I'd never heard that about KTMs. My bike came from a dealer and once broken in went to Mexico and hasn't had an issue that I had to fix except for that slight turn of the brake line. I paid MSRP and about $300 for him to set it up but I'm not complaining.
Actually no, with a little reality check, you don't have to pay to play. I track ride and race my '05 TC450 all the time and have no problems with it. 275 plus hours now...My Pay to Play ratio is stacked in my favor quite heavily!!! Must be why I ride a Husky. However you do have a valid point on the lust thing....errr comparison! T
As a KTM owner, I must say I am happy about the way My 2007 XC-W has treated me. Yes I have had to play around with the jetting, had the suspension work done & bought I don't know how much crap for it. But, I stay on the maintenance & try not to ghost ride it too much & it's been a great bike. My SM 610 has had a little trouble, but I knew that when I bought it. The petcock leaked, the head sweated coolant, the valve cover sweated oil & the stock jetting was so lean that I was glad that it didn't burn the piston up when I broke it in. That has all been fixed & I'm going on my 5th year anniversary this September. I wouldn't sell her for anything. Great bike & I was familiar with the brand as I worked part time at the HVA dealer in town. My 2000 WR 250 was a machine, all it needed off the floor was jetting & sag adjustment....I even motarded it & with an Eric Gorr update it would roll on the tarmac. 2T power Why are there so many KTM's out there in the woods? I think we all know why. There was a large void left by the big 4 & the small european companies after the late 70's early 80's economic crunch. KTM stepped in & made it's own market. Cagiva & Husky didn't seem to care much for the North American market. In 1998 how many manufacturers made a woods ready, competition bike that was readily available to the public? I am going to buy a new bike in 2011, HVA will be 1st on my radar, I sure hope to find that 2011-2012 WR 250 in the updated frame by then.
People say that KTMs are 'ready to race'. If that was true, why does everyone spend a couple thousand on add-ons & tweaks to get them ready? Sorry, but I have yet to see a KTM that didn't require as much work as every other brand out there. Every single carbed 4t KTM in the last 4-5 years had to be rejetted to even run properly out of the box. Don't even get me started about the littany of other KTM issues. 90+% of all bikes need suspension tweaks to suit the rider, regardless of the brand. People are also forgetting that the dealer & even the buyers themselves, often have a lot to do with how a bike initially works for the buyer. A dealer that does the minimum basic assembly will leave more potential issues for the buyer than a dealer that puts a bit of extra effort into setup & prep when the bike is hatched from the crate, regardless of the brand. Many guys are too cheap to pay for a proper setup and don't have the knowledge & skills to do it themselves & are always looking to save that extra $100, so they get stuck with some niggling issues on a new bike. Back to the new husky price issue- I expect they'll be priced a bit below the equivalent KTMs
Prices got delivered today. I was a dollar off on my guess. The TE511 retails for $8999. The 2010 TE510 listed for $8599 so $400, about right.
Yes this is becoming a very cost prohibitive activity but I don't really see pricing from one brand or the other being an issue. All the MX bikes regardless of manufacturer are all priced within a couple bucks of each other. Where the dicrepency lies is the offroad/woods models. Yeah the Euro bikes run a grand or more than the Japanese models but there is no comparison as far as what you get in the deal. Actually I think what you get for your money is a a pretty good deal for a competition dirt bike. If you really want to feel ripped off, go look at high end road bicycles. You can drop $5-$6000 easily on a bike that has all of it's components manufactured in Taiwan for 1/10th of the cost that they are charging you.
HERES THE 2011 MSRP FROM HUSQVARNA TODAY EACH DEALER MAY CHARGE FREIGHT AND SET UP ETC THIS IS MSRP 2011 TXCi 250 $7399 TXC449 $7999 TXC511 $8299 WR150 $6499 WR 250 $6799 WR300 $6999 TEi250 $7599 TE310 $8199 TE449 $8699 TE511 $8999 CR150 $5999 TCi250 $6999 TC449 $7999 SM449 $8199 SM511 $8799 SMS630 $8999 TE630 $8999 Thats it not bad some bikes stayed the same some only up $100 still less expensive than many Japanese and KTM..Great job Husqvarna .billf
The "i" bike is the lower seat height model 250. All the pre-production prototypes were stolen, so release was delayed. Joke is, thhat the "i" stands for... itty bitty!
Thanks for posting up the info BILLF. I think "i" stands for injected as in Fuel Injected. A guy that works for me just got a new Kaw 450 and it even has the "i" after the KX450Fi.
Yes Im sure thats it,they are making a point to let people know all 250 models are injected includeing the TC250.billf
I know the TC250 is using a batteryless system. Maybe all the 250s are using the same system and that is the reason for the "i"?
