- Location
- Sandy, Ut
Looks really sexy with the stock tank!
2008 KTM 250 XCF-W
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I don't know what my deal is, but I just haven't fallen in love with this bike... 
I kind of want another WR450...
I kind of want another WR450...
rholbrook
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Kaysville, Ut
Thats because you like the feel of having your arms ripped off.I don't know what my deal is, but I just haven't fallen in love with this bike...
I kind of want another WR450...
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
how much have you ridden it Greg?
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Seriously, I love how you can just blip the throttle and loft the front end.... I miss that!
This 250 seems like a great bike and it does pull pretty hard in the higher-RPM's, but I like having almost too much power.
No much, most of the riding has been on the land behind our house. I installed the Rekluse and shortly after had some problems with the clutch slave cyl, of course it happened when I took the bike out to Rabbit Valley and it was causing the clutch to slip. I didn't ride the bike out of the parking lot, loaded it back up and went home. I have new parts and need to put them on, but just don't have any motivation to fix & ride it.
I may fix it tomorrow and try get out for a ride this weekend.
Tonkaman
Well-Known Member
- Location
- West Jordan
I agree with this^^^. I don't like riding anything hat can't scare me a little
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Well, I fixed it and went for a ride in the back yard and around the neighborhood... took all of 30 min. The clutch isn't slipping anymore, but the lever still feels a bit vague. Not sure what else I can do, I bleed it pretty good and it works so I'm just going to leave it be.
It's still a fun bike, I need to spend some time on some gnarly trails before I decide it's not for me... it has all the right things (Rekluse, steering stabilizer, big bore, etc) and it does have enough power/torque to pull the front end off the ground, but it's not 450 power. That said, I bought it for the lighter weight and more controllable power.
The clutch isn't slipping anymore, but the lever still feels a bit vague. Not sure what else I can do, I bleed it pretty good and it works so I'm just going to leave it be. It's still a fun bike, I need to spend some time on some gnarly trails before I decide it's not for me... it has all the right things (Rekluse, steering stabilizer, big bore, etc) and it does have enough power/torque to pull the front end off the ground, but it's not 450 power. That said, I bought it for the lighter weight and more controllable power.
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
weigh it!
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Stand by!
STAG
On my grind
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
I can't tell from the pic, linkage rear suspension for '08 or direct coilover-swingarm mount?
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Full tank of gas, plus aftermarket goodies... 248#'s. Thought it would be lighter, but KTM claims 223#'s dry weight.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
No linkage on the '08+... the suspension is awesome. I liked the suspension on the '08 300, so I knew it wouldn't be a huge change going to this 250 4t.
STAG
On my grind
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
My brothers '11 XCFW is linked? I believe.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I wouldn't doubt it, seems like they change their mind every few years. The '07 and down bikes suspension just don't work as well as the later model bikes.
STAG
On my grind
- Location
- Pleasant Grove
Yeah for sure, he also had an '06 prior to the '11 and while the '06 250 motor had more power, the '11 was faster because of the smooth powerband and the suspension.
anderson750
I'm working on it Rose
- Location
- Price, Utah
I believe linkage started in 2012........at least on the 300xc it did.
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
I believe you are correct. My '12 250 4t still was not link.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I did get out and ride the 250 a few weeks ago after getting the clutch working... mostly. I took it out to Rabbit Valley for the morning and rode the Zion Curtain trail from North to South, which is opposite of how I usually ride it. There were a few challenging climbs with rocky ledges and the 250 with the Rekluse motored right up them! There is also a descent on this trail that is gnarly, massive boulders fill the trail and you have to weave around them! Steep enough that I haven't been able to ride up it too... it was pretty sketchy going down, but I survived. Also rode the Western Rim trail, which is always a blast. Bike did well and was plenty of fun out there, but I called it a day early as it was getting HOT!
I haven't been totally happy with this bike and while it seemed like it ran well, it didn't run great. Some times it was hard to start and even after warming up for a bit, it would bog and die when rev'd up from idle. In preparation for the upcoming Sage Riders Enduro in 2 weeks (my first desert race!) I decided to to a little tuning work to the bike. The previous owner mentioned that the bike was 'jetted for high altitude', but never specified what elevation. After reading some documentation that came with the bike regarding jetting for the big bore change, needle settings, etc I decided to step up the main jet from a 168 to 175. I also swapped out the spark plug for a new one and swapped on a new Twin Air air filter.
In addition to the tuning work, I put on new knobbie tires and got rid of the more trail-friendly tires that it came with. On Strattons recommendation I went with the Artrax SX1 front & rear. They're a less-expensive option for Intermediate/Hard terrain with widely spaced lugs, I hope they do good with high speed desert riding! I got mine from Motosport.com for just over $100 for both tires.
I also removed the TrailTech Torch headlight and replaced it with a number plate, save a little weight and have a place for a number. I have some lime green vinyl for the number back ground, for 'Novice'... guess I need to come up with a number!
With the work done, I had to go on a test ride, get the bike up to temp and see how it rode... I decided to go for a burn around the neighborhood and upset all the old folks where I live. The bike fired right up, idled well and rev'd right away without bogging. Took it out on the road and it seemed to run much cleaner & crisper... I'm a bit happier with it now. I forgot how greasy new tires can be on the asphalt and at one point had the rear tire spin and get the bike sideways pretty good while making a right turn from a stop! :freak: The engine feels pretty powerful, it pulls hard in the upper RPM's and seems to like it there. It doesn't have that crazy bottom-end yank that a 450 does and I'm sure from a start the 450's would school me, but it's plenty powerful.
