Wilson's Customer Appreciation Desert Ride 2/22 - 2/24

CDA · Mar 1, 2013

2013 KTM 500 XC-W

Rack was riding this scooter on our first ride, so with about 3 or 4 miles left on our loop, Rack wanted to try out the 450sxf so we switched. Jumping from 25+ miles in the saddle of the 450 to jumping on this 500 was completely different. First thing I noticed was a much softer throttle response and quieter exhaust note. Power was smooth with good torque off the bottom. This bike would pull through the gears very well. Suspension was plush and soaked up the big hits really well. Steering was good and I found that you could really slide the back end around with the twist of the throttle.

The 500 did feel heavier than the 450 as it does have more mass and items on it. (kick starter, bigger tank, lights, 18" rear wheel and heavier muffler) The front end did not stick as well as the 450, but these 500s like my modded TTR goes straight and fast real well. Super stable bike at high speeds through the whoops and breaking bumps. Big G outs are no problem, though the front does not lift as easy as the 450, it will come up and let you float over the G out or big ruts.

One thing that I did notice was that my boot was catching on the tank on both sides. It sticks out a little from the side panels and I could feel it when riding. I did not put this bike through a lot of paces, but it felt good and I see being able to sit in the saddle on this bike for some miles.

Next up Husaberg 250TE 2 smoker

CDA · Mar 1, 2013

2013 Husaberg TE250 2 stroke

Gary kept telling me to throw a leg over this bike and take it for a spin. He was even telling my Mgr to get me to ride it. :thinking:

I wonder if he was trying to convince her, that after I rode it, I would want one. :devil:

The 250 is a KTM with the only difference being the plastics, rim color and the Husa's have the new WP4S-Closed Cartridge Forks up front. KTM runs the new stuff on the Husabergs and fine tunes them so they most likely will end up on next years KTM line up.

The 250 that was out in the desert had a few extra goodies on it:
Full Auto Rekluse Clutch
Scott Stabilizer
FMF Fatty pipe
FMF Turbinecore 2 Muffler

Electric start still trips me out on a 2 stroke, but with the push of the button this thing comes to life. I always love the way FMF pipes make a 2 stroke sound. They do a great job of make quality pipes and getting all the power out of the motor to the ground. I am not sold yet on the whole Rekluse thing, but this clutch does have the ability to allow you to use the clutch the way it is intended. Gary had the mapping on this bike set for race mode so you would have the hit you wanted right off the bottom. The ride was sweet. I took it out around the hills by camp and had a great time on this bike. The motor jumped to life quick and powered through the gears smooth and effortless. There is a little mountain behind where we camped and it had a few different options to go up. Either smooth where you could drive your Honda Civic up or a nice single track littered with rocks that took some work to manage. I took the 250 up the rock littered single track to see how the torque was on this bike. I was quite impressed with how this bike would creep along up the hill. The rekluse did make it easier as you did not have to worry about doing any clutch work. Just aim it and go. The levers were adjusted a little high for me, but since I was just demoing this on a short ride, I did nit mess with them. Suspension was great, nice and plush, but aggressive to soak up bigger hits that I was throwing at it. Going down hills in a rock fested garden was super easy, you could stand up and ride this bike down, picking your lanes with easy. Super light feel and stable. I could have fun on this bike all day. The way it was setup, it would be a great weapon in the trees. Light, agile, flickable, with good steering and traction.

It was a fun bike and I can see where Gary was going with this. I could see myself adding this to the stable, but I think I would like to ride the 300 next before I make that decision. Gary are you hearing me! :smirk:

Next up - 2013 KTM 500exc

Weathergeek · Mar 1, 2013

Great stuff Davey. :clap:

Keep it coming if in fact there is more.

TurtleShifter · Mar 1, 2013

CDA:
Timo is correct, but Rack and I (and our kids) get up and are normally out by 7 or 8 for a ride.

I will only be able to day trip it as I can't take any time off of work that week. First week of the quarter for us bean counters is kinda busy so really the 30th would be the best. Wifey may not like it if I am gone on Easter :f:

CDA · Mar 1, 2013

2013 KTM 500exc

OK, so this bike was not a demo but Xquadtard's steed. He and Guppy came out for the day and he was mentioning that his bike would not turn. Rack even rode it and said it felt slow in the front end. Since I was suited up and warm from riding these other scooters, I said I would take it on a little ride and see what I think.

First thing I noticed is how much lighter it is from my Modded TTR I believe this bike is around 7lbs lighter than mine in stock trim. XQT did have a smog block off kit installed which stops the bike from backfiring, but it is not completely removed and remapped to give it the best power you can get (I hear the XC-W map is the way to go once you completely de-smog).

