55 years been old ,been riding KTM 500 long stroke motor bikes series Xc / mxc SINCE 2001, lug it around plenty of torq not like the high reving bikes, climbs mountain from a dead stop, good power for a 220 pound rider.
I’m 48, have been on a KTM 500 for the past 4 years, riding on whatever combo of trails I can find, quad to single track and I didn’t realize how big it was till I switched to a gas gas XC300 last month. It scared shit out of me at first - it’s got more grunt than the 500, but it feels like more like a mountain bike, and I’m a hell of a lot better on steep rocky trails. I would get tossed off the 500 routinely, but I can flick myself through everything and haven’t had one mishap so far with the 300. Surprisingly I’ve fallen in love with the 2t sound. With the FMF pipe it sounds more like detonations firing instead of birds chirping like my 500 did.
Again, the 300 has a ton of power. I didn’t plan on that being the case when I was used to a 500. Likewise, this thing tops out at 50 to give you a sense of the gearing, I can leave it in 3rd and ride the clutch all day. However, you pop the clutch or blip the throttle because you’re overtired you’ll be clinging for dear life. This ex pro motocross guy from decades ago that I know is prepping for a 200 to “take it easy”, preferring to rev higher for the climbs.
48 and recently switched from a 300 xcw to a 200 xcw (2 strokes) 90% of riding single track and rocks. For me the 200 does everything as well if not better and weighs less!
@@dirtbiketv1 i have it at 102 kg for the 300 and 99.5 kg for the 200, but im not an expert and have been wrong many times before....like when i thought nothing but a 300 will be good enough for me just to end up realising my ego outweighs my talent. But then again at 32 wich is not old you wouldnt have been able to convince me otherwise. Enjoying your channel keep up the good work
jack lee so I am not home. Send you the weights from ours when back in. Email me off my site. Also have you ridden a 2017-19 300XC? We put beginners on it over a 200 since easier to ride the 2016 and older 300s not the same deal.
@@dirtbiketv1 i agree its easier to ride because of its torque and as long as you stay out of the "meat" of the powerband. No beginner and most expierenced riders do not have the skill and or stamina to use a 300 to its full potential eg. Jarvis and friends. I,ve been riding for many years and at my age and expierence level i find the 200 as quick, more nimble and less tiring wich allows me more time on the bike and quicker recovery between rides. This may not be the gospel truth for every one but i honestly dont think a new rider can tell if a 300 is better without really exploiting the true jekkyl and hyde personality of a big 2 stroke on tight single track and gnarly terrain all day long. I apologise if i came across as a wise ass just tried to state what works for me at my age, skill level and terrain type. Thank you for your efforts and for promoting our beautifull sport
I'm 44 and I recently test-rode the 250exc-f, 350exc-f and 300 tpi back-to-back. No contest - the 300 wins hands down. I wanted to like the 350 - it's fun to ride, but it's too much of a handful and much harder work to ride. Whereas the 300 is just light and smooth with tons of low down grunt and if you open the throttle - hang on! Not only is it easier to ride - it's way faster.
@@dry509 I presently own 2 Husky 300s and 3 Beta 300s. They are 2 strokes (t) as you know. Both brands are fine machines. The Betas come from the factory street legal. Not the Huskys. I believe any brand of 300 2 stroke built is a good machine to have.
carl atamanczyk P.S. Also, is the maintenance and the gas and oil mixing for a two stroke something I could learn easily. I am in the 70 crowd also btw but happen to be in Houston.
I'm 52(as of the 16th..) and live in southern New England...So old guy & tight trails fits me perfect. I ride a Pitster Pro XTR250, since I feel like I'm out riding this bike already, I'm feeling the pull to graduate up . Anyway, I just started looking at possibilities, damn there's a lot of choices to be made :-| ....This vid was helpful, thanks
I'm 69y.o., 6', 250lbs. I bought a KTM 390 Adventure a few months ago. Big mistake! I know a lot of people like it, but for me.. not so much. On the highway, you can only run 65-70mph without sitting in the high RPM's. On anything other than smooth trails, it not not agile enough; especially at 370lbs.! My solution: sell the 390 Adventure, buying a used Harley for the road, and a lighter dirt bike for the trails. I do love to ride!
For me (I'm 60) the choice is simple, regardless of the advantages & disadvantages of 2-strokes & 4-strokes. 2-strokes SOUND like race bikes, so it's a 2-stroke every day of the week...
i also did not see any old guys here. You have to be over 60 to be old. I also did not see any tight trails in the video. Try the Piney woods of Louisiana! I am sure the 300 2 stroke would be the best though. Look what they ride in enduro. I ride a Beta 350 RR-s.
Great vid as usual can’t argue with your logic ,keep your Keihen carb ,tpi is here to stay but u can have my carb 300 when u pry it out of my dead stinking hands lol d
Well the more overweight and older the results become worse for the 4 stroke. The 300 wins on tight stuff with even 30plus year olds. 60 plus same thing.
I'll be 50 in march. The only thing keeping me off a CR500 is trying to start it with my scrawny ass. And no I'm not paying $2k for a sketchy add on e-start.
