Thinking about getting a motard or an R6?

[RM125king]

I have been thinking about getting in the sport of riding motards. I cant make up my mind as to what i should i get. Do i get an R6 or a motard. I love doing trackdays and racing around but i dont want to buy a motard and think it is just too slow and have to sell it for something like an R6.

What are people thoughts on this?

Has anybody gone from a motard to road bike and then gone back to motard.

[Aero165]

I know your problem. I went from a R6 to a motard then back to a roadbike and now I'm selling my R1 for another motard.

Motards are the greatest toy ever invented! Wheelies and stoppies are super easy but so is getting tickets. They are great for around town and in the twisties. They just don't do straights.

There is a small town called Kinloch that's just out of Taupo by about 20 min. A short, easy trip in my old R6 or my new R1 but a nightmare on the motard. Your ass would be sore, you'd feel like you were about to fall apart from the vibes and you'd walk funny for 10 min once you made it to your destination.

Saying all of that though, I do miss my motard. So much so, I'm selling my R1 and getting a cheaper roadbike and a KTM 525.

I think the best advice for you would be. Find a motard you can borrow for a hour or two, take it all the places you'd take your R6 and a few places you wouldn't (Parks, fields). Just try not to lose your license doing so.

[NZsarge]

I have been thinking about getting in the sport of riding motards. I cant make up my mind as to what i should i get. Do i get an R6 or a motard. I love doing trackdays and racing around but i dont want to buy a motard and think it is just too slow and have to sell it for something like an R6.

What are people thoughts on this?

Has anybody gone from a motard to road bike and then gone back to motard.

If you are mainly going to stick to track days and around town then Motard up mate but if you're thinking of going out of town then it's an R6 and don't forget you can do track days and ride around town on an R6 too.
Horses for courses.

[RM125king]

Yeah i had a play on a Husaberg 650 yesterday, the same one that won the super motard at paeroa.

I had a play for about half an hour and loved it so much. This thing was insanely fast and the other great thing about these bike is if you toss them down the track they do very little damage.

The R6 on the other hand is a great bike and insanley fast as well but i have tossed one of these down the track and lets just say there was not much left of it afterwards.

At the end of the day it is a just a weekend toy but i just cant decide on what to get.

Has anybody taken a motard around pukekohe?

[Manxman]

The answer is - get one of each

[Macstar]

Yeah i had a play on a Husaberg 650 yesterday, the same one that won the super motard at paeroa.

I had a play for about half an hour and loved it so much.
Has anybody taken a motard around pukekohe?

30 mins is a fair chunk of a race motard's engine life (60-120 hrs) between rebuilds - if you get my drift...

Puke is not suitable for motards and most riders avoid that track as its too fast and end up ringing the tits off their engines.

Motard as a commuter is again a waste of the engines life and some will overheat as they do not all come with radiator cooling fans.

Most fun to be had is on a motard tho - top end speed swapped for drifting. Bins are safer too!

[RM125king]

Yeah thats a good point you have just brought up. How many hours do you get out of these KTM 525 before they need a rebuild? How many KMS if it is road driven?

Thats going to be the the turning point if i have to rebuild it every 5000 kms then stuff that and i will get the R6.

I can handle doing oil changes every 10 hours but i dont want to be changing pistons every 50 hours.

What are the reliability on these machines like?

[Macstar]

Yeah thats a good point you have just brought up. How many hours do you get out of these KTM 525 before they need a rebuild? How many KMS if it is road driven?

Thats going to be the the turning point if i have to rebuild it every 5000 kms then stuff that and i will get the R6.

I can handle doing oil changes every 10 hours but i dont want to be changing pistons every 50 hours.

What are the reliability on these machines like?

Become a mechanic or spend. top end rebuild maybe $1200-1400 every 60 odd hours if thrashing, last twice as long under normal riding.

Bottom end / full rebuild $2-3K every 120 ish hours... Other motards are more durable than KTMs - arguably less performing tho.

Oil changes every 5ookms with twin oil filters too. Valve clearances every 25-30 hours of normal riding or after each race / track day...

At least they're user friendly. A good mechanic can have the engine out of the bike in 20-25 minutes.

[Aero165]

Yeah thats a good point you have just brought up. How many hours do you get out of these KTM 525 before they need a rebuild? How many KMS if it is road driven?

Thats going to be the the turning point if i have to rebuild it every 5000 kms then stuff that and i will get the R6.

I can handle doing oil changes every 10 hours but i dont want to be changing pistons every 50 hours.

What are the reliability on these machines like?

I've heard of loads of 525's going to 250 hours before rebuilding time. You can buy an after market oil cooler which adds nearly another litre of oil. Something I will be investing in!

[Macstar]

I've heard of loads of 525's going to 250 hours before rebuilding time. You can buy an after market oil cooler which adds nearly another litre of oil. Something I will be investing in!

Sounds like a worthwhile mod. Motard-style riding is harder on the engines with higher RPMs, you'd be hard-pressed to get that many hours on track use! Next time I'd get the heavier but more reliable 640/660 KTMs. They'll do 40-60,000kms before needing a rebuild.

[Aero165]

Sounds like a worthwhile mod. Motard-style riding is harder on the engines with higher RPMs, you'd be hard-pressed to get that many hours on track use! Next time I'd get the heavier but more reliable 640/660 KTMs. They'll do 40-60,000kms before needing a rebuild.

Yeah, track use is a completely different story.

I have considered LC4/660s. I'll be doing a lot of trail riding and the like so I think the 525 suits my needs better. Even if it will cost a bit more $$ in the long run. Maybe I should make that $$$$.

[RM125king]

Become a mechanic or spend. top end rebuild maybe $1200-1400 every 60 odd hours if thrashing, last twice as long under normal riding.

Bottom end / full rebuild $2-3K every 120 ish hours... Other motards are more durable than KTMs - arguably less performing tho.

Oil changes every 5ookms with twin oil filters too. Valve clearances every 25-30 hours of normal riding or after each race / track day...

At least they're user friendly. A good mechanic can have the engine out of the bike in 20-25 minutes.

So what your saying is that i would be up for a rebuild at least every 5000 kms?

Thats a new top end and re-shim the valves.

And every 10,000 kms i would have do the whole motor from top to bottom.

That does seem a bit extreme. Surely KTM wouldnt of brought these out road registered and only expect them to last 10,000 kms?

I could understand changing the top end alot more often if you were constantly thrashing it but on the road it wouldnt be right to have a bike that needs a rebuild every 3 months.

Has anybody had any experience in riding these daily?

[Macstar]

So what your saying is that i would be up for a rebuild at least every 5000 kms?

Thats a new top end and re-shim the valves.

And every 10,000 kms i would have do the whole motor from top to bottom.

That does seem a bit extreme. Surely KTM wouldnt of brought these out road registered and only expect them to last 10,000 kms?

I could understand changing the top end alot more often if you were constantly thrashing it but on the road it wouldnt be right to have a bike that needs a rebuild every 3 months.

Has anybody had any experience in riding these daily?

Mine was rebuilt twice in 13000 kms, one top end, one full rebuild. As mentioned by me and the other KTM guy - it depends if you are racing or riding normally.

I chose not to ride mine in traffic as it would get too hot and I'd have to stop the engine at every set of lights.

[Aero165]

Have a chat to Mammaryman. He owns a 525 motard and it seems he uses very regularly.

[CHOPPA]

id go for the motard in your situ! get a 530 excr road regod with motard kit would be sweet bike for everything, heaps of fun carving through traffic around a race track and trail riding!