There are some extra goodies on this bike as well:
Gearing 14/50 (stock is 15/45)
Rad Guards
New tail light assy
and some other stuff

First impression when taking off was same motor as the XC-W from above, but a little softer hit. Other than that, this bike felt the same as the XC-W but with turn signals and a horn. I took this bike around and was focusing on the turning aspect, so I ran it up and down a tight sand wash, high speed sweeping dirt road (stop drooling FRQ's), across some whooped out trials, over some single track with some good turning and I found a rock garden single track the would really work the front end to see how much it would deflect off rocks.

I have to say, I did not have an issue with this bike not turning. I felt for the setup, it turned pretty good. I was carving through the washes with no problem, planting the front end into the turn and the bike would go where I wanted. On the high speed sweeping dirt roads, I would use the power of the bike and power slide around the corners or aim at the dirt embankment and hammer it like a berm. It went through the rock garden with no problems though like any other bike would benefit with a stabilizer mounted up. Went up and down hills good without effort.

I could ride this bike all day the way it was setup, though I would adjust the suspension a little harder for my style. The only problem I had on this bike was when I stopped on top of ridge the wind was blowing so bad that day, it blew me over. I could not hold the bike up with the wind coming in at my side......Shhhhh don't tell XQT... :devil:

I believe XQT is going back to center on the clickers and starting over. I am sure he will find the right setting he likes. One thing he needs to remember is his last 2 dirt bikes were CRF450s and they turn a lot quicker than this bike, so it might be something he needs to get use to.....Change up the riding style a little.

Next up....2013 Husaberg 501

CDA · Mar 1, 2013

2013 Husaberg FE 501

Again, this is the same bike as the KTM 500 XC-W but with diff plastics, rims and the WP4S-Closed Cartridge Forks.

I jumped off the 500EXC and onto this one. Rack said it felt heavier than the XC-W and he liked the XC-W better. The first thing I noticed is the feel. I liked the way I sat on this bike. I felt right at home as soon as I sat on it. Power felt a little different and that could be the way the forks are setup. the KTM 500s ride high in the front and the new WP4S forks on the Husa make the front in dive more which gives you the heavier feeling, but it also turns quicker with this setup. This also in my opinion makes the bike feel more responsive. The other thing I noticed is that my boots were not getting caught up on the tank. :thinking:

supposed to be the same bike, but the tanks are different. Take a look at the pictures from the XC-W and the FE, there is a cut out on the FE by the shock which gives you the boot clearance. With not getting distracted by my boots hitting the tank, I could focus more on the bike. I kind of did the same loop on this bike as I did on the TE250. This bike tractors up the tight rocky single track uphill I found with no problems. I jumped out on some high speed whooped out trails and it was fast and stable. I could dive under the 500 xc-w or exc with this bike since it turns a lot better with these forks. (XQT - add another couple of $K to your $30K plus scooter and put some of these forks on. :stirthepot:

).

Yes this bike felt a little heavier than the xc-w, but I believe it is in the fork setup. I actually liked the heavier feel as it felt like the bike would plant better. I could easily ride this bike all day and not get tired. If they could hang a plate off the back of this bike, I would add it to my stable without question.

This bike has great brakes and went downhill through the rock garden without deflection even without a stabilizer. If you added a stabilizer to this bike, a plate off the back fender and gave me a gas card, I would go further than just the border on this bike. I would probably end up in Moab. :ride:

Next up....2008 KTM 450exc

CDA · Mar 1, 2013

2008 KTM 450exc

Disclaimer: I borrowed this picture from the internet as I do not have the actual picture of the bike that I rode.

OK, so this bike was previously owned by Rack. He sold it to his friend Dale who has come out to ride with us on the last few outings. I have no idea what all the extra goodies are on this bike but I believe this picture is close with the big tank on.

I did not get a big ride on this bike but was requested to throw my leg over it for a small ride. This small ride is as follows:
On our ride Friday doing the Ridge Line, I mentioned earlier that there is a big mountain that needs to be climbed to get to the top. This trails has been getting hammered by Rack riding it 1000 times every time he goes out to the desert :smirk:

and it was dry out. The last climb is a pretty steep climb and if you do not pick the right line, it could make you work to get over the top. As I mentioned in my 450 write up, you just point the 450 and hold on. The sxf just goes with or without you.

Well we were sitting at the top and Dale was struggling a little with this hill along with a couple of others. All I know is I heard Rack yell "CDA, come here", so I handed my scooter over to G-Man to hold and went over to investigate. Dale was three quarters of the way up, but not far enough to walk it up the rest of the way. He was spent and Rack did not have on his helmet, so the ask me to ride it up. I jumped on and headed back down.

