2024 Supercross Thread

Roczen to HEP announced by Matthes today. What a time to be alive.

 

He said "I think." I need to hear it from Kenny first.

 

Ya like I mentioned, I heard that it was pretty much a done deal. But until I see it official, then I'll just wait and see lol.

 

At home sick with little man today so getting caught up on the important stuff.

https://youtu.be/OhaWDxlgLSY

 

The Kawi is solid. A lot of guys around here have them and really like the platform (250 and 450.) With an all-new KTM and Yamaha, that's pretty cool that it still won. Like I mentioned earlier about the Yamaha, I like a lot of what they did but I just am not a fan of chasing that Honda-ish cornering. I like stability and predictability. A lot of what they said about the Kawi was how it can corner but still stable and does nothing goofy. That's ideal. I just don't know why Yamaha strayed away from the neutral handling that they've always been known for. Bummer, for me. I am already just going to hang on to my 250F now instead of getting a '24 (when they change.) I would rather put that money towards GYTR-kitting my current bike than to start over with a chassis that I may not like as much.

 

I'd like a 450 in the garage at some point soon. No idea what color it will be tho.

 

For sure. It's mainly about finding what suits your riding style the best etc. I'd probably get another 350 before I went w a 450. But I'm pretty happy with the 250F. And I've always enjoyed building them up a bit, so I'll probably do that. I know people are a bit luke-warm on the new KTM platform. My buddy got a '23 450 and loves it. He came from a '20 KTM. That would probably be my front-runner. YZF and KX would be another option for different reasons.

 

I thought about a 350 for a while, but I feel like a 450 would be most practical for what I'm after. The 450s make power with less effort, thus less wear and tear. And the bikes pretty much weigh the same. The older (and more banged up) I get, the more appealing less effort becomes.

 

Ya. I think it's kind of annoying how most of the moto media makes out the 350 to be this perfect bike. They are awesome but it's very misleading how it's made out as the perfect mesh of a 250F and a 450, in my opinion. They do handle much better than a 450 and feel a lot lighter (just because it's less motor inertia) and that is awesome. And when in motion they are blazing fast, it's almost hard to explain how fast the are. But in tight spots I feel like they are harder to ride than a 450 or 250F. A 450 you can just lug it and still use that torque from pretty much a deadstop - mid corner and still clear most things. A 250 feels even lighter than a 350 and spools up quickly. A 350 just doesn't quite do either of those well. So that's the one major weakness of them, in my opinion. And guys that like 450s may struggle with that. Otherwise, I think they can be an advantage over a 250F or 450 in a lot of areas.

If you seem to like your current KTM the new platform is probably still going to be a good bike. Or you could go with a Gasgas and basically have the platform you have now, just in 450 form. Would you sell your 250 or keep it?

 

I'll keep the 250 when the time comes and valve it, rukluse, and armor it for single track. I know the 5 gear trans would be a slight disadvantage, but I grew up turning moto bikes into woods bashers and don't have much concern with that effort again.

I do like the KTM platform but am very much curious to see how much the jap bikes have progressed over the last decade or so since I rode them. I've always been a Yami fan boy, but so much has changed and virtually any 450 is going to be an absolute monster for me in a good way haha. I go back/forth on getting another KTM because it'd be nice to wrench on similar bikes in the garage. Just a giant question mark currently, and need to ride a few once I'm back at the tracks. Honestly it will always come down to price and best deal for me. Thats how I ended up with the current orange bike.

 

Also just listened to the hour long swap podcast on the bikes. It sounds like all the bikes are pretty good. Bit of a shame that the new yamaha is slightly more twitchy. Seems like it needs more testing to just see how hard it is to setup. I'd have a hard time buying a 450 as it would be too much bike for me. I tend to be faster on the smaller bikes. Also on a small bike I can ride all day. 450's beat the crap out of me. I might actually lean towards a 350 if I had to choose a large bike. That low inertia is really fun make the bike feel light. Also the wider powerband than a 250. Though I was hearing the gasgas is a good 60% bike with it being setup pretty soft. Predictable and easy to setup has been my style.

 

I don't think they will fully get rid of that tendency on the new Yamaha. There is almost always give and take. Preston said they were after Honda-like cornering, which they carve, but any bike like that always is sensative to set up and can be twitchy. Just like how the RMs were back in the 2stroke days. It's just a preference thing. I used to like that but since i have gotten used to 4strokes, my technique changed. I dont point and shoot as much, its more just roll speed. So i like the stability.

350s are for sure awesome. If you ride where you can flow, they are the best bikes. But if it gets rough or there are stop/start type of tracks, i think the weaknesses come out a bit. The Gasgas (also 19-22 ktm chassis) flexes more than new ktm. Also, they have cast clamps and a softer mid valving, which is much more forgiving for a lot of riders. They are nice bikes. Def worth a look. Cheaper too.

 

Black.

 

The current bike is kind of black. Decals made it orange again once I put them on, though. It's hard to find a black decal kit that looks good lol. Honestly I think black bikes look the best regardless of mfg.

Disregard the chain on the outside of the guide in this photo. It was a long night when I took it last year

 

They posted a multi-page 450 shootout read on Swap, based on the videos that we watched. I am having a hard time understanding how the Yami got 2nd when almost every tester complained about it being nervous and being hard to set-up. The KTM seemed to have no major complaints and finished behind it. Very weird. I love blue bikes but that chassis character is concerning for me, as I mentioned. I guess I'll have to just ride one. But to me that is a somewhat serious complaint yet the bike still got 2nd. That's always been the knock on Honda and it usually doesn't do well in shootouts. But the '23 Honda has a great motor, the best ergos, the best cornering but finished towards the bottom. I know their suspension is average at best though, compared to the YZF's. Just some interesting take-aways upon reading it this morning.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Clm4psktMpE/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

 

Called it. It's the KR 450 shootout. Doing it better than swap can.
Damn sexy bike. Best looking of all the bikes so far.

 

I was just getting ready to post this! Interesting 450F shootout results. Ironically, I was looking at new 450F's a couple of months ago at a local dealer and asked if they had Yamaha's. I've been leaning Yamaha as I follow the Deegan's. They said no Yamaha's or Suzuki's, but they did have new Kawasaki 450F up front.

I spent a bit of time looking it over. It's not a brand I would normally gravitate to, but it looked like a solid blank slate for almost any type of riding/rider. Twitch and Hodges really like em. I think with a few thousand in upgrades and parts it would be a solid choice. Mitch does some impressive stuff with those Pro Circuit Kawasaki's.

 

Except KRs shootout is on full factory bikes and some rando elec

 

I guess those are the 2 rumored KXs that he had, they finally show up lol. Pingree seemed to think there was still a good chance KR goes that route. I still don't think it's going to happen, for financial reasons. I could be wrong though. The bikes look sick. I'm sure with Mitch throwing every at them, they would be quite competitive (similar to when he used to build Reed's bikes, when he was on his own.) So it can be done.