OUR BIKES
BIG HONDAS Honda CR500Rs weren ’ t too shabby in the grunt department either , but were probably a little smoother . The Honda XR650R was a big grunter like no other and huge fun offroad , but a truly serious machine to try and stop . Steep , wet and slippery downhills had me questioning my life choices like never before . On gravel it could slide and wheelie around a corner like no other bike I have ever ridden ... get it sliding nicely , crank on the grunt and it would loft the front beautifully every time . Sensational . In fairness , the old XR600 wasn ’ t a bad beast either .
KTM 500 EXC-F SIX DAYS This all brings me leaping forward about 20 years to my KTM 500 EXC-F Six Days . The engine in this big KTM is powerful , but not in the usual way you might think of a traditional big bore four-stroke . The power delivery is very linear , but with a strong surge at the two thirds rev range that continues to pull well through to maximum revs . The lower half of the rev range is mellow , tractable and very useable for a big bore . By comparison to most of the 450s that you might have ridden , the 500 is less punchy , but has a slightly stronger , more muscular delivery overall . Traditional big four-strokes tend to have a massive burst of power and torque starting more or less at idle . This huge thrust continues to half revs before tapering off , so revving them hard is a waste of time . With those kind of motors short-shifting through the gears is the name of the game to make fast progress . Really , the KTM 500 ’ s power delivery is excellent . However , if I was to be super picky , I ’ d like a little bit more flywheel weight . Not to improve ability to lug or chug up a hill , it ’ s great at that , but more to make it slightly less sensitive to throttle inputs in the tight going
50 KIWI RIDER