From ocean dunes through the cascade mountains and out to the desert, we are exploring the Pacific Northwest with anything on two wheels. So come along for the adventure!
100% new rider in Portland. I've kind of got my eye on the KTM 390 Adventure, but it looks like the Versys X300 can be found around $1500 cheaper. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a huge difference to me. TL;DR - Which would you recommend?
@DouglasRosser I enjoy both bikes a lot, but for very different reasons. They're both fun in the twisties, and they both go offroad well. I think where they diverge a bit is that the Versys is much easier to get your foot down if you're shorter, and I find it to be more enjoyable for commuting, errands, and general road riding. The 390 is substantially taller, and I wouldn't really recommend it for anyone under 5'7" or with a less than say 29" inseam. That said, if you are taller, it has more leg room from seat to peg. I also find the KTM to feel a bit more lively, and it has really darty fast handling in town. The TLDR being that I'd recommended the Versys for shorter riders, more practically minded riders, or those who do a lot of commuting/road riding and the 390 for taller riders or those who want a darty playful machine. That's not to say you can't weave through traffic on a Versys or use a 390 to commute. Those are just my feelings on, and preferences with each machine.
Hey , I stumbled upon your channel and just wanted to say hi and thanks for helping me navigate on the Giant Loop ride. I’m the old lost rider on KTM 500 . 😅
Really appreciate this video thank you, the x300 is the most underrated mini Adventure bike with a full acro exhaust system and efi comander extra tooth on the sprocket ⚙️ I feel is much better than bigger bikes, I can push it 1 km and pick it up ( I practice a lot at the ADV riding school)
The sound bites in this video are priceless! Compression fractures, taint blasted, later sucker!, it’s Britney bitch! There were a lot of TWSS jokes too 😂 so glad you all had such a blast & looking forward to joining next month.
This was seriously one of the most fun weekends that I've had in a LONG time. So glad that you all were able to come out and enjoy some camping and riding. Times like this are what the Adv community is all about for me and I feel so honored to count you all as my friends. Can't wait for the next one! Fields and Wheels 2024!
Great vid, love to see what these are capable of! For the heat issue, wouldn't shutting the engine off stop the coolant from pumping through the radiator too? I'd think letting it idle would be better.
I love my KLX230. I’ve never ridden the 300, even though that’s what I originally wanted but it wasn’t available at the time. After about a year and 1700 miles of mostly dirt and gravel I have no envy of the 300’s or any strong desire to try one. Regarding tires, most of Kenda’s dirt bike tires are street legal (front only) so I went with Trakmaster rear and Washougal front. Works awesome. I did lower the gearing a bit to compensate for the more aggressive slightly larger tires.
People get very confused regarding Adventure riding in general, and to be honest, spending a ton of money on a big BMW 1300 GS is prob not a good move if you have not got the skills, and you haven't been ring in say 15 years. The other thing is simple cost effective entry, ease of use, ease to fix and run and replace parts, upgrade or whatever. Some people might just be happy to learn on this first and never get anything bigger than the CRF300 Rally.
When this video was filmed the suspension was still stock. I would run the rear shock preload up two notches from the factory setting and had compression maxed out front and rear. I only slowed down rebound by a couple clicks I think. Now, the suspension has been modified to fit my weight..
They're the OE IRC Trail Winner tires that come on the bike, and they had about 6k miles on them. Also, set to street pressure. I think this bike would be a riot with a set of Motox Tractionator Adventure's or something like that..
I just bought one as my first bike. I'm picking it up on June 18th, with a 3.5hr trip home from the dealer... I'm so excited. I'll be doing mostly highway riding, but have tons of gravel logging roads to explore.
Great Video! I'm in my 5th year of my Versys X300 and still love it. I also have a dirt bike (Husaberg FE390) and and a travel bike (Suzuki Vstrom 650XT (2017, Gen 3), but still like the X300 for a commuter and mild off road. I live 5 miles from pavement, so I ride gravel roads every time I ride. With a few farkles to fit my 6'3" frame and Mitas E07+ tires, the X300 is about as good as it gets, for a 300. Once you learn to ignore the low gearing and high revs, it becomes a 65 mpg + commuter as easy to ride as anything out there. Kawasaki did their homework on this one - and it's a genuinely viable mini-Adventure bike, with the exception of deep sand in Moab (on a trail I had no business being on) the X300 is excellent! (But my buddy on a KTM 350 went down in sand there also!) Several trips on Jeep trails went well - just pay attention to speed and suspension limitations. One out of state trip went perfectly, even over some Jeep type mountain passes in SW Colorado and SE Utah. I agree with you on bar risers. I added 2 inch Rox Pivoting risers (I stand a lot) and also T-Rex skid plate and crash bars. I also added wide, metal foot pegs for better balance when standing. GREAT bike for commuter, mild off road, and well-planned trips with luggage. Thanks for. great review.
