Got to see a KTM 300 in action this weekend

[chump6784]

On Sunday we had the first ride day at out local track. It is a fairly small, tight track, natural terrain with some slick off camber corners. I was talking to a guy before our first session and he had never had his 300 exc on a motocross track and he wasn't sure how it would handle it.

It wasn't a race day, just a practice day. The quickest guys were the first two on the track then the ktm guy, an RMZ 450 guy and me. I settled in behind the guy on the KTM, he was running about the speed i could run and the track being tight and on lined i couldnt get around him if a wanted to.

The biggest thing i noticed was how well that ktm got out of corners. Some of the corners still had grass on them and were pretty slick, other corners were first gear or clutch 2nd and he just turned the throttle and it drove straight out. I, on the other hand was having to get my clutch and throttle spot on to keep with him with the bike slipping and sliding around a bit. i could catch him through the tighter S bends and going into the corners but he definitely had the advantage on the exits

Another thing i noticed was that the first two fast guys were hardly pulling away from us. By the end of 15 minutes they maybe had a 10-20 second gap. I was really surprised with that.

In the 3rd session the KTM guy and one of the fast guys swapped bikes. The fast guy has a 2011 yz450f. We started in about the same order except that i was in front of the ktm guy(now on the yzf). Within a couple of laps the fast guy was gone on the ktm, he left us for dead. The ktm guy overtook me at one stage and then crashed a couple turns later.

after that session i met up with them in the pits. The ktm guy couldnt believe how bad the yzf handled, he just couldnt get any grip in the rear of the bike. The fast guy, a die hard yamaha fan and a hater of ktm only had 2 bad things to say about the ktm. The oversize tank that the owner had put on and the vibration in the footpegs. He said he loved every other part of it. i even joked and said that he might have to upgrade to a 2 stroke. He smiled and kind of agreed.

We are starting to see some 250 2 strokes popping up in the lites class but nothing in the opens. after seeing that ktm perform the open class on a 300 looks very appealing when it is time to upgrade bikes

[LukeDuke25]

The extra torque is where a 300 shines compared to a 250.  It is geared a bit differently than an MX bike but this just goes to show how competitive a 300cc 2T can be against the 450's.

[Recovered]

You won't see anything pop up in the open class, no one runs it. 

I think within 3 years, the "lites" class in the Ams will have more two-strokes than four strokes, provided there are OEM options.

[gpnewhouse7]

I was surprised how well my 200 did when I took that to my local mx track I could take slow corners in 3rd or 4th an just blip the clutch to blast by people on the inside and the suspension changes so much on the clickers you can take it from bottoming on the smallest bumps to barely moving on the big jumps its amazing.

Plus it gets awesome grip even in the wet like it was that day, I only crashed once all day and thatonly because one of the KXF 450s I were trying to pass spun out on a straight and I hit the side of him.

[chump6784]

You won't see anything pop up in the open class, no one runs it. 

I think within 3 years, the "lites" class in the Ams will have more two-strokes than four strokes, provided there are OEM options.

you got that right. the lites class here is usually double the number of bikes of any other class

[scotty dog]

A mate of mine has a 300sx, he bought it as a 250sx in 11 and got a 300 kit for it, he says theres not much difference, just a bit more off the bottom and resists bogging in sandy corners a tad more than his mates RM 250 which is only a few months old, hopefully i get to have a ride over the next couple of weeks...

You won't see anything pop up in the open class, no one runs it. 

I think within 3 years, the "lites" class in the Ams will have more two-strokes than four strokes, provided there are OEM options.

you got that right. the lites class here is usually double the number of bikes of any other class

At the last event i went to the clubman lites had two groups coz there were too many for one race, 250 smokers dominated and there were a few 150's. Open was all 4's 
Some dude rode this beast in the support class at RD 4 of the Aussie Nats

[Recovered]

i'll race open on my 125.  at Budds Creek, open class is usually guys with 3.1 gallon clarke tanks, hand guards, and camelback drinking systems.  easy trophy.  trophy poaching.

