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Thanks for the excellent, honest input, Tye!

Tye, excellent post and descriptions of what the different bikes feel / ride like.

When you say your 400 will do 65 without a sweat ... Give us an idea of RPM as well as what red line RPM is on the 400.

Of course the 400 is no longer available new.

Thanks again for the excellent post.

Well, I didn't say without a sweat, I said with barely a sweat.

If I had to make a total guess, I would say by example a bike with a 7k redline, at 65 in 6th my 400 would be at around 4k to 4.5k?? Of course, my range is more than this, but I'm not sure what it is. This is a complete guess, and I'm going off memory from a couple of months back, which is the last time I had it on the highway, and one of the first times I had riden the bike. Not being used to the sound and feel of it makes a hard guess. I can say on this same outing, I pushed it up to 85, and it still had room. I think I could still come close to 100mph, on 14/52 gearing!!

So, in other words, the motor is turning at 65, but not so fast I am worried about running at that speed for hours upon hours. It's at a range that I'm not worried about damage, at all.

The only thing with riding these on d/s outings is they are not comfortable. I would say 30 minutes would be max. if I were to just sit down and ride.
Also, they are less stable at these speeds on light sand back country roads, and in the wind, compared to a heavier bike. It's not bad, but every now and then you'll start floating a bit and it wakes you up for a second, wondering what it's doing, but then it settles back down again. On the pavement, it's no sweat in terms of contact, but a stiff wind is still a factor.
Like whomever said before, there's no do-it-all bike. I had to choose what type of riding I wanted to do the most, and sacrifice some on the rest.

I'll still monkey butt through the Stampede with you guys, though. I wouldn't miss it!! I'm hoping the EE comfort seat will help, and I'll have one by then. I hear they make a big difference.

Hope this helps!!
Tye

I'll still monkey butt through the Stampede with you guys, though. I wouldn't miss it!! I'm hoping the EE comfort seat will help, and I'll have one by then. I hear they make a big difference.

Hope this helps!!
Tye

Hey Tye

I know about seat comfort and I would highly recommend a Renazco seat. Go ahead and spend the extra $50.00-$100.00 and get a custom seat. Plus I think the guy that owns the company is a big KTM poster on ADV rider, Mr. Creeper. Just my 2 cents.

http://www.renazco.com/default.cfm

Thanks for the advise, Daryl. I have seen those, and have heard they are great. My only concern is with how hard I ride in the gnarly stuff. I'd hate to damage a seat that expensive. I suppose I could use it on d/s rides, and put my stocker back on for trails, though.
Tye

Tye wrote:Thanks for the advise, Daryl. I have seen those, and have heard they are great. My only concern is with how hard I ride in the gnarly stuff. I'd hate to damage a seat that expensive. I suppose I could use it on d/s rides, and put my stocker back on for trails, though.
Tye

These seats are really tough and can stand up to about anything you can throw at it. Heck several of his seats are on Dakar bikes and you can't get much tuffer than the Dakar.

Daryl

Well, I started this thread almost a year ago, but I finally did it!

Today I put a deposit down on a 2008 Husqvarna TE450! We are talking about light-weight, latest technology, monster power, fuel-injected, street-legal goodness!



The first batch of 08's arrive end of January. I may get one of those. If not, it will be mid to late February.

Sorry, boys, the DR350 is already spoken for. Don't be surprised. A sweet machine like that does not stay on the market long!

Congrats Troy, I rode with a guy at the ADV Iowa gravel ride who was on a 610. They are beautiful motorcycles and in a very high state of tune. Best wishes to the happy couple.

Thanks, Dean!

Yeah, the 610 is a great bike, as attested to by Big Dog Mark Sampson when he did Baja on his 610.
http://www.bigdogadventures.com/Baja01%202007.htm

Welcome to the Husqvarna family!!!!! I gues we will have to come up with a special hand shake or something I can't wait to see it in person, so I will keep my fingers crossed that you get one in the first shipment.

TBM

Yea maybe you 2 can come up with some special way to throw your bikes on the ground when you meet eachother on trail.


