KTM 500 SIX DAYS
S ome of KR ’ s older readers will know I ’ ve been around dirt bikes a long time . I ’ ve raced everything from 175cc twostrokes through to 650cc four-strokes ... and everything in between . As a big bloke I tend to find I favour the bigger capacity machines , but I do also have a soft spot for some smaller bikes , particularly Honda ’ s late 80s CR250Rs , bikes which were miles ahead of their time . I ’ ll tell you about a few of the bikes which have made an impression on me , to give you an insight into why I own a KTM 500 EXC-F Six Days .
HONDA CR250R The first CR250R I rode was Peter Gibbes ’ 1987 model . It had fantastically responsive low rpm grunt compared to the Husky CR250
I was racing at that time . The Husky , by contrast , had a dreadful 125-like power delivery with absolutely zero bottom-end and mid-range torque . It was all top end ... and a modest top end at that . Anyway , I simply could not believe how much bottom end the Honda had . It was so grunty . We were practising on the old Taikorea Supercross track which had a huge quad kinda jump that everyone did as two doubles . I had to clutch the hell out of the Husky just to make the doubles , but on the Honda I was almost afraid to gas it because it was so responsive in comparison .
YAMAHA YZ490 Along the way there have been a few other engines that really stood out for me . One that
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