Long story short, I'm thinking of adding a Thumper to my dirt roster. It might mean dumping the KDX, depends on finances for now. After a lot of research, I'm convinced a WR is what I'm after as it's more or less ready for the woods from teh get go and also has some easy/cheap mods. A DRZ might be more DS ready, but I figure I'd be mainly using it as a offroad weapon so prefer the lighter weight of the WRs. I realize that one needs to be honest with oneself when choosing a new bike, since nothing can do it all. I like the KDX, but I hate taking it anywhere long-distance because of the poor mileage and pain of carrying around 2T oil.
Virtually everyone around here I've talked to say the 250 is way better. I've been told one gets too tired with the 450, overwhelming power, fighting the machine and so on. Keep in mind most people are around 5'6" (I'm a slender though strong enough 6'5"). Still, some of the guys I talked to are good riders. I'm scared that after a 2-stroke like the KDX, the WR250F will disappoint me or I'll quickly grow out of it's potential vs the 450 having potential for my whole lifetime. Also, I find the 450s power will be more versatile as realistically, 80% of the trails I ride are more open-type/faster dirt roads. A few times per year I go to some remote places with hardcore tight stuff... The type which totally kills you after 4-5 hours of riding. Getting to distant trails with good gearing might be better on the 450. I also secretly like the idea of being able to power wheelie effortlessly in any gear/situation(logs/roots/puddles)....
Still, I'm told the 250 delivers noticeably more power than the old XR250s, TTR250 and so on, so maybe it's all I need?Do the 450s really feel THAT much heavier in tighter stuff? As I said, I think I realistically only ride really tight stuff sporadically. The 450 is only a few lbs heavier than it's 250 counterpart (and the KDX), though it apparently does feels more top-heavy. When I do ride tight stuff, it's tight (riding along narrow rice paddy lines, single log bridges etc) so too heavy would be a problem. Still, penty of guys ride KTM450s and XR400s which aren't THAT light. Another reason I'm interested in the 450 is that they cost virtually the same as a 250 here since the 250s are more popular with locals vs the stronger/heavier 450s. It would also means selling it will be harder down the road but whatever... I do plan on renting on of each bike for a day to try them out (though finding a 450 might be hard), I've also read all the threads on thumpertalk and other websites, but figured some fellow KDXers would be able to give me some insight. Has anyone ridden one or both of these bikes? How do they compare to the KDX? How did you like them?
