Thumper to Trials bike?

[somethingnuw]

Just like the post says... thinking of moving back to BC and getting into the Trials bike thing... not for competition just trail riding... too old to suffer another injury.

Looking at a beta trials bike... also here there 250 2stroke is a great bike with a trials type engine which is almost impossible to stall...and electric start... if anyone has experience with these bike let me know.

Im not a track guy and my 450x liked to be wide open all the time... not the right bike for my riding skills or lack of it... i like to ride slower single track

 

[takethebounce]

If you are happy with the idea of not sitting down for your entire ride, want to ride slower technical terrain all day, need the traction that the torque of the trials bikes provide, then sure, go for it.

I ride a lot of single track, and prefer the KTM XC bikes though. Everything from a 200, 250 and 300 2 strokes might be worth looking at. If you want something impossible to stall, put a Rekluse in it. You won't ever have to worry about stalling, and be able to ride a gear taller in technical terrain. The electric start is nice for quick restarts if you stall out or make a mistake, but it isn't needed if you get a 2 stroke with a rekluse.

A friend of mine has two trials bikes. They are great fun to ride, but they are purpose built. They do not really replace a dirt bike that is used for trail use which sometimes includes some technical riding. I trials bike is more for the guys who want to climb extremely steep technical terrain, bouldering, and balancing on the rear wheel all day. I am not saying you can't ride one elsewhere, but it is a bit of a waste

 

[somethingnuw]

If you are happy with the idea of not sitting down for your entire ride, want to ride slower technical terrain all day, need the traction that the torque of the trials bikes provide, then sure, go for it.

I ride a lot of single track, and prefer the KTM XC bikes though. Everything from a 200, 250 and 300 2 strokes might be worth looking at. If you want something impossible to stall, put a Rekluse in it. You won't ever have to worry about stalling, and be able to ride a gear taller in technical terrain. The electric start is nice for quick restarts if you stall out or make a mistake, but it isn't needed if you get a 2 stroke with a rekluse.

A friend of mine has two trials bikes. They are great fun to ride, but they are purpose built. They do not really replace a dirt bike that is used for trail use which sometimes includes some technical riding. I trials bike is more for the guys who want to climb extremely steep technical terrain, bouldering, and balancing on the rear wheel all day. I am not saying you can't ride one elsewhere, but it is a bit of a waste

Thanks all good info...I have never been on the KTM but here really good things about the xc-w... my 450x was a big heavy monster... lots of grunt but felt heavy even for me and im a big guy... i could never ride that bike to its potential in the open... my last 2 stroke experience was a 2001 honda cr 250 and it required too much clutching to keep it alive in the trails then you had to worry about not running it hot enough... i like the idea of the ktm with the diff spring set up for power... neat concept anyone try it? Not sure what its called but someone else suggest the KTM 300 xc-w with the green spring for my riding ability... to damb bad you couldn't rent these things for a few days...

I should add if I move back to BC it will be on the Coast... seems locals in some areas are accepting of trials bikes but not dirt bikes... i think cause the Coquitlam area has an active well respected clud... If I move to the interior... Ill be looking at the KTM for sure... I have seen the Beta Trials bike with and enduro conversion seat but its still geared for trials with a 6 speed...

 

[Jesse_01]

I believe they where talking about the colour of the power valve springs.

 

[Bnorth]

I like the EXC or XC more than the XC-W the wide ratio trans makes a big jump from 2nd to 3rd and I found that quite often 2nd was too slow but 3rd was too fast.

 

[takethebounce]

With the 250 and 300 you can change out the springs to get a different result as to when the power valve opens. They adjust them to open later on some bikes so you can lug the bike more and not be on the pipe. Once you are in the powerband it usually causes the rear wheel to loose traction.

The Japanese mx 2 strokes that you are used to were meant to be on the pipe all day. The clutches were meant to be light weight and not used as often in a trail vs track. A modern ktm is a completely different bike.

