I lied

I was planning on getting a WRR, but when I went down to the dealership, they had a new '09 KTM 530 EXC within my price range. It's lighter, more powerful, and more dirt oriented than the WRR, and I won't have to do much besides re-jet it and remove some of the emissions stuff to get it running great. Compare that to the WRR which would need hand guards, header/muffler, mods to the air box, and an FI mapper before I'd even be willing to take it into the desert. The downsides are that I'll have to be more on top of maintenance (my first oil change is at 3 hours. WTF?) and it's likely going to be less reliable than the WRR would be.

Don't get me wrong, the WRR is a great bike, but I wanted a dirt bike with plates, and the KTM fit that description a bit better. I hope you guys can forgive me.

Anyway, here's a pic:

Farewell, Bye!


*that is one sweet bike....i'd hit it!

andrewlat wrote:

I was planning on getting a WRR, but when I went down to the dealership, they had a new '09 KTM 530 EXC within my price range. It's lighter, more powerful, and more dirt oriented than the WRR, and I won't have to do much besides re-jet it and remove some of the emissions stuff to get it running great. Compare that to the WRR which would need hand guards, header/muffler, mods to the air box, and an FI mapper before I'd even be willing to take it into the desert. The downsides are that I'll have to be more on top of maintenance (my first oil change is at 3 hours. WTF?) and it's likely going to be less reliable than the WRR would be.

Don't get me wrong, the WRR is a great bike, but I wanted a dirt bike with plates, and the KTM fit that description a bit better. I hope you guys can forgive me.

Anyway, here's a pic:

The only problem I have with KTM is finding dealers. I live in the middle of Dallas/ Fort Worth Texas and there is no dealer near me. There are Yamaha dealers in the middle of no where.

There are two KTM dealers in the El Paso area. One had an '08 (I believe) 450 EXC, the other had the '09 530. I went with the '09, even though that dealer is a good 45 minute ride from where I live.

Both dealers sell Yamahas as well, and both had a WRR in stock. I guess I'm just lucky?

Nice! Once the orange crush sets in there is no return.
Happy wrenching !

Awesome bike. It sounds like it suits your needs better than a WRR, I don't blame you at all!

You are gonna have fun!

nice bike dude!!!!!

i dont blame you one bit for that purchase! if i rode desert i would get a bike like that too! but around here in tight rocky trails a 250 is all i need

+1

That KTM is a beast and you're going to love it. For desert riding, you made the right decision I think. For the type of riding I do, the 250 is perfect.

yellowredlight wrote:

nice bike dude!!!!!

i dont blame you one bit for that purchase! if i rode desert i would get a bike like that too! but around here in tight rocky trails a 250 is all i need

My buddy has that,unless the trail is stright or straight up we ride well together. they are sprung so much better !

KTMs get a lot of awards and lots of wealthy riders have 'em. Usually a 450, a 640 and a 950... What amazes me is that they buy a KTM, then pay about $3-4K more to get a programmer, get the front suspension set up, install an oil cooler, special speedo/engine monitor, satellite trackers, special chain, special clutch, special handlebars, special GPS/gps mounts, mefli tiires, bigger tanks, metallic brake lines, special racks, stronger headlites, usually a little wind shield, and after all that, on our last ride two of 'em had to bail out with mechanical problems after two days into a 12 day ride.

They sure run nice though. Hope you like orange though.

Quote :

KTMs get a lot of awards and lots of wealthy riders have 'em. Usually a 450, a 640 and a 950... What amazes me is that they buy a KTM, then pay about $3-4K more to get a programmer, get the front suspension set up, install an oil cooler, special speedo/engine monitor, satellite trackers, special chain, special clutch, special handlebars, special GPS/gps mounts, mefli tiires, bigger tanks, metallic brake lines, special racks, stronger headlites, usually a little wind shield, and after all that, on our last ride two of 'em had to bail out with mechanical problems after two days into a 12 day ride.

They sure run nice though. Hope you like orange though.

So far, I've spent something like $100 to get the jet kit and a new fuel/air mixture screw. A quick hack job to the exhaust, and one hose for the smog system got a screw in it. Now it starts great and runs great. I might get a different exhaust and a different headlight, but beyond that, I don't see myself doing any more mods. If something breaks, I might replace it with something better, but I'm not planning on just looking for things to replace.

I think a person inclined to go overboard on mods can do so on just about any bike (just look at how modded out some of the machines on here are) [1]. I would say that a bike with a higher sticker-price would be more likely to attract the RUBs, though.

Mine runs like a champ. I wish I had a WRR to compare, though. The dealership wouldn't let me test ride either, so I don't know how it stacks up to the KTM. Probably apples and oranges, but those were the two bikes I was looking at.

And yep, I do like the orange. I think it makes cagers a little more likely to see me.

[1]: I don't really think this is a bad thing, though. If spending on money on farkles makes you happy, go for it!

Now that I re-read what I wrote; I realize that you took it per,sonally; I aplologize for that;

I wrote it when I was thinking about motorcycles and who buys what.... not specifically you.

I have no data, except anecdotal experiences.

I wish you the best with your new bike.

Oh, no offense taken. Just giving you a counter point to what you've experienced thus far (although that's way too early to tell, since I've only had the thing for a week and a half).