Did it for years and was a very active member of the TRF, its great fun but be warned broken wrists are not uncommon hence why I stopped as I am now self employed..MY VIEW and my view only stay the hell away from KTMs super unreliable, if you buy 2nd hand there is a good chance the bike has been water flooded at some point. I had a Honda CRF250xrl, fantastic bike only fault I guess was when you had to do road work in-between lanes it struggled to keep up with 450s but on the lanes it was the dogs
Interested on your experiences with the ktm, most of the chaps I ride with say they are bulletproof and if I’m still enjoying next year was gonna maybe get a brand spanker, mines been ok apart from annoying things like sump plugs seizing because of poor material choices and heat etc....engine seems great tho touch wood Ps great pics lol
Firstly let me put it in perspective...their are more KTMs out there than any other newer Trail Bike it seems so I guess the %ratio will always seem higher but... Buy a new KTM...NO Warranty!! can you believe that? Service intervals very short and seemingly always needing new pistons/rings etc TBH I'm no expert but ALL the new KTM guys I rode with had problems with them, thats all I can base my opinion on (google KTM forums) whilst my Honda just kept chugging away although I suppose its how its been looked after
Their slogan says it all really... “Ready To Race”. KTM dirt bikes are basically thoroughbred racing machines to their core, hence Service intervals being short and hence why they’re spanked everywhere all the time. They’re the dirty little sluts of the bike brands, you don’t go easy on them and they beg for more. They can do reliability. The LC8 engines are basically bomb proof and their 950/990 adventures are taken all over the world with minimal issues, usually never related to the actual engine. I’m sure Honda and Yamaha probably have dirt bikes that can just chug along. The KTM’s just choose to get ragged along instead.
Cant really argue with that except to say the 950/990 not really suitable for Green Laning but yeah the KTMs I suppose do get spanked more but thats not helpful for some newbie going into the pastime with a limited budget and no mechanical aptitude (that would be me) but owning a Honda never limited my enjoyment on a Sunday morning
I ride my 990R adv off road. Although is got narrower Talon wheels for proper enduro tyres and geared down , suspension is high at 245mm. And will go to 265mm but it's fine. I green lane alot on a Husaberg Fe450. The DADDY of bikes, just before Ktm got hold of husaberg and closed them down. I also got a trials bike which is fantastic for slow speed control and balance. 250 is enough for laning IMHO.
I have often thought about doing this. I'd love to get to the top of some of the welsh hills, and fish some remote lakes perhaps. Not sure on the rules/laws regarding this, riding up hills I mean to find a lake, fishing I'm ok with. Anyone else do this?? Stuart
