honda or ktm

[88dunerider]

so im sure there is a thread up about this somewhere but i have a 400ex with a 440 big bore kit all the bells and whisles its a good bike love it has lots of power and torq but i want to upgrade , either the honda 450r or ktm 505 or 525. i ride sand mostly and a little bit of trails . the local honda dealer can get me into an 08 brand new for 6100 ball park price or the local ktm dealer can get me a 525xc and the 505 for 11,000 (10,999) he says thats retail price?? i found another ktm dealer 200 miles away that has a 525xc for 6800 , is it work the extra money and the miles for one ??? im a true honda lover at heart just seems like the ktm is the bike of the future . let me know thanks

[Sick0]

both being brand new, you would be making a huge mistake going with 450r.... Ktm is the best deal out there right now... I bought a 505sx for 7600, and better than 13,000 yfz in every way...

[mc_racer]

I have an 05 450r and a 08 525xc. Stock vs. stock, you get so much more with the KTM. If I could only keep one of mine, it would be the KTM. $6800 isn't a bad price, I paid $6600 otd 6 months ago.

[88dunerider]

okay thanks guys, i havent rode a ktm . i know the 450r gets up and goes compared to my race ready 400ex so i cant even imagine the 525. i tried to get my local dealer that ive known forever to get there 525xc down to 7,000 like the other dealer i found but lowest he said he could go was 8999. whats the price ranges usually for these bikes?

[XANDADA]

I can't find a 525 under 10k around here. I saw them all the time 6 months ago but pricing has gone back up.:ermm:

[mc_racer]

I'd drive the 200 miles for the $6800 price.

[krt400ex]

Originally posted by XANDADA
I can't find a 525 under 10k around here. I saw them all the time 6 months ago but pricing has gone back up.:ermm:


thats what happened to me. i was able to wiggle him down to 8600 but thats still hefty compared to the other prices i had seen

[reptikes]

Stock vs. stock... KTM all day.

BUT i have a 08' TRX450r that has a HMF slip on and full HRC kit/green wire mod/filter/spot on jetting and i walk all over my buddies stock 08' KTM450 and another buddies 08' KTM525 piped/filter/ect.

And still have less into mine than either of them do.

[krt400ex]

Originally posted by reptikes
Stock vs. stock... KTM all day.

BUT i have a 08' TRX450r that has a HMF slip on and full HRC kit/green wire mod/filter/spot on jetting and i walk all over my buddies stock 08' KTM450 and another buddies 08' KTM525 piped/filter/ect.

And still have less into mine than either of them do.


then your friends dont know how to ride. especially the one with the 525. sorry, but not much of anything will run with a piped 525, especially another 450 with only a pipe. not going to happen. my bike will pull on almost anything i put it up against. i ran a yfz with cams and pipe, beat a kx250, and tied another kx250 with pipe and reeds. and mine is bone stock.

[who_gives_a6]

I've had both. Honda is past, KTM current. There's a reason the Honda is gone. Honda with intake, pipe, cam, high comp piston, etc, was pretty equal to a stock KTM. My KTM has those similar mods and then some and blows away my old race Honda 450R.

It's not even just a thing about speed. With the right amount of money, any quad can be amazing. But without dumping thousands in the Honda, it can't even come close to a stock KTM. Anyone who says otherwise has seen a lemon KTM or is a flatout liar.

[reptikes]

I think its funny that everytime you post something that doesn't have KTM as an all out GOD of a quads theres a sacrificial lamb!

Whats the chance that everyone that i ride with/against cant ride as good as i do? Yet some have been riding all there lives. (I've been riding since like 2006/i was 26 at the time)

I also dragged a 2008 Polaris 525 Piped/Filter/Jetted on pavement, and beat him all 3 times. And the guy with the Polaris was whooping all over everyone.

[krt400ex]

Originally posted by who_gives_a6
I've had both. Honda is past, KTM current. There's a reason the Honda is gone. Honda with intake, pipe, cam, high comp piston, etc, was pretty equal to a stock KTM. My KTM has those similar mods and then some and blows away my old race Honda 450R.

