I went from a honda 250 to a beta 450 (ktm 450 engine). It was a huge leap in power and took a fair bit of getting used to in the lanes. Be prepared to be scared a bit. My 450 is an 05 year rfs engine .It left me standing more than once. The torque is amazing though and you can chug your way through stuff without fretting over which gear you are in.
decided to go lighter for my next bike and have gone for a low power high torque superlight freeride- not everyones favourite but my experience so far is that it is \bl**dy ace
Good luck with finding a used 500EXC Rod, Took me a while to hunt one out! One hell of a difference to anything else I have ridden, as Mike says the power delivery is pretty intense, the bloody thing spat me off on my first proper outing!
Though it has loads of torque so you can chug along in a higher gear if you want. It is so much lighter than anything else I have ridden before, and I find that makes life so much easier on the lanes. (Especially when you have to push or pick her up!)
I should have bought one years ago!
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Adventure before dementia. KTM 500 exc>Devon TRF Member.
To me it seems a massive leap in a relatively short time Rod. There are many bikes which will be much better than what you have now but are not such a big stride forward (even big Kwakka Geoff stayed on his Kwak 250 for perhaps 2 years???)
That said, you wont be the first, but hope you've done your homework and all goes well.
Also know of a few experienced riders who put a throttle tamer (cam'ed on throttle body cable control) on their 450 to stop the aggressive suprise that can amount to giving it an unwanted handful.
Thanks Peeps for the advice, going away this weekend to look around.. will let you know how i get on.. on my return.. and if i don't think things are right.. there is always the option of lighter and almost the same power as the CRF250L.. My GFs XR125!
Don't rule out something like a WR250F. Very capable and able bike - and probably slightly more torque than a 250excf and slightly less maintenance. Would be leagues above your current ride and not a massive jump.
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and if i don't think things are right.. there is always the option of lighter and almost the same power as the CRF250L.. My GFs XR125! 