I've been fighting some problems with the clutch after the Rekluse install and it's still not well, but it works enough to ride. The clutch lever feels limp when squeezed, like it's not doing anything. I have bled the system a couple times with no change, it just feels like it's not working right. The Rekluse works fine, but when the bike is running it's hard to find neutral, which to me indicates that the clutch isn't fully disengaging when the lever is pulled in. The clutch worked fine before the Rekkluse install. The clutch lever on my old 300 with a Rekluse felt normal and worked like normal, but not this bike for some reason.
I'm going to take it out to the desert tomorrow morning for some practicing and get more accustomed to riding this thing fast... we'll see how that goes.
Also rode the Western Rim trail, which is always a blast. Bike did well and was plenty of fun out there, but I called it a day early as it was getting HOT!
I haven't been totally happy with this bike and while it seemed like it ran well, it didn't run great. Some times it was hard to start and even after warming up for a bit, it would bog and die when rev'd up from idle. In preparation for the upcoming Sage Riders Enduro in 2 weeks (my first desert race!) I decided to to a little tuning work to the bike. The previous owner mentioned that the bike was 'jetted for high altitude', but never specified what elevation. After reading some documentation that came with the bike regarding jetting for the big bore change, needle settings, etc I decided to step up the main jet from a 168 to 175. I also swapped out the spark plug for a new one and swapped on a new Twin Air air filter.
In addition to the tuning work, I put on new knobbie tires and got rid of the more trail-friendly tires that it came with. On Strattons recommendation I went with the Artrax SX1 front & rear. They're a less-expensive option for Intermediate/Hard terrain with widely spaced lugs, I hope they do good with high speed desert riding! I got mine from Motosport.com for just over $100 for both tires.
I also removed the TrailTech Torch headlight and replaced it with a number plate, save a little weight and have a place for a number. I have some lime green vinyl for the number back ground, for 'Novice'... guess I need to come up with a number!
With the work done, I had to go on a test ride, get the bike up to temp and see how it rode... I decided to go for a burn around the neighborhood and upset all the old folks where I live. The bike fired right up, idled well and rev'd right away without bogging. Took it out on the road and it seemed to run much cleaner & crisper... I'm a bit happier with it now. I forgot how greasy new tires can be on the asphalt and at one point had the rear tire spin and get the bike sideways pretty good while making a right turn from a stop! :freak: The engine feels pretty powerful, it pulls hard in the upper RPM's and seems to like it there. It doesn't have that crazy bottom-end yank that a 450 does and I'm sure from a start the 450's would school me, but it's plenty powerful.
I've been fighting some problems with the clutch after the Rekluse install and it's still not well, but it works enough to ride. The clutch lever feels limp when squeezed, like it's not doing anything. I have bled the system a couple times with no change, it just feels like it's not working right. The Rekluse works fine, but when the bike is running it's hard to find neutral, which to me indicates that the clutch isn't fully disengaging when the lever is pulled in. The clutch worked fine before the Rekkluse install. The clutch lever on my old 300 with a Rekluse felt normal and worked like normal, but not this bike for some reason.
I'm going to take it out to the desert tomorrow morning for some practicing and get more accustomed to riding this thing fast... we'll see how that goes.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Rode out at Rabbit Valley today, stuck to the dirt roads & 2 track to practice my high-speed riding... I put in just over 60 miles. Ended up riding the Western Rim again, probably the quickest I've ridden it. I have to say, the steering stabilizer is awesome when riding fast... I bounced the front-end off rocks a few times and it didn't effect my riding at all.
Had some screwups, blew a corner and had to ride thru a ditch and then later on just about ended up in a nasty mud hole. I was on the brakes HARD and ended up dropping the bike as I came to a stop. The Rekluse is awesome when riding fast, it's nice to lock up the rear tire and not stall the bike!
I was practicing my starts with the engine off and early on the rear tire hooked up and I almost wheelied over... I was kinda in a neutral seating position, rather than on the tank. I think I have the starts figured out.
The tuneup helped a lot, knobbies really make the bike easier to ride hard... that said, these tires work pretty good in the dirt... but not on hard packed gravel! I was coming thru a parking lot at about 30 MPH and making a right turn and opened it up... the rear tire spun out and the bike fishtailed back & forth a couple times. If I would have been smart enough to back out I probably would have high-sided... but I'm not that smart. I held on and rode it out... wished I could have seen it from nearby!
I'm getting more pleased with the bike as time goes by! Really excited for the race in 2 weeks!
Had some screwups, blew a corner and had to ride thru a ditch and then later on just about ended up in a nasty mud hole. I was on the brakes HARD and ended up dropping the bike as I came to a stop.
The Rekluse is awesome when riding fast, it's nice to lock up the rear tire and not stall the bike!I was practicing my starts with the engine off and early on the rear tire hooked up and I almost wheelied over...
I was kinda in a neutral seating position, rather than on the tank. I think I have the starts figured out. The tuneup helped a lot, knobbies really make the bike easier to ride hard... that said, these tires work pretty good in the dirt... but not on hard packed gravel! I was coming thru a parking lot at about 30 MPH and making a right turn and opened it up... the rear tire spun out and the bike fishtailed back & forth a couple times. If I would have been smart enough to back out I probably would have high-sided... but I'm not that smart.
I held on and rode it out... wished I could have seen it from nearby!I'm getting more pleased with the bike as time goes by! Really excited for the race in 2 weeks!
I really like that bike. I'm liking this thread because I've toyed with the idea of getting a 250 instead of a 450/500. Infact I almost bought a Husaberg 250 for my last bike until I found that 500. I've had similar thoughts going through my head again recently.