It's not even just a thing about speed. With the right amount of money, any quad can be amazing. But without dumping thousands in the Honda, it can't even come close to a stock KTM. Anyone who says otherwise has seen a lemon KTM or is a flatout liar.

+1 i agree

[Evman]

Originally posted by reptikes
Stock vs. stock... KTM all day.

BUT i have a 08' TRX450r that has a HMF slip on and full HRC kit/green wire mod/filter/spot on jetting and i walk all over my buddies stock 08' KTM450 and another buddies 08' KTM525 piped/filter/ect.

And still have less into mine than either of them do.




I own a 06 honda 450r 2 bro i have the same mods actually accept a dasa slip on with the hrc kit and a k&n, But my stock re-jetted 525 smashes my 450 up Oldsmobile hill in glamis pretty bad my 450 can pull 3rd hard up that hill but my 525 can pull 4th hard honestly its not even close its def a good 5-8 quad lengths behind the ktm

[reptikes]

Originally posted by Evman
I own a 06 honda 450r 2 bro i have the same mods actually accept a dasa slip on with the hrc kit and a k&n, But my stock re-jetted 525 smashes my 450 up Oldsmobile hill in glamis pretty bad my 450 can pull 3rd hard up that hill but my 525 can pull 4th hard honestly its not even close its def a good 5-8 quad lengths behind the ktm

Were racing an 1/8 mile. I might lose longer distance... but i'm NOT losing in that 1/8! And i have an '08 not an '06. Different head, can, ect., good bit power difference.

[socal]

Its funny,everyone posting in this thread of comparisons keeps mentioning pipes this filters that,all that is minor compared to the other things that really matter,SUSPENSION.Look at the joke of suspension on the R.I could take a stock motor 400ex that has long travel suspension,and turn faster lap times than a stock suspension piped 450r.You get SOOO much more with the KTM.You would have to dump thousands into the R to match!

[IdahoMX]

I was going to get a 450r but after I did the math I was way under what a KTM was stock with the new prices they have. I did buy SX arms for my xc and a few odds and ends but all the major expense stuff is already on there. I dragged a buddys ktm 525 with my ltr450 and he beat me by 3 bike lengths in a short drag. I am sure it would have been worse on a long sand hill. I havent got to ride mine yet but the over all quality is way better then the honda or ltr. Biggest complaint with the ltr was weight. The ktm is also a lot lighter then the honda even with a kick start honda. If you ar going to mod the crap out of the honda then I am sure you could beat a ktm stock with enough mods to a honda. But then you right back up there in price to get what a ktm has stock

[socal]

Ha,ha,ther goes another "drag race" analogy???

[IdahoMX]

You must not read very well. That was 1 point, others being weight and better options out of the box.

[DragonGunner]

I wonder what the OP did...go for Honda or a KTM??? I chose both the
400EX an KTM....since KTM didn't have a quad yet. An mine has 6 speeds....always wondered how a 2002 KTM520EXC would do against a
KTM525XC.....?

[fastazzyfz]

Originally posted by reptikes
I think its funny that everytime you post something that doesn't have KTM as an all out GOD of a quads theres a sacrificial lamb!

Whats the chance that everyone that i ride with/against cant ride as good as i do? Yet some have been riding all there lives. (I've been riding since like 2006/i was 26 at the time)

I also dragged a 2008 Polaris 525 Piped/Filter/Jetted on pavement, and beat him all 3 times. And the guy with the Polaris was whooping all over everyone.

