Ever ridden a factory bike or close to it?

level
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1/18/2019 10:20am Edited Date/Time 1/20/2019 11:28am
When I rode the suspension was always the hardest part for me. That bottoming out and constant feeing back into your arms causing them to pump up bad made it difficult to ride at times. Sure you could spend 2000 for suspension and I did and it helped.

That got me thinking about a factory bike. Is the suspension like freaking butter? Do you even feel anything?

Also the tires. I put some Dunlop 756rr I believe was the name and the traction was unreal and increased my speed big time but they wore out after a day of riding and got flats all the time.

So between the suspension and tires I would imagine it’s just unreal but wanna know for sure for those that might know how drasticically different suspension feels compared to something most public would buy.
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zehn
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1/18/2019 10:23am
The suspension on a factory bike is set up for a factory rider. Gonna be way too stiff for most people and probably really uncomfortable
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Tarz483
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1/18/2019 10:38am
level wrote:
When I rode the suspension was always the hardest part for me. That bottoming out and constant feeing back into your arms causing them to pump...
When I rode the suspension was always the hardest part for me. That bottoming out and constant feeing back into your arms causing them to pump up bad made it difficult to ride at times. Sure you could spend 2000 for suspension and I did and it helped.

That got me thinking about a factory bike. Is the suspension like freaking butter? Do you even feel anything?

Also the tires. I put some Dunlop 756rr I believe was the name and the traction was unreal and increased my speed big time but they wore out after a day of riding and got flats all the time.

So between the suspension and tires I would imagine it’s just unreal but wanna know for sure for those that might know how drasticically different suspension feels compared to something most public would buy.
I havent but everyone knows its an unreal difference,
Maybe if they all had to run stock it would slow the lap times down a little bit, imo the speeds have gotten to fast
And its causing more severe injuries.
If not suspension than?
What else could slow things down a litte bit ?
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sam hain
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1/18/2019 10:40am
Friend of mine rode Nate Ramsey's factory CRF450 back in the day and he said the biggest thing he noticed back then was the weight. He said the motor was obviously strong, but the bike had so much Ti on it he about threw it over the bike stand when he got off of it.
BroFoSho
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1/18/2019 10:46am
I think it was in 07 or 08 I rode a 450 a builder was doing for a privateer in SX.
I was on an MX track with an SX set-up... so all I really recall was that it was stupid fast with an insanely hard hitting motor and suspension that would only move if I flat landed everything
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The Shop

observeroffacts
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1/18/2019 10:47am Edited Date/Time 1/18/2019 11:21am
sam hain wrote:
Friend of mine rode Nate Ramsey's factory CRF450 back in the day and he said the biggest thing he noticed back then was the weight. He...
Friend of mine rode Nate Ramsey's factory CRF450 back in the day and he said the biggest thing he noticed back then was the weight. He said the motor was obviously strong, but the bike had so much Ti on it he about threw it over the bike stand when he got off of it.
I imagine a full blown factory 450 back when Ramsey rode one probably wasn’t lighter than a 250 2 stroke. I’m sure it was considerably lighter than the other early 4 strokes..


I hadn’t even ridden a heavily modified bike until I was able to build a yz250 from the ground up at the age of 25. When I raced, even at the national level, my dad could only afford one bike so we just raced the stock classes.