Bnorth mentioned the xc vs xcw and to a point a agree there is a wider gap, but as you become a better rider you should be trying to ride a gear higher all the time anyhow for many situations. The xc bikes transmissions are closer to an mx bikes than the wide ratio bikes. It comes down to rider preference as well. On my 200 I could only get a w. Made the choice easy. I am not a big guy and still wonder if I should have went for a 250. It's hard to say. The 250 is a completely different motor. I like how simple my 200 is. For a bigger guy I wouldn't look at anything less than the 300. Plus the 300 makes power different than the 250. It has quite a bit more of a low end torque feel. The power is more linear and controllable in the tight stuff.


But if a trials conversion is what you want. Go for it. Ktm also makes a hybrid that you might consider. They are hard to find. Ktm 350 freeride. Get the torque of a 350 fourstoke in a cut down lighter weight chassis. It is a great idea to bridge the trials and enduro classes.



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[somethingnuw]

With the 250 and 300 you can change out the springs to get a different result as to when the power valve opens. They adjust them to open later on some bikes so you can lug the bike more and not be on the pipe. Once you are in the powerband it usually causes the rear wheel to loose traction.

The Japanese mx 2 strokes that you are used to were meant to be on the pipe all day. The clutches were meant to be light weight and not used as often in a trail vs track. A modern ktm is a completely different bike.

Bnorth mentioned the xc vs xcw and to a point a agree there is a wider gap, but as you become a better rider you should be trying to ride a gear higher all the time anyhow for many situations. The xc bikes transmissions are closer to an mx bikes than the wide ratio bikes. It comes down to rider preference as well. On my 200 I could only get a w. Made the choice easy. I am not a big guy and still wonder if I should have went for a 250. It's hard to say. The 250 is a completely different motor. I like how simple my 200 is. For a bigger guy I wouldn't look at anything less than the 300. Plus the 300 makes power different than the 250. It has quite a bit more of a low end torque feel. The power is more linear and controllable in the tight stuff.


But if a trials conversion is what you want. Go for it. Ktm also makes a hybrid that you might consider. They are hard to find. Ktm 350 freeride. Get the torque of a 350 fourstoke in a cut down lighter weight chassis. It is a great idea to bridge the trials and enduro classes.



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thanks... great info will look into that free ride sounds good. I read a small write up on the 250rr beta sells as a dirt bike... seems its a ktm engine but more set up for trials then the ktm... i believe all you guys are write though... ktm 300 seems to be the common answer even on a thumper forum i belong too...

I will let location decide which bike i will get in the future... Interior of BC will be 300 xc-w, I like how everyone says it lugs along and pulls like a 4 stroke i am ok with throttle control but don't want another jap bike that's made to be wide open all day... the cr 250 was fast and light but way to fast for me...

I liked the idea of being forced to stand all day.... great way to stay in shape and its slow and torquey... im not a good enough rider to come around a corner in 3 gear and jump a 15 inch log... from everything trials guys tell me it would make me a better rider and i probably wont break anything that would prevent me from going to work the next day...on another note maybe its cause i am old 38 but the dirt bike world is getting really unfriendly where trials community is very open... JMOP

thanks for all your help guys... if anyone trys one of these bike in the future pm me! I should find out by the fall if im moving... what ever bike it is it will be a two stroke

 

[takethebounce]

You are old at 38? Geash I am 37. I hadn't been on a bike for 10-12 years prior to a few summer's ago. I don't look at my age as being an issue at all. I ride with guys in their 50's who outride me all the time. Just really getting back into it the past summer. Looking forward to a great summer of riding coming up.

When you are dealing with platform specific forums like a trials bike you find guys who are passionate about what they are doing. Likely why you might think they are more open. Forums like thumpertalk, ktmtalk and so on attract a wider range of people and of all ages and from various areas. It is best to interact with people who ride the specific terrain on which you would ride.

I love trials bikes, but it is nice when you want to wind the bike open on a logging road or wider trail system to have something to sit on and not have a bike very limited in gear selection.


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