You did a minor review thank you. That's where I live.Southwest.Colorado and Why I bought The three hundred. What kind of foot pegs do you like the best. I'm getting a Skid plate for it period i'm only 58 so it seems a bit pretty good standing up. Any other info you can give me don't be bashful!! I need all the help.I can get ha ha
My pegs: I got wide, metal foot pegs that simple replace the rubber insert. The original pegs stay on the bike. Two screws hold the rubber on - remove them and the rubber insert and replace with the new part. I got them for about $20 on line. They fit the Versys 300, 650 and 1000. (When I try to paste in the link, RU-vid won't let me. So do your own search.) They come in black and silver - the black matches the bike better and still look good after almost 5 years.
@@GeezerWheels Found em! 20 bucks on ebay. Thanks an ya, sometime it wont paste.. Just like Im not 58 im 5ft 8 in... LOL im 67 actually... im in 4 corners area
@@bwnco I'm near Durango. If you'd like to ride or meet for lunch, etc. Let me know. I'm a minister in Bayfield, but I'm in Durango and Farmington regularly. I tried to put contact info here but it rejects my post.
@@GeezerWheels small world.. Ignacio my mail address..lmao..ya will have to figure this out..im just newbie starting.. Cowboy so mainly ride hosses..lol
Thank you! makes me smile for my choice. 1st ADV bike I found a versys 300 2017 with 960 miles on it. Watched ton of reviews. This just more confirmed, so no buyers remorse an its been fun to ride so far, although been limited.. getting tags, insurace blah blah as I just got it last week. Tires ya, plug an go.... but believe mine are tubes.. Anyone use fix a flat just to get to next area.. Im not changing out in boondocks.. to old for that shit less abso f king loootely have to.. I put tannerus liners in my Mtn Bike an love them... Thanks for great Rivew!
I have used "Ride On" brand tire sealant in my inner tubes. Works great and it literally balances the tire as you ride. Check it out, watch vids, customer reviews, etc. I also put Ride On in my ATV tires. I've used Slime, but like Ride On better.
@@GeezerWheels Thank you, I appreciate the help and love reviews from people who have actually used the product.I use slime in my mountain bike tires before the tanner is liners.
That was great , what an awesome place to get to ride the 390 around. I can relate to what you were saying about how making youtube videos helped you through a bad time, I was very similar , and my archery videos played a major part in getting me through things. We seem to all get to a point where the time involved outweighs the effort in recording, editing etc. and with such specific content there is never going to be much income. I record all my rides, but can never be bothered editing and uploading, I watch through them again months later then delete :) I'm just glad you are going to continue making videos, as and when you feel like it , or when you are up to some shenanigans. All the very best, and thank you for the vicarious riding fun and thrills.
Same, it sounds silly, but being able to re-watch some rides in the depths of the winter when the weather is terrible is pretty lovely... I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one, and that making videos also helps other people, and thanks for the really nice comment :)
Love the videos, got a 390 Adventure myself that I'm riding with my brother while working on my license. can't wait to take it around the Fjords and mountains in my country! :D
Absolutely the best and balanced review that I have seen on this bike! I have been riding mine for about 8 months now with a little over 2500 miles on it, and I definitely have enjoyed every moment of it! As a commuter, it fills the bill perfectly for just running across town. I do take a short jaunt on the interstate, but at 65mph in the right hand lane, I do just fine. As a weekend tour bike, it is very fun and nimble, however I need to take a butt break about once per hour also. This was my first bike of any kind and I have to say I definitely got the moto bug, but even if I get a larger motorcycle, I still want to keep my ADV150 in the garage!
It's actually a factory KTM mount from the powerparts accessories catalog. I talk about it in my build breakdown video, check it out for more info on all of the parts on this bike!
i think with a little bit more offroad focused tire, these would do much better. it wouldn't have to be extreme, just something like a Continental TKC 70 or a Dunlop Trailmax. You'd still have really good on road performance, but it'd be much safer off road.
Yeah, basically, it's just the camera mic on the DJI Osmo Action 4, all I did was put a wind slayer on it to cut out most of the wind noise. That's generally fine on tight trails, but anything up over about 23/30mph starts to include wind noise..
