Horsepower, Our Vintage 250s and the new KTM 250 @ 50 HP

[yzrider]

Must be a monster. I would put the biggest back tire on it I could fit, holeshot device for the front forks, get the holeshot at every local race and then get blown by by all the better riders the rest of the race haha. Would still be fun though!

 

[2premo]

Funny stuff

 

[Martint93]

my 1987 wr430 kept up with a 98 ktm 380 exc with a doma pipe in a strait line. 0 - 150kmph (14/48 gearing on the husky). so not all newer bikes are more poweful than the old ones. yes, I think they are faster on the track, but not in a strait line
my LC wr 500 outran a 05 husaberg fs 450 with full akra exhaust this weekend. that was 0 -120kmph. don't know about the top speed, but I run 16/48 sprocket, but haven't tried the top speed yet. still breaking it in..

anyone else have tested their old huskies against newer bikes? dragracing..

 

[2premo]

my 1987 wr430 kept up with a 98 ktm 380 exc with a doma pipe in a strait line. 0 - 150kmph (14/48 gearing on the husky). so not all newer bikes are more poweful than the old ones. yes, I think they are faster on the track, but not in a strait line
my LC wr 500 outran a 05 husaberg fs 450 with full akra exhaust this weekend. that was 0 -120kmph. don't know about the top speed, but I run 16/48 sprocket, but haven't tried the top speed yet. still breaking it in..

anyone else have tested their old huskies against newer bikes? dragracing..

I had a 2001 KTM380, it was fun but my 87 430 was much faster, quicker etc, just wider in the waist, the newer bikes are just easier to ride
they use less energy, I was in the desert one time and had to beat feet back to camp, my brother ran out of fuel and it was getting dark
I passed a Honda 650 and boy was he surprised, I was topping off when he stopped to ask what I was riding, he seemed put off by the age

 

[justintendo]

yup, the newer bikes have better suspension agreed...old swedes have good traction when covering ground...the more distance it seems the better they do...
have run an old 4 speed 500 against alot of bikes and it ALWAYS won or it lost in a very respectable manner...many kids couldnt understand fins and dual shocks running like that...

 

[dukkman]

My 86 EXC was like a hand grenade , when it went off you had to be hanging on.
Not easy to ride but was a good show off bike.
Had bulk hp but all in one spot.

 

[2premo]

yup, the newer bikes have better suspension agreed...old swedes have good traction when covering ground...the more distance it seems the better they do...
have run an old 4 speed 500 against alot of bikes and it ALWAYS won or it lost in a very respectable manner...many kids couldnt understand fins and dual shocks running like that...

not really about the suspension as my 87 Ohlins works fine, the forks are a bit antiquated but replaceable
it is the smoothness of delivery, gears are easier to shift, clutch will FULLY disengage, narrower when on the pegs, kicks on right, you get the idea it is just progress, but the older bikes are great as no one makes a 500 anymore
my 430 is knife ported and pulls as hard as a 500, no one believes how fast it is till they try to pull me on a straight

 

[justintendo]

yes, huskies dont give up much to anything in rear suspension with good condition ohlins back there

 

[suprize]

I regularly swap from the wr 400 to the 300 exc 010 model and the differences are interesting.

The 400 will edge out the 300 in a straight line. the 300 is a way smoother engine to use.

the 400 is physically bigger and heavier in its feel and I assume on the scales Better weight distribution on the kato.

the 300 will eat a yz 450 in a straight line up until it maxs out and the 4 banger gets a higher top speed.

the steering on the KTM is precise and the brakes are awesome. but the husky allows you to just roll over stuff without worrying about picking your way through ala ktm. the lazy rake on the husky gives great stability down hill and I find this real puzzle as I some times wonder which is actually easier and have the new generation of tighter steering rakes and long swingarms any advantage in the scrub.

inside the 300 engine as discussed, there was SFA to clean up in the ports, the factory castings are pretty bloody good. the husky had a kilo of metal removed to tidy everything up.

I recently took the 400 to a natural terrain and raced against the moderns and had good power, much better stability in the braking bumps, actually made more passes under brakes than anywhere else .

I couldn't figure it out either.
I was always in the last half as I couldn't get a start to save myself. wheelspin then sky wards .

a few mates had there new exc 350's and they chucked them in the ute and dragged out there older bikes (86 kdx and a 89 yz) saying the older bikes were way more stable and comfortable than the moderns which were nervous and head shaky all round the track.

so shades of that kid at Loretta Lynns, took it up to the boys on an 87 cr 250 Honda (U tube it, he is good)

a good rider on an old bike can get along against the modern bikes ok. I rekon the old engines arnt that far behind the new ones in outright, just rideability is missing.

at one stage I had some highly stickered hotshot muscling his way past on a yz 450 (deliberately pushed me wide) and I just smoked him on the straight... he was pissed... I could see him shaking his head, beaten by a 30 y/o bike with 50 y/o bald bloke on it ... it was worth the 3 days of aches + pains for that

I rekon a drag race shoot out with an 84 - 86 CR 500 vs newer 4 and two bangers would be a good test other than the "dyno"

 

[justintendo]

suprize, the 4 speed 500 air cooled does awesome in drags....sit on the tank and go...i suspect because you arent shifting it much...i used to take off in second at just about full throttle and get it spinning...it was better than lofting the front end! what a fun bike

 

[suprize]

I remember they were the fastest "crate " bike itw when they were new

 

[1982 XC 430]

I had a 2001 KTM380, it was fun but my 87 430 was much faster, quicker etc, just wider in the waist, the newer bikes are just easier to ride
they use less energy, I was in the desert one time and had to beat feet back to camp, my brother ran out of fuel and it was getting dark
I passed a Honda 650 and boy was he surprised, I was topping off when he stopped to ask what I was riding, he seemed put off by the age

I have a 2001 KTM 380. I was very surprised as to the stock powerband I exspected it to be like a Vintage open class not a 125 on steroids. Munn Head and Stealy Flywheel cured that. But I still consider my Husky's and Maico 490 easyer to ride at Speed. They seem to have natural stability the faster You go and the KTM less. Oddly enough my KTM 250 feels even less stable than any of the above, to the point where you wouldn't even think the two KTMs were the same make or Year. Steering stabilizers are intended for modern bikes.

 

[suprize]

I rode one of those early 380... Once!

it shot me into the bush and spat me off. miserable thing!

 

[Mike-AK]

Things haven't changed so much: 1975 my 15 yr old cousin says "can i ride it?" it being my brand new honda CR125. 2 seconds later bike on ground with broken rear fender, cousin on his a@@!

My Dad rode my '79 250 OR once. He cracked the throttle, dumped the clutch, and the big 550 Trelleborg peeled off a nice long strip of sod, caught traction, and stood straight up in the air with him holding on and running behind it. I was yelling "let it go, let it go." Good thing he heard me, or it would have come over on top of him.

 

[suprize]

I Love the utube fail army... always some punter who shouldn't ever ride motorbikes featuring