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So I looked at a supermoto today

Discussion in 'General' started by mmnotch, Jul 11, 2011.

  1. mmnotch

    mmnotch Member

    So I checked out a 2002 KTM 640 SM. The bike was clean and well taken care of, but after having my zx6r i find it hard to pull the trigger on this bike. Ill start with the good. The bike handled great (very confidence inspiring), Its light, it can jump a curb if someone comes in your lane. But i found it to be hard to ride around town at normal speeds. The bike bucks a lot at low rpm, it vibrates, very loud, and less power then I expected. Also Im not too sure I want to own a bike with a carb, FI spoiled me.

    Any supermoto riders want to chime in? Im still up in the air with the idea.
     
  2. Critter

    Critter Registered

    so how much did they want for it and will yo ship it to me ?
     
  3. Revenant.Eagle

    Revenant.Eagle What turn was it?

    Give it more time. I was skeptical at first too with a DRZ, but after you get comfortable with it's quirks its an addiction you can't give up.
     
  4. Inquizid

    Inquizid Member Well-Known

    It will run amazing at above 50mph and below 100mph everywhere you wanna go. :cool:
     
  5. mmnotch

    mmnotch Member

    talked them down to $2800, only has 5k miles on it. Ill give you there # if i don't get it.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2011
  6. Scotty87

    Scotty87 Lacks accountability

    My 625smc was one of the most fun street bikes I ever owned, and I've easily had over 30. It was not happy putting around, and the seat was a 2x4 with bad intentions. It was quirky, parts were expensive, blah blah. Was my go-to Sunday morning retard ride bike when I still roade the street. Sold it to buy another SV racebike.

    $2800 sounds about right.
     
  7. mmnotch

    mmnotch Member

    Yeah the handling felt like you could do anything on it. But I expected it to rip the front tire up exiting corners. I mean it moved just less then expected.

    I kinda need a bike i can ride around town everyday, and would this bike be good at a jennings trackday?
     
  8. Trev230EX

    Trev230EX Put me in coach

    I rode one of those about 1 hour on the highway down in Florida. Then rode it around Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. It was a lot of fun for sure. Took some getting used to but after that it was hooligan time! haha
     
  9. Scotty87

    Scotty87 Lacks accountability

    I can't really tell you how it would be at Jennings, mine was fun at Blackhawk Farms for awhile, but it would have needed a lot of suspension work to hustle around quickly. Out just for shits, at a trackday? Sure. Race competitively.... I dunno.

    FWIW I think there was a major improvment from the 640 series engines to the 625 series, but I can't remember for sure.

    Everday ride? What kind of riding do you do on the street? Weekend canyon stuff? Sure. Commuting / rides over 100 miles? Honestly, I would look elsewhere. When I had mine, it was my only streetbike. I sold it because I was going track-only, but if I was staying on the street I would have been looking for another 'daily driver' type bike.
     
  10. oconnor

    oconnor Bad juju

    I've heard the 640 vibrates a lot. The DRZ based KLX400 I had was very smooth.
     
  11. Hammer 4

    Hammer 4 Can't Touch This

    My old 2004 SM 450 husky was fairly smooth, and a blast to ride. Although stoopid cali goberment rescinded the tags due to them not being carb approved.. :mad:

    On the track, it was more fun than a barrel of monkey's...:D

    [​IMG]
     
  12. redtailracing

    redtailracing gone tuna fishin'

    i have one of the KTM 640s and its a fun parking lot play toy and handles the twisties great but impossible to ride longer than 30 minutes. makes my back hurt like hell and your hands and feet will go numb from the vibration
     
  13. mmnotch

    mmnotch Member

    Do they have overheating problems in traffic? I could not tell if they have a electric fan.
     
  14. sixxer_noob

    sixxer_noob Well-Known Member

    i took the plunge on my heavy pig of a DRZ and never looked back. Its thumper definately lacks a sportbikes speed but its bulletproof got cheap/widely available parts, im able to pull double duty on dirt and street, $10-$30 trackdays.. its awesome. I know you're not looking at DRZ's but all the same supermotos are a blast.. i'd say well over 50% of the people i ride supermoto with came from sportbikes.
     
  15. fzr400tony

    fzr400tony can't ride

    My husky didn't have a fan and never ran hot. My DRZ has a fan, but it only comes on when I'm stuck in mud or bad rocks.

    Supermoto's are not everyone's cup of tea. That said, I would avoid the highway as much as possible on one.

    For me, I can't see my DRZ going anywhere. I miss the power and weight of the Husky, but the DRZ is just a keeper for me.
     
  16. dobr24

    dobr24 Well-Known Member

    They are not sportbikes. But they can be a bunch of fun. Cart tracks are a blast as are the twisties. No they are not comfortable to ride but I still ride mine as my main bike. I have a husky 450 and the front wheel is off the ground coming out of every corner! I literally ride it like I stole it and it never fails to please. Motards love to either be on the brakes or on the gas, there is no in between or you will be kissing pavement.
     
  17. mattf

    mattf Banned-a-lama-ding-dong.

    Another DRZ guy here. It's a blast around town, and I cause way more trouble on it than I do on my sportbike because it just wants to wheelie/stoppie/back-it-in/ride-up-a-flight-of-strairs-at-the-middle-school every time I ride it.

    The KTM can be woken up a bit with some jetting and a pipe, a smaller front sprocket and all of the sudden it's an around town hooligan machine.
     

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