MX 4 stroke I see on CL always says "just got a new top end"
A company like honda sees the future in 10 yr time intervals, maybe 15-20 yrs out ... Myself, I can't see how gasoline engines are gonna be the NORM in 1st world places in the ~near future. You guys are gonna be forced to go ELEC bikes in the near future. And don't worry, it will be lighter and more powerful that what you have today. And you will love riding that stick of bike with a 30% markup in price. Its your future (not mine) , so embrace it -- I better hedge these remarks ... Near future as ~20 yrs as WAG ... I don't control this time line but it should happen to benefit the world (?) ... Zero effect on me as I (at age 56) think I can live now without another new bike, ever? ..
Doubtful at best. They(battery manufacturers) are having serious engineering issues that seem to be stuck in neutral for several years now. I really hope you're right though.
That's another thing about these 449/511 bikes, is that the engine has the bmw design or roots ... It might run ~100K miles like some of their other engines ... It might outlast all of us ...
I wish. Problem is just the opposite. Depressing. I guess we could just move to a climate where it is 75 deg and never lower and our rides don't exceed 40 miles and all would be cured...#sarcasm I do like the bio fuel idea though. I could brew that here in the garage
Electric will never exceed the versatility of internal combustion engines in our lifetime unless they find a new way to store energy. The standard lithium batteries will NEVER keep up. Either lifespan, power, or capacity. You get one of three. Not to mention cost. Imagine replacing the engine in your bike every 2-3 years. Also as the battery loses capacity it will be immediately apparent. Vs a 10 year old xr650l with 25000 miles might still dyno within 2-3 horsepower of a new one. With electric they degrade with time/and use. The way these companies are rating the lithium batteries nowadays is a joke "10 year battery, good for 15,000 cycles" That may be, but if you leave it dead when you go out of country for a month and all the cells drop to 1.5v, that 10 year battery just died in 3 months. VS aside from fuel system you can lock a bike away in a dry environment for 20 years and the thing will likely run fine! I build electric bicycles and work with lithium batteries every single day. I have used all the cells that are available and the most expensive batteries with the best BMS will still fail if not used frequently or kept to the proper state of charge. http://www.pacificebike.com
