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 the KTM 500 EXC-F Six Days that was in my shed for quite a few years. The engine in the big 510cc 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, courtesy of the engine’ s long stroke. In comparison to most of the 450s
out there, the 500 punches into the power less hard, 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 at very low speed. Having said that, I always ride it in map one, the most aggressive, and have the aggressive throttle tube cam fitted too. However, these two things don’ t really alter the power delivery too much in that on / off throttle from idle situation. I also run the taller 14-tooth front sprocket to let it breathe a little more in each gear because the power feels just a bit stifled with the 13 tooth sprocket fitted. The perfect place for this engine is second gear and above.
46 KIWI RIDER