500 vs 450 article

[Albertan]

Great article.  I joined the dark side this year and bought a 2010 KTM 450SXF.  It is fairly mellow of the bottom and then revs out making more and more power, so it is pretty easy to go fast on.  In a straight line with traction, my KX500 would eat it alive.  And though the KTM is pretty stable, it isn't as stable at speed as a KX500.

But, on a tight track, with ruts or slippery corners, the KTM is waaaay easier to get around on.  I love 'em both, but time marches on; the KTM is a better motocross race machine.  Without mods I'm not sure the 450 could run with a KX500 off road.

[TheGDog]

Truth be told... I very rarely have ridden on tracks in my life so far.  And living in SoCal.... riding a KX500 in our "Baja" Desert conditions makes you feel God-Like!!! 

No matter what kinda bike I happen to see way up ahead of me when I'm bombing-along across the Desert floor... its just soo much fun reeling them in.  You just KNOW that you can reel them in and over-take them... simple as that.

And gnarly technical rocky hillclimbs where the thought of not making it up in one swoop would make ya cringe... not really a problem. Ya just gotta focus on your clutch control to slip it a little bit the whole way up so your rear stays nicely planted and easy-as-you-please the engine does all the rest... and it can just about always do it a gear higher then you are willing to do it in!


That being said.... yeah... she is a tall big girl when it comes time to lean her over into turns where there isn't a nice established berm there you can just ricochet off of.

[tharden]

The article nails the 500 just about to a T.  I enjoy to drag race with the 500.  Just keeps on pulling.

[USMC 500]

i don't ride a 500 for its handling capabilities......I ride it for the same reason I would drive a 70 chevelle 454 SS.......It might not handle the best........but all that power sure is lots of fun.

[martinfan30]

i don't ride a 500 for its handling capabilities......I ride it for the same reason I would drive a 70 chevelle 454 SS.......It might not handle the best........but all that power sure is lots of fun.

d**n that hits it right on the nose! Thats my thoughts for the 500 too!

[greencannon]

although I agree that to put the K5 into a deep berm at any speed requires a bit of muscle and skill, once you get it there and lay on the throttle the stability and line holding  is second to none. I feel the transitions from lean angle to lean angle is quite abit more work than a 450 or 250 2t but those MX ers stay twitchy through the turn.The immense tourque at super low rpm makes up for the lack of flickability. get the revs down and it becomes real light...  Ive been carving for so long on the 500. that I actualy struggle to go fast thru turns on 250s and 450s. Sometimes  I find that schooling my 450 buddies at the local track proves to me that the K5 is still way competative and even advantage in the right hands. and it sure makes for a great coversation piece at the end of the day.
now i know this is getting a little off subject but -
I still dream of the day Kawaski actually builds an aluminum frame around the 500 motor (which also goes factory fuel injection) and tunes modern suspension to it as well.....not stuff the 500 into chassis that was R&D'd for a modern 4 stroke.......I know keep dreaming....

I actualy had a chance to ride a 500af recently and was somewhat disappointed by the handling.  it didnt seem properly  suited to the power charactaristics of the 500 motor. making it more of a handful to ride than my old school standard framed bike. Maybe the suspension setup was really off or something. can someonewho owns one elaborate ?