I'm not trying to be a smartass cuz i believe you, why would you lie.. but your buddies that have been riding all their lives should have some mechanical know how, but have they checked their clutch recently, or have they tweeked their carbs, cuz ive been riding and racing quads for sometime now and i can tell u i have tuned my carbs the way wrong way after i put a pipe on and i just thought it was runnin great cuz it now sounded great until i say lets drag when my buddy shows up on the same exact quad just stock or jetted and piped like mine and they end up whoopin me. Notice i havent said any brands yet cuz it dosent matter really but ive had the 450r honda ((my first race bike, i havent ridden one since then about 6 years ago but it had pipe, filter, jetted up right and i dont think i remember it being anywhere as fast as my KTM and i was 15 then)) 2 yamaha yfz's and i just bought my first ktm 525xc. I dont wanna go to into all the mods on all them nothin special other than my yfz's they were 1 still is(my practice bike) decked from end to end and the motor is worked from the bottom to the top true 450cc still thought(just no hi-compression) dont need it really in xc,less reliable to, cant afford the gas it takes to run it anyway, but i thought it was the baddest bike on this side of the MS, id drag it on off weeks against bad *** bikes that had about the same things done except they were built to drag, my yfz would eat them up. so anyway got my ktm and in stock form it would take my yfz out of the hole and damn near keep up, I piped it jetted it, put a K&N on it, did a couple of clutch mods and this thing is seriously scary fast. it really pist me off to tell u the truth, ive put so much cash in these motors to get them runnin the way i think they should. and a pretty much stock ktm can eatm up , the 525 atleast im sure the 450 is fast as hell to, but damn they pull hard through every gear. thats my 2 cents on the motor side of things. but like people have said, its not the motor that wins u races atleast in XC its all about suspension if your a serious racer. And from a racers stand point I wasnt happy with the stock ktmxc suspension, had to get them built 2 or 3 times to where i liked them, then just switched to the new Ohlins with some real adjustments and i love them, but shoot honestly id rather have a honda, if u build them right they are just as good as anything out there, plus the parts will always be there, they are simple bikes to work on, especially the motors, just a simple bike all the way around. But yes they are out dated by a long shot, so if u like goin with whats new get whats new if u like what has proven by many racers as a hell of a bike go with that. Dont go by what lands on the podium every weekend cuz those guys are fast on anything they ride and they are usually built with the best of the best. personally i love the regular ole YFZ450's the motors last forever, easy to hop up but fast right out of box. I just love the YFZ's but thats me and alot of people will agree and some wont. Ive ridden the new yfz450r and x very peppy, great ergonomics, i cant say anything bad, i just havent raced one so i dont know how they really are out on the track hear guys sayin they love them some sayin they want there 08 back. I got this expensive KTM that i love i just wish i wouldnt of paid what i did for it, to late now that ill lose my butt on if i sell it so its gunna be my main race bike for a while gotta get my moneys worth out of it(by tearing it up through the woods and mud and lettin it roll over a few times down a hill or somethin) u XC guys know how it gets out there, it makes me cringe thinkin bout the money ive spent while im out there it basically ragging it out. But its all on what u like and what ur gunna do with it. I know u didnt ask about any other bikes other than 450r or ktm525xc but look around do ur research see what crazy people like me say about all the bikes dont just look at KTM and Hondas. Im sorry if ur still reading this im just rambling on. sry it was so long but im wired on coffee and all that had to come out. sorry if u didnt get crap out of this, i know most people on here know everything i just said but maybe it will change some bodys mind on that purchase

[krt400ex]

ktm FTW, i had mine out on the lake yesterday and hit a pile of ice from the guys ice fishing. hitting a pile of ice going sideways at around 50mph doesnt turn out pretty. i bailed, quad rolled and landed upside down. the quad only suffered minor damage. didnt evem break a lever. i cracked the plastic with the ignition and dummy lights and that was about it. rolled the quad over and started it up and rode the rest of the day. the strength of these machines is insane. had i done something like that on the 400ex when i had it(and i did, multiple times), i would have had a bent axle, steering stem, bars, broken levers, bent rims, possibly more. i can personally attest to the strength and durability of these machines

[88dunerider]

It's been a while but I did end up goin with the Ktm 525 over the 450 . It's been an awesome bike besides the tranny taking a **** the 2nd ride out but Ktm took care of me ! Haven't done much to it besides pipe and jet kit but she gets up and goes . Will still ride my 1988 250r over it any day tho. Gotta love the power band !

[krause19]

I keep seeing everyone say stock for stock but what about modded does the Ktm still hold a big edge?