gabrielito
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1/18/2019 10:50am
First turn I washed out when I barely tapped the front brake on a MDK KTM. For me It was difficult to ride.
MXD
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1/18/2019 11:08am Edited Date/Time 1/18/2019 11:09am
I rode a factory KX250 smoker back in 02-03 maybe? I made about a 1/2 of a lap and then cut the track to give it back. People talk about a light switch powerband but I'd never felt anything like this before. It went from feeling like a 125 with a rag in the air box to a 500 at WOT over the course of what felt like a few hundred RPM. It was literally unridable for me.
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1/18/2019 11:10am
Yeah I see these guys overjump these triples and the suspension barely moves and it just looks so smooth and buttery. I wonder if they hardly feel anything in there hands or if it’s really not much different than a 2000 suspension job for our weight.
Yz229
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1/18/2019 11:19am Edited Date/Time 1/18/2019 11:20am
Usually they like lot's of feedback to know what's going on beneath them, so they wouldn't be as buttery as you think. Not harsh, but firm with good feedback
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neverwas
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1/18/2019 11:37am
Marty Tripes factory Honda RC250 that was Claimed by John Roeder in I think 1979 and local rider Jerome Heighberger raced it locally for a few months. At one of the local races he let me sit on it while running. I wanted in the worst way to click it into gear and hit the track,but that's as close to riding a true works bike was for me.
motomike894
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1/18/2019 12:06pm
I rode a close to Factory KTM125 back in 2003 when I raced a SX in Holland, it was ridden by someone that previous year in the Gp's they told me, but that thing was sick it had the bigger wp forks and weighed nothing, and for a 125 was extremely fast, I had been riding a 450 at home and got on that thing and for a small track had no issues adapting, other than my starts were a joke which screwed me in the races lol.
Ing
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1/18/2019 12:25pm
I've owned a couple of "used" factory bikes. Early to mid 70's Huskys. Air cooled two smokes and yes, there was a difference.
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newmann
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1/18/2019 12:27pm
I was set to take a quick spin on Hannah's Boyesen link Suzuki but no one had any fuel for it...Sad
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mx317
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1/18/2019 12:30pm
I bought Gene McKay's factory Noguchi Yamaha and that thing was freaky fast for the time period.
nch209
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1/18/2019 12:32pm
Never ridden any, but sat on the fleet of cool Suzuki's at Pastrana Land, and back in the YOT days, "Uncle Phil" would let me sit on those bikes and drool! Never got to ride any though....
Xeno
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1/18/2019 12:44pm
Yes. And I would like to again, so I'm not going to talk about it on a public forum LaughingLaughingLaughing
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kijen
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1/18/2019 12:46pm
Got to ride Gaylon Mosier's practice maico 250 in trabuco canyon. Friend was a friend of a mech. I was pretty dumb and ignorant of the whole opportunity.
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mx_phreek
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1/18/2019 12:47pm
I did a moto on Stefan Everts 94 JHK Kawasaki 250. Cool
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philG
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1/18/2019 12:55pm
I rode an 89 RM250 belonging to Rob Herring, we wanted to ride my stocker as he never rode one and wanted to know what it was like, motor was very strong, suspension was unreal, i must have been 5 secs a lap faster, cos whatever you hit , it just soaked it up.

In 2014 we got to buy an Ex Factory 449 Husqvarna SM bike , used by Mauno Hermunen in the WC in 2012, we still have the forks, and brakes off it , full of Ti bolts, handmade frame with adjustable headstock and adjustable clamps, motor had to go back to Zupin to be refreshed as they wouldnt sell the parts , Two factory ECU's with multiple maps with gear sensors and a sound map too. Only 4 built. I scored points on it in the German International class, was fantastic to ride , but my sponsor, wanted abike we could develop and have fun with , and this thing needed fuel putting in and cleaning. He got got offered good money and it went, the new FS450 is much better for me , but it was cool to have a full spec bike for a season.
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JAFO92
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1/18/2019 12:58pm
Yes. Sorta.
Camp332
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1/18/2019 1:03pm
05 or 06 I did some laps on a CRF450 with A-kit suspension setup for local guy outdoor speed, and it was plush over everything.
Presley155
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1/18/2019 1:15pm
I rode one of Bradshaw's 97' MHR CR250's back in 97'. It was stupid fast and ridiculously stiff. But hey, it was Damon F'ing Bradshaw's! Also rode Robbie Skagg's 98' YZ125 national bike. Had 0 bottom end and had to be held wide open. It was really fast but hard to ride for a normal guy.
1/18/2019 1:54pm
Yep, first think I noticed was the forks didn’t feel like they moved. Not suited to me at all I like them plush. I don’t ride fast enough but I beat most..
bbhMoto
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1/18/2019 2:16pm
Look at JS7 forks going thru the whoops. They were setup rock hard so the front end could skip over the tops at blazing speed. Not too many riders could take that.