@@dirtbiketv1 Awesome. Thank you. I will look into that. I'm roughly 150lbs and a 250 two stroke is my comfortable kick start limit. I have kick started some old Harley big twins that buddies had no problem though. There is something about the sharp/quick rise in compression when kicking a 2 stroke. Maybe it's just me.🤔
Over 60 and I’ve tried the “little” bikes. I have a 99 WR400 and an 03 YZ450 enduro conversion. We do 130kms on a typical trail ride up here in north eastern Ontario. The last thing anyone wants to do is suck on two stroke fumes all day on the trail.
This makes me nuts. I bought the 2019 300 tpi and hated it. If you got into the throttle at all it would hit like a ton of bricks. I’m an intermediate and could NOT control the 300. I can see if the trails were super tight and you were never in the power band or using more than half throttle it was ok but try to ride it fast and the bike was out of control. Maybe my bike wasn’t running right ? Traded it in a 19 350 exc. happy now !!
Steve Matheny I never even rode the bike without a rekluse. It was installed before I ever rode it. It was still unrideable at speed. It was supper mellow until you got going a bit then it hit like a typhoon and sent you off into the trees.
@@stevematheny1643 I'm almost 62 and don't understand.lol. I have a 19 xcw and love it. Came off a 16 te300 and love it too. The 19 is so much smoother with that counterbalancer in the motor. I live in Washington State on the east side and ride tight trails. But I have had both of them down to the Moab / Green River area and they were great down there also ripping around wide open ,half throttle and all that fun stuff. Around home with myself my chainsaw on the front and a lot of gear and water they're probably lugging around 260 lb or more.
That's pretty easy comparison. The 250 4T is actually heavier. 2T are lighter. Much more power in the 250 & 300 2T. The XC-W 2T don't stall as easy. They also run cooler in slow terrain. The 250 4T is a great casual trail bike. And an excellent bike for a beginner.
Great vids. Wish you had some sort of wind filter for the audio. The wind noise makes it super hard to hear (old guy to) at times. Even just tape a small piece of soft foam over the mic.
The real difference is in the bottom end. The extra torque of the 300 is very forgiving of mistakes. It will lug the wrong gear, or pull you through alot of situations or up hills where you should have given more throttle to start with. The 250s I have ridden are great but require more clutch slipping and RPMs to do the same trails that my 300 makes so easy.
You guys ever review bikes outside of their intended element? Like a 300xcw as a dual sport or on the MX track? A 450L for gnarly trails or MX? 450x as a dual sport or mx? Etc. Theres tons of people who convert mx bikes for trails or run them stock. I'd think itd be interesting to see you take different bikes where they dont belong. Great for those of us with only one bike who like to dabble in everything. Thanks for the content. I recently found your channel and enjoy it a lot.
Not a huge fan--- Think loose some hit and the fun factor the 350 does have-- the 350 still is the better overall bike if riding track and open areas with it also.
My pops is 63 and has expressed interest in my interest of learning how to dirt bike. We’re really thinking just to cruise and enjoy some scenic views at Lake Tahoe, and keep the riding chill. For someone who has never had experienced, would it be foolish to try and learn now? Even on an ATV? Many people confuse my pops for being in his 50s, and he plays soccer all the time so he is quite in shape and active if that makes a difference
Funny what is considered an "old" guy on a dirt bike. I was still running pro class at 46. Now I'm 52 and run a 350. But have to admit, the 300 is just a much more predictable ride.
Lol. 31 isn’t old. 50yo and riding 450R. Probably only single track riding, in state outside of Calif, 300 is good. Add Desert, dual track, MX track and give me my CRF450R. (350 4t doesn’t really compare to 300 2t, not sure why everyone keeps comparing those, the 300 has twice the spark, thus much more power. This is why I’m early days the 250 2t ran with 450 4t, but maybe some are “old” enough to remember 😉
I use a 500 for most everything at 54(I need a plate for the T1) Thought about maybe switching to a 350, but mpg might be a wash. I'm about ready for a 2nd bike for tight single track, yep 300 TIME. Probably a 2020.
I’m 48, have been on a KTM 500 for the past 4 years, riding on whatever combo of trails I can find, quad to single track trails and I didn’t realize how big it was till I switched to a gas gas 300 last month. It scared shit out of me at first, but it feels like more like a mountain bike to me and I’m a hell of a lot better on steep rocky trails. I would get tossed off the 500 routinely, but I can flick myself through everything and haven’t had one mishap so far with the 300. Surprisingly I’ve fallen in love with the 2t sound. With the FMF pipe it sounds more like detonations firing instead of birds chirping.
Last year at the Renfro Valley dual-sport ride in Kentucky road my te 300 3 days putting up arrows then the two days of the ride rode my Husqvarna 350 that I have and thought man I screwed up I should have been riding this the whole time it was smoother quieter more comfortable on long hard rides almost forgot to put my age 57 forgetting comes with age 😉
I'm 6'3" and 285 lbs 😛 What bike should I buy? I want to drive it on both a motocross track on slow technical forest trails. I'm an experienced but low-level rider. Learned on an 80cc 2-stroke way back in the day. 😛 Looking to buy something in the $3,500-$5,500 range if possible. Was considering a 2019 or 2021 Yamaha YZ250F, but I'm not sure how well that would work. 🤔
None of these guys are old, sheesh. :-D Maybe the presenter...Old should