KDXRIDER.NET

i know a good bit about the ktm's..............dont have a ktm 200, but do own 2 ktm 300 {96 and 04} and 98 ktm 380. i love these bike for the power, and torqe. they seem to ride good also.....as yall know, have the 96 kdx 200.........and love this bike! i usualy ride the kdx instead of my other bikes because its just easy to ride!!! and has enought power to do whatever i want........my buddy has a ktm 200, and sure.......itll outrun my kdx, but when i ride his, i like it, but not as much as my kdx.....the kdx just feels "right" to me. the ktm is good, but my kdx is just better in my oppinion"for my WOODS type ridding, anyway".......im just to old to worry about motorcross!

I am going to try to ride them both this weekend to see if it is worth it.

IMO - The tighter the trails are, the better you will like your KDX. I had a KTM300, and hated it. It was just too much. Too much power. Too much height. Too much rigidity. Too much pain. A Recluse auto clutch made it a little better, but the KDX was still much better in the tight stuff.
As for the KTM 200's, I think that they are great bikes, and if I did get rid of my KDX, the KTM200 and the Gas-Gas 200 are the only bikes I would consider. I have read that the G-G has much smoother power delivery than the KTM, but the aftermarket is nearly non-existant.

I ride occasionally with a guy on a GG200. We've swapped a couple of times.

He commented that he likes my motor better- RBD carb and head 220.I like my motor better, too.

I understand that the GG motor is tunable to move the power around. RBD also does head work for the GG and no doubt the KTM, if needed.

The chassis on a KTM is certainly going to be better as the speeds come up.

I don't think a KTM 200 has any significant advantage over a hybrid KDX with the RBD work done to it.

Haven't rode a KTM200, but I had a KTM300 that I rode for the last 6 years and at my age the KTM was just wiping my butt. The bike was a handful in the tight stuff and I always felt best when I was cranking on her. Lugability and top end are never an issue on the 300. After a days ride I need several to recoup.

My hybrid feels like it's 50lbs. lighter and rides the tight stuff as if that were true. The KDX motor is (as you all know) great on the trails, my 220 lugs like a smaller version of my 300 and is much more forgiving when I get too enthusiastic with the throttle. I can ride it all day and the next... it just doesn't wear me out.

Both bike have ****'s suspension work.

IDK.... but I would be surprised if the KTM200 has the usable low end of the KDX220, I rarely even have to clutch the KDX. Likewise I'm sure the KTM revs out much better!

So I guess it gets down to your riding style and the terrain you ride...

My buddy has an '08 200 XCW and I have my '03 KX E series hybrid with RB head and carb. I find it a little hard to compare the handling because my buddy's ergo preferences are so much different than mine. However, I think the RB'd KDX motor is more than a match for the stock KTM motor. Stock, the KTM was way rich off idle, and then when you would just get the throttle cracked open, it would clean out and then
lurch hard, which made it really tough to ride on anything technical. However, a JD rejet and a different throttle cam tamed its low end nicely. My RB hybrid has a super snappy low end that will chug down to zero rpm and a seriously ripping mid to upper mid. I love it.

Truthfully, I think if you can get a nice, well-maintained 200 XCW for a good price, and you don't mind riding a pumpkin, you'll be very happy. They're great bikes. However, if you bleed green, then build a hybrid. That way you'll end up with a bike every bit as good as the KTM and it'll be unique. Is it better than a well set up KTM 200? I don't really think so.

The first thing I said to my buddy after completing my hybrid was that I went though an awful lot of trouble to build a green 200 XCW!

dfeckel wrote:My buddy has an '08 200 XCW and I have my '03 KX E series hybrid with RB head and carb. I find it a little hard to compare the handling because my buddy's ergo preferences are so much different than mine. However, I think the RB'd KDX motor is more than a match for the stock KTM motor. Stock, the KTM was way rich off idle, and then when you would just get the throttle cracked open, it would clean out and then
lurch hard, which made it really tough to ride on anything technical. However, a JD rejet and a different throttle cam tamed its low end nicely. My RB hybrid has a super snappy low end that will chug down to zero rpm and a seriously ripping mid to upper mid. I love it.

Truthfully, I think if you can get a nice, well-maintained 200 XCW for a good price, and you don't mind riding a pumpkin, you'll be very happy. They're great bikes. However, if you bleed green, then build a hybrid. That way you'll end up with a bike every bit as good as the KTM and it'll be unique. Is it better than a well set up KTM 200? I don't really think so.

The first thing I said to my buddy after completing my hybrid was that I went though an awful lot of trouble to build a green 200 XCW!

I have a Hybrid currently and will keep it even if I buy the pumpkin.

+1

Mr. Wibbens wrote:

Indawoods wrote:Asses of Steel!

They are made for standing up

HRDROKN wrote:Haven't rode a KTM200, but I had a KTM300 that I rode for the last 6 years and at my age the KTM was just wiping my butt. The bike was a handful in the tight stuff and I always felt best when I was cranking on her. Lugability and top end are never an issue on the 300. After a days ride I need several to recoup.

I rode a 2010 KTM300 recently at a KTM sponsored event in Ohio. They has Bergs too available for test rides. The course was about a mile up thru the woods with very tight single track. The 300 had arm dislocation power. I found it very hard to ride because as soon as you opened the throttle it launched itself. I know you can probably adjust that out to be much smoother but it was not fun or comfortable to ride. The suspension was very stiff which I'm sure could be adjusted too. I just chalked it up to being new and set up for expert riders...( with FAT wallets too...)

I just smiled when I got back on my $600 KDX.

frankenschwinn, don't sell it. Keep every bike you own. I'm gonna own one of each color. And since the 300 hunny came up, what better place to post this....

2009 KTM 300 XC-W (e!!!!)


This thing rides like a dream. Pulls nice and strong and evenly. Haven't had it in the tight stuff yet but I can't wait til Spring. The KDX is going no where. I love that bike. I have a dirtbike problem, as I'm searching for a blue one now.

Off topic but you kinda see it in the pumpkin pic; my son's Honda; well, the straight parts anyway.