250C is what is willy-nilly.  all kinds of crazy shit going on.  pile ups, stacks of bodies, competitors getting pregnant, bikes grenading, people going backwards, low-visors.

[scotty dog]

250C is what is willy-nilly.  all kinds of crazy shit going on.  pile ups, stacks of bodies, competitors getting pregnant, bikes grenading, people going backwards, low-visors.

Whoa!! steer clear of that mayhem 

[twosmoke595]

250C is what is willy-nilly.  all kinds of crazy shit going on.  pile ups, stacks of bodies, competitors getting pregnant, bikes grenading, people going backwards, low-visors.

hey man that's where all the fun is

[scotty dog]

250C is what is willy-nilly.  all kinds of crazy shit going on.  pile ups, stacks of bodies, competitors getting pregnant, bikes grenading, people going backwards, low-visors.

hey man that's where all the fun is

Dunno bout the gettin pregnant bit 

[Recovered]

250C is what is willy-nilly.  all kinds of crazy shit going on.  pile ups, stacks of bodies, competitors getting pregnant, bikes grenading, people going backwards, low-visors.

hey man that's where all the fun is

i used to think that way back when.  then it just gets old when you prep your bike all week, drive 4 hours to a race, and it ends in 15 seconds when some asshole's throttle sticks going into the first turn and he rips your radiator off.

[twosmoke595]

250C is what is willy-nilly.  all kinds of crazy shit going on.  pile ups, stacks of bodies, competitors getting pregnant, bikes grenading, people going backwards, low-visors.

hey man that's where all the fun is

i used to think that way back when.  then it just gets old when you prep your bike all week, drive 4 hours to a race, and it ends in 15 seconds when some asshole's throttle sticks going into the first turn and he rips your radiator off.

wow you just described a race i had a few years ago, a buddy of mine on a 250f did that, his throttle stuck, and he plowed right into me, damn near broke my foot, he crushed my exhaust pipe, and made my radiator look like a lopsided slinky
luckily he was about 130 pounds so he just bounced off of me and i kept riding, i didn't know my bike was messed up until after the moto, luckily nothing was leaking and the exhaust was good enough to run the second moto

[chump6784]

That's why I contemplated running in the open class, most guys there have to go to work on Monday,, most guys in the 250 miss school on Monday if they get hurt. But it is too much fun holeshotting the 250 four jokes.
 My dad has been watching me race lately and said how soft I have gotten as far as block passing and letting faster guys through. thing is I thought I was still pretty aggressive, I must have been a real prick when I was younger

[TMKIWI]

You should try and get a ride on a 300 chump.
I went from a RM250 to the TM300 and the low down torque is night and day between the 2.
You can crack the throttle open from very low revs and the 300 will just pull it self out of corners were the 250 will bog down or you have to use lots of clutch.
Just like what you saw.
When the track is slick a 300 gets better traction.
I am qiucker and get less tired on the 300 then I was on the 250.

[chump6784]

You should try and get a ride on a 300 chump.
I went from a RM250 to the TM300 and the low down torque is night and day between the 2.
You can crack the throttle open from very low revs and the 300 will just pull it self out of corners were the 250 will bog down or you have to use lots of clutch.
Just like what you saw.
When the track is slick a 300 gets better traction.
I am qiucker and get less tired on the 300 then I was on the 250.

i would love to. The way he was getting on the gas it looked just like a four stroke off the bottom with the two stroke hit in the middle and less weight.
I have actually been looking at TM's lately as they are the same price as KTM's and a bit different. How do you find the build quality on yours. I have read a few forums where people have had to do things like go over the bike and put tape where the plastics rub the frame, put foam under the carb cos the airbox is flimsy, poor quality plastics etc. Either that or do like MXA did and get a Husky 300 and spec it for moto, those things are fairly cheap and they have a dealer not far from me