KR has a similar setup - hard compression in front, soft rebound in rear. It's partially what led to his broken arm. He over jumped into the bottom of the section, the rear fully compressed, rebounded too fast, the forks kept the front high going up the face, and the combination sent him over the bars.
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SoCalMX70
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1/18/2019 2:19pm
Not really close... A few practice bikes and a few desert bikes that were just built well.

1997 Pro Circuit KX125 (supposedly RC's practice machine, it had the #70 on it and tons of trick parts. Trying to find a pic)
2007 Kyle Lewis CR450
2002 Ty Davis YZ250 (desert)
Various Paul Krause KTM desert machines, from a 125 to a 525 (all mid-2000s).

My brother had an Alessi KX80 practice bike... Nothing special. Suspension, pipe, graphics.

Quite honestly even at my feeble slow pace they all felt good to me except the 525... Which had a very strange rebound feel in the shock. Vague and you'd never know when it was going to kick you into an endo. Could have been a compression issue, it was a long time ago.

The KX is the most memorable. I was only 14 or 15 when I rode it and I can still remember how surprisingly smooth the power was. Pulled bottom to top and was never abrupt. I've never experienced that on any other 125 since. Suspension was good in literally everything, but again I was young and never was fast so it's not really anything to go off of.
drt410
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1/18/2019 2:25pm Edited Date/Time 1/18/2019 2:26pm
level wrote:
When I rode the suspension was always the hardest part for me. That bottoming out and constant feeing back into your arms causing them to pump...
When I rode the suspension was always the hardest part for me. That bottoming out and constant feeing back into your arms causing them to pump up bad made it difficult to ride at times. Sure you could spend 2000 for suspension and I did and it helped.

That got me thinking about a factory bike. Is the suspension like freaking butter? Do you even feel anything?

Also the tires. I put some Dunlop 756rr I believe was the name and the traction was unreal and increased my speed big time but they wore out after a day of riding and got flats all the time.

So between the suspension and tires I would imagine it’s just unreal but wanna know for sure for those that might know how drasticically different suspension feels compared to something most public would buy.
Tarz483 wrote:
I havent but everyone knows its an unreal difference, Maybe if they all had to run stock it would slow the lap times down a little...
I havent but everyone knows its an unreal difference,
Maybe if they all had to run stock it would slow the lap times down a little bit, imo the speeds have gotten to fast
And its causing more severe injuries.
If not suspension than?
What else could slow things down a litte bit ?
So the extremely fast guys should be on suspension thats softer and bottoms out much easier and that will make it safer? I dont think so I think theyd still ride fast and it would just be more dangerous. Theyd just push that stuff way beyond what its supposed to be used for, because theyre not who its made for.
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OR Racer46
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1/18/2019 2:26pm Edited Date/Time 1/18/2019 2:30pm
I got to Race one of Jason Thomas ( JT$) old CRF 450s . Its was one of the DNA BTO bikes . It was really kinda awkward . really low in the rear . CUT sub frame and the Pegs had extensions on them to make them taller . I am pretty sure it was set up for SX . it was Very fast . I also was able to Buy one of the BTO Suzuki Bikes . It was mostly made up of Michael Byrne parts with MX Settings . and it came with a brand new set of Factory Pirelli tires . they were amazing . but wear out very fast . I have also got to ride some of Kyle Chisholms bikes . I also was able to race Marisa Hampshires YZ 125 . (RJ Hampshires sister ) really liked that bike
H4L
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1/18/2019 2:45pm
Purchased one of CR22's 04 YZ250 practice bikes in 05. It had PC engine mods with Enzo suspension. The suspension was set up pretty stiff so I had to address that. The surprising part was the engine felt a tad better than the 02 model I had before it. The low-mid was good with a top end that went flat sooner in comparison to CR & RM 250's owned.
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LoudLove
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1/18/2019 2:56pm
Not factory but my first ride on a bike with fully-prepped suspension was eye-opening. 1999 YZ250 with heavily-massaged Race Tech components. The difference between it and my stock '98 YZ125 suspenders was literally night and day and truly defined the word "progressive". No longer did you strike a bargain between plush and blowing through the stroke. That 250 soaked up the little stuff like a feather pillow, while over-jumping never resulted in a complete seizure of my lower vertebrae.

Needless to say, I left the track $4000 lighter, with two blue bikes in my truck...
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