What kind of motorcycle should I get?

[Fred]

[Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/02/23/kansas-house-approves-allowing-bikers-run-red-lights/?test=latestnews#

[Fred]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgwNvNjdYu4&feature=related[/youtube]

[Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)]

bump

[Trillian]

It's amazing what new tires did for my bike. I got new Avon Road Riders (I think). My tires were well worn, and now it's like a whole new bike. I don't lose traction by going over a wee bit of gravel, my tires no longer try to follow lines the road like that did. So very happy about it.

[Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)]

It's amazing what new tires did for my bike. I got new Avon Road Riders (I think). My tires were well worn, and now it's like a whole new bike. I don't lose traction by going over a wee bit of gravel, my tires no longer try to follow lines the road like that did. So very happy about it.

Nice.  I recently got new tires too.  I love the Avon Storm 2 Ultra.  In my experience with street tires, Avons have always been the stickiest, although they seem to have only a medium lifespan.  Haven't tried the road riders, but if they are anything like the Azaro or the Storm they should be very nice.

[Ecolitan]

Speaking of defensive driving.  Trillian goes out and practices emergency stop at an interval that appears often enough.  1 yr and 8,000 miles later and we're getting off the interstate onto a 2 lane rd w/ 2-way traffic and stop signs for them but not us.  This is very common in our area, that and other things about the style of offramp that's I've found not common elsewhere.

It's an 80mph merge across oncoming traffic for the fearless motherfucker and and 25 for grandma, a partial left (the assholes who come to a stop here from the offramp risk being rear-ended and pissing everyone off).  1 car pulls up at each stop sign, it's a 3-way intersection.

We both observe that everyone is stopped and were probably going 45-50 when the car on the left pulls into the intersection.  

She locks up the rear immediately which is bad but her bike is prone to and she's learned to deal with even while trying to avoid it.  Then at about 25 mph she locks up the front which is hardcore shit.  At this point the rear is producing smoke already but she's still standing and still braking.  I'm not scared I see she's got plenty of room cuz she's handling it but I'm pretty sure she's gonna high side on the right either after coming to a stop or just before and maybe into the car and maybe not.  She was fully geared, I knew this wasn't gonna be that bad.  

She came to a full and complete stop 10ft before impact and put both feet on the ground like a motherfucking proffessional. That happened two weeks ago.  

Chalk one up for covering the brake even when it's on your throttle hand and regularly practicing emergency techniques especially the #1 save your life maneuver which is to REDUCE YOUR MOMENTUM!

I'm really proud of her.  I don't know whether to pleased with myself or apologetic about the way I relentlessly coach at her.


Modified cuz I tend to do that: You might have a point that 45-50 might be a little quick for that turn considering there's is a car there that just might pull out in front of you at any time I say.... Touche AND  apparently she's good for about 62 

[Ecolitan]

Sweet.  At 14 you can drive up to  a 250 w/ limited privileges in OK.  No interstate, no nighttime.

[alaric89]

How about this size?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAmAYOyYhic[/youtube]

[Ecolitan]

I don't think she get it.

[Ecolitan]

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/mcy/2432273484.html



Is this engine reliable for 50-100k miles of sport commuting?

[alaric89]

For what it's worth, my KTM 250 enduro is very reliable, but it is a two stroke. You do have to check the body bolts tightness often though. Truth is I wouldn't recommend it for long road trips.
Full dirtbike 4-stroke engines require a lot of maintenance on the valve lash (often small shims between the rocker arm and lifter that have to be thinner and thinner compensating for seat and valve wear) but Admiral Gunn has told me he didn't have this issue on his own KTM dual purpose.
*shrug.

[Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)]

For what it's worth, my KTM 250 enduro is very reliable, but it is a two stroke. You do have to check the body bolts tightness often though. Truth is I wouldn't recommend it for long road trips.
Full dirtbike 4-stroke engines require a lot of maintenance on the valve lash (often small shims between the rocker arm and lifter that have to be thinner and thinner compensating for seat and valve wear) but Admiral Gunn has told me he didn't have this issue on his own KTM dual purpose.
*shrug.

My KTM 400 threw the cam chain and bombed the entire top end. Greater than a grand in parts so I said fuck it I'm going back to my roots with a massive 500 two stroke. Now I can replace the entire to p end for a few hundred bucks and the bike makes so much power I don't have to ever rev it out so hopefully it should last longer .  I would recommend a two stroke to anybodyover a four stroke. They weigh less, make more power per cc are simpler and cheaper to rebuild. The problem is my amazing state of california hates them.

PS: to answer the original question, that bike is an awesome bike.  I would love to own a KTM 450 EXC, especially one that comes with SM rims.  But the truth is these bikes are full on RACE bikes.  There's a reason they are marketed as "Race Ready" and they have race bike maintenance.  That bike makes more than 100 hp/L and has small oil capacity.  The result is that you need to change your oil often, like every 10~15 hours often.  And I don't think the motor will last more than 20k miles before it needs a new top end.  If you're changing the piston out every 100~150 hours and checking/adjusting the valve lash every 50 hours it will last longer.  

The 450 is gonna suck on the highway for any extended period of operation.  It will go long distances, but that's gonna be harder on the motor and hard on your ass.  That bike IS capable of running 100 mph if geared properly, but that's gonna be pretty much its limit.  It's designed to be a 90% offroad bike that is just barely 10% street legal.  It's really perfect for hauling ass through trails and then connecting long 30+ mph trail sections with short sections of highway.  The SM tires are gonna make it really fun on the street, but it's never gonna be awesome for 60+ mph riding just because the bike is designed for 30+ mph riding through rough offroad sections.  But since it's gonna be equipped with the SM tires it will be tons of fun in the tight twisty canyons.  You really can rock through those tight twisties faster on an SM bike than on a full on 600cc or liter sport bike just because they are so damned nimble.  

I'm working on setting up my 500 smoker with some SM tires and getting her plated but that's gonna cost me some money that I don't have at the moment.

Personally, I think you should jump on it if its the real deal and in good condition.  Play with it around town and then throw some trail Dunlop D606 offroad street legal tires on it and go trail riding.  Maybe take it to an MX track once you get comfortable handling it on the trails.  Dual sports are my favorite kind of motorcycle.  But if you have the opportunity and your state is more two stroke friendly than mine, I think you should keep your eyes open for a KTM 300 EXC/MXC or a 380 EXC/MXC that's plated instead, just because when you do need to rebuild the top end it will be a lot cheaper, and those 300 and 380 two stroke motors are a lot more versatile and a bit more powerful.  Something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KTM-380-EXC-1998-Street-legal-Like-New-Lots-extras-/140575737048?pt=US_motorcycles&hash=item20baf784d8&clk_rvr_id=248429867884 would be my own choice.  Throw some SM tires on it and there's my dream bike.

[Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)]

My boy is starting to ride.

Awesome.  I started around age 10 on an old mini bike then graduated to a 175 2-stroke at age 12.  I just wish I got started a little earlier!  Glad to see you got him started.  Is that a TTR125? 

[BonerJoe]

He's got the thighs of a woman.