125-200cc The Brick and the Pillow

It was a warm day yesterday here in Jersey.... I loaded both of my bikes and went for a romp in the woods.... I made the mistake of riding my Husky first for about 25 miles of some tough single track stuff..... The reason I say I made a mistake is because I then hopped on my KTM... There is no comparison to way this thing handles compared to my Husky.... I got about 5 miles and just hated every single time I got into a rough section... It was brutal and I compared it to riding on a brick the way I have this thing set up.... MY husky is like riding on a sponge.... I must have really gotten spoiled since I got this bike... I brought the KTM back and parked it for the day...If I'm gonna ride this bike any more, I'm gonna really have to make it handle a lot better... I do love the way it has the ability to climb anything....And it's fast.... But the geometry is so different then on my Husky.. I have gotten so used to being able to flick WR 150 that I may never be happy with my KTM again.. What a dilemma I have on my hands..

The stabilizer is a must on my KTM and I don't use one on my Husky.... The pounding and the lack of agility is what seals the deal for me..... I never really thought it was a big deal until I got this Husky...... I'm gonna play with the suspension on the KTM to see if I can make it better... One of my friends who has a real good handle on tweaking bikes suspensions wants to play with it... I'll see what he can do...... I will keep it for a back up at the very least...

I changed my KTM from 20mm offset clamps to 18mm. It's a completely different (better) bike. Front sticks like glue where it used to skate or knife (and you never knew which was going to happen... and both are bad!) No stabilizer needed now.

I recently had a similar experience. Several weeks ago my brother and I had a big ride weekend planned that we had really been looking forward to. The week prior his bike was in pieces getting his suspension done and fast forward to that Friday his suspension guy calls and says the parts for his shock rebuild didn't come in and his bike wouldn't be ready until the next week.

"No problem brother, you get on the road and come on up and I'll pull out the ole KTM and start prepping it for you."

We had a great weekend! We swapped bikes back and forth a few times. I sold the KTM a couple weeks later.

I'd sell my KTM but it's not worth a lot... And it's always nice to ride it so I can remind myself what it's like to ride a brick....

Had 6 katooms since 95 great motors.suspensions were money pit's.my 08 wasn't bad off dealer floor then I bought leftover 09wr 250 in 2010 both suspension resprung,ktm turn full revalve to turn&track to liking. husky springs only tracks straight

I'm going riding today and I'm leaving the Brick in the garage..... I need a pillow type of ride today.... I worked real hard yesterday and don't feel like working any harder to have some fun....