Hayden

Hayden wrote:Yea maybe you 2 can come up with some special way to throw your bikes on the ground when you meet eachother on trail.


Hayden

You will never know because it is a Husky thing and you wouldn't understand

Come on, T, buy a TE450 with me. Sell one or 2 in your stable and join me. You KNOW you want one. Here is some porn to get you excited:
http://www.husqvarnaracingclub.cz/stranky_clanky/55.htm

You guys got to quit razzin' me about throwing my bike down. You just don't get it! I MEANT to do that. It's like when a rockstar smashes his guitar at the end of a kick-ass song. I rode that DR so sweet and laid down some moves few people are lucky to ever witness. I thought it appropriate to throw her down at the end of the run.

Oh trust me, its tempting but I got along a lot better this year with the XRR. Year before.........not so fun. In due time I will end up with a 450 for sure. Just give me time.

I do expect a ride on the new Husky though when you get it. Promise I wont pop a wheelie


Hayden

Troy,

You and I had this discussion at Milford a couple of years ago. As I mentioned then there are, as with everything, compromises.

My 525 EXC is unbelievably smooth at 55 ~ 70 MPH. Will I keep it there from Lawrence to Wichita? No. I'm aware of the design limitations. It is a RacingFourStroke [RFS]). However, I do not doubt that it would make it to Prudhoe Bay from Lawrence. There are guys with EXCs and SMs with 30,000 miles on them. (Check out the various threads on ADVRider for this.) If you race them and rev them to the sky you can expect to replace valves yearly. Your choice.

The new 535 EXC has the same displacement (510c.c.) but has separate engine and transmission oil. If you flog your motors that is a good thing. Both the 525 and 535 are easy to maintain once you do it so you can see what to do the next time. They are race bikes. They take more maintenance than street bikes. If you are not ready for that don't get one. If you do get one I can help you with it so you understand what is required.

The new Huskys are really, really nice. However, you can get loads of extras for the RFS KTMs. For example, I have a 3.1 gallon Clarke tank on mine which will do me quite well for everything but Alaska. You can get an Acerbis 6.6 gallon tank for that and with 300+ miles between fill ups you could make it on a KTM but not on a Husky without hauling extra gas somewhere.

If you do not want the hassle of a race bike, and there are hassles with both the KTM and Husky, then get a DR400 that is street legal. That is a good compromise. However, since it is a 5 speed you still will not be able to go to Wichita at 70~80 MPH without revving it to the sky. It is not as easy to work on since you have to pull both cams to adjust the valves. It is not as durable as a KTM or Husky either if you ride it fairly hard in the rough dirt.

From a performance, parts availability, dealer support, riders with you in the woods support, as a package, it is hard to beat the KTM 450/525s. You can get them that have been owned by, how can I say this?, "older riders" that don't have many miles on them pretty reasonably and GO RIDE!!

Stu

Ok glad I wasnt the only one wondering where Stu was going with that


T

I missed your deposit comment. I would like to ride your new scoot in Arkansas! It sounds like it will work very well for you as long as you don't ride it to Wichita every other weekend.... The new Husky is as easy to work on as the RFS so you should have the techniques down for rapid adjustments fairly quickly. I think you will be surprised by how much easier it is to ride than your DR350. It won't nose dive either or wash out from a heavy front end. And when you go to Moab it will float through the deep sand and not wallow around. The only thing it might not do as well as your DR350 is long stretches of pavement but then that isn't what we ride, is it?

Stu

That explains it, Stu. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to having a powerful, light, agile machine with great suspension. I hope you are right about it being relatively easy to adjust and maintain. I'm ready to learn.

Based on the number of people lining up to test ride it, I think I need to sell tickets!

The ole DR has been great to me, but I'm hoping not to have too much separation anxiety.

I think your elegant spanking new Husky will merely give you DR350 pre-death chuckles as you happily motor over and thru obstacles that used to be a trial as well as whiz down trails that will momentarily scare hell out of you making you realize that the DR350 really needs floral displays, funeral music and a hearty heave-ho into its next world.

Stu