First impression was that the bike was setup quite nice for the size difference between Dale and myself, with me being a little larger than Dale.. :smirk:

The batt was dead so the e-button did not work, so I bump started it on the way down. The bike fired up quickly and the motor still feels like is has plenty of life in it still. I pulled up next to our last guy that has not climb the hill yet (he was sitting on a 2013 KTM 200, with a full rekluse clutch. This is a whole other story on this scooter and I did not get the chance to ride it. Let's just say, the guy riding this bike was around 250lbs and I kept thinking he was riding a 300 the way he was tractoring this bike up the hills.) I told him to go ahead and he was waiting for me to show him the line up the hill. I told him start off to the left on the bottom and half way up drift to the right. He looked at my, hit the e button and took off. No issues, just straight up the hill.

So as he was going up the hill I stopped to look at what I was straddling to get an understanding of what I needed to do to climb this hill and what was giving Dale so much trouble. I looked out back and saw he had a nice totally worn out knobby.. :thinking:

This is going to be fun.

Well once the hill was cleared, I headed on up. I took the trail to the left as planned and then half way up, drifted right.......Well the tire was not hooking up the way I would have liked and that took my line away and I drifted back left right into the massive rock steps. I dropped her into 2nd from 3rd and kept the gas on and up and over the top we went.

This 450 never hicupped or sputtered. Very well maintained bike from what I could tell, it just needed a new sneaker out back. As you saw in the earlier thread, a new tire did get mounted up the next morning.

CDA · Mar 1, 2013

OK, so there you have it, my write up. I hope you enjoyed this almost as much as I did riding each of these scooters. If I had my choice of what bikes would get to ride home in the condo, I would say 450sxf without a dought (If Gary did not come looking for it when he did, it might of turned up missing :devil:

). The 501 would be the next bike I would load up, but only if it came as a DS. The 250 made me :drool:

but I think I would be happier on the 300. Gary, buddy, again are you listening?!!!! :smirk:

If you ever need someone to give you an opinion on your scooter, please let me throw my leg over it and I will tell you what I think... :devil:

Ride Hard, or place the scooter on the stand, grab a cold one, sit in your favorite lawn chair around the fire and tell a good story about it... :ride:

rezrider · Mar 1, 2013

Nice write ups Mr A...

.....

xquadtard · Mar 1, 2013

CDA:
2013 KTM 500exc
View attachment 13215

OK, so this bike was not a demo but Xquadtard's steed. He and Guppy came out for the day and he was mentioning that his bike would not turn. Rack even rode it and said it felt slow in the front end. Since I was suited up and warm from riding these other scooters, I said I would take it on a little ride and see what I think.

First thing I noticed is how much lighter it is from my Modded TTR I believe this bike is around 7lbs lighter than mine in stock trim. XQT did have a smog block off kit installed which stops the bike from backfiring, but it is not completely removed and remapped to give it the best power you can get (I hear the XC-W map is the way to go once you completely de-smog).

There are some extra goodies on this bike as well:
Gearing 14/50 (stock is 15/45)
Rad Guards
New tail light assy
and some other stuff

First impression when taking off was same motor as the XC-W from above, but a little softer hit. Other than that, this bike felt the same as the XC-W but with turn signals and a horn. I took this bike around and was focusing on the turning aspect, so I ran it up and down a tight sand wash, high speed sweeping dirt road (stop drooling FRQ's), across some whooped out trials, over some single track with some good turning and I found a rock garden single track the would really work the front end to see how much it would deflect off rocks.

I have to say, I did not have an issue with this bike not turning. I felt for the setup, it turned pretty good. I was carving through the washes with no problem, planting the front end into the turn and the bike would go where I wanted. On the high speed sweeping dirt roads, I would use the power of the bike and power slide around the corners or aim at the dirt embankment and hammer it like a berm. It went through the rock garden with no problems though like any other bike would benefit with a stabilizer mounted up. Went up and down hills good without effort.

I could ride this bike all day the way it was setup, though I would adjust the suspension a little harder for my style. The only problem I had on this bike was when I stopped on top of ridge the wind was blowing so bad that day, it blew me over. I could not hold the bike up with the wind coming in at my side......Shhhhh don't tell XQT...

I believe XQT is going back to center on the clickers and starting over. I am sure he will find the right setting he likes. One thing he needs to remember is his last 2 dirt bikes were CRF450s and they turn a lot quicker than this bike, so it might be something he needs to get use to.....Change up the riding style a little.

Next up....2013 Husaberg 501