DBT,
I am a 56 y/o motocrosser, looking to pull the trigger on my next bike. I currently ride a 2011 Honda CRF450R. I ride my son’s 2010 Honda CRF250R occasionally, but much prefer the 450. I am about 5’ 11”, 170 lbs. and I work out about 5 hours a week. It is very hard for me to use the power of the 450, but it is a great lazy man’s bike. I rode the 2011 KTM 350SX-F for a day, when I was infatuated with it. After the ride I felt it was a heavy 250F, and lost all interest. I don’t plan to race. The new 450’s spec even more power.
I like to keep my bike in the middle of the rpm range on the 450, with low rpms through tight turns. I try to use 3rd gear in the turns instead of 2nd gear. I just added a rear sprocket with 49 teeth replacing the stock 48. The 2011 Honda CRF450R isn’t that fast for a 450, but it has more power than I can use. I get fatigued revving the 250F on bigger tracks to safely clear the jumps,I don’t mind it on tight, slower tracks. I don’t usually go past ¾ throttle coming out of turns on the 450
Any advice? I don’t think there is any chance I will be able to ride a 2016 KTM 350SX or Honda CRF450R, prior to purchase. Lighter and less power, but not 250F like power is probably the ticket.
Thank you for your advice.
Mark
Mark,
Without actually seeing you ride, this is a difficult question. But we have some of the important information. The biggest difference between the 250, 350 and 450cc bikes is very obvious. Power and weight. And a lot of the “weight feel” comes from the additional power and the heavier spinning parts on the more powerful bikes, above and beyond what the scale tells us. The second obvious thing is the smaller the bike the more you have to be willing to rev the engine to get equal power output. Interestingly, most riders of 450s rarely use power levels above what a current 250cc could put out. They are happy with half-throttle performance knowing there is more in the bank should they need it. Or they just prefer to be, as you call it, “lazy.”
KTM have worked on the bottom end power and torque feel of the 350cc as they know it is what a lot of rider’s moving down from 450s were looking for. And since 2011 you will notice a big increase in this torque and pull off the bottom, but it is still not a bike that prefers to be chugged or lugged. We rode the 2016 in the “aggressive” mapping setting to aid in the bottom-end pick-up when we were testing in Indaina. Unlike a 250F where the bike is very sluggish to pick up when at a low RPM without clutch work or (even better) a downshift, the 350 will build RPM nicely, just not pick up with authority like a 450 will. The 2016 KTM 350SX has a pretty light flywheel so it revs quick but we feel it was designed more for a rider who prefers to rev the engine in the upper half of the power spread. That lighter crank and flywheel aid in the bikes second most powerful selling point, its lighter feel. But where the 350 really shines in how light it feels in comparison to a 450 when the engines are putting out a lot of power. The 350 stays agile and flickable where the 450 tends to remain planted and prefers to be stood up and going straight. And the one give away to your answer is that you like to ride a bike a gear high. That is 450cc country. You can do the gear high-thing way easier on a 350cc compared to a 250cc bike, but again, that isn’t the preferred method.
We hope we helped answer the question and hope our tests and riding impressions give you in part a virtual test ride that helps in making that correct buying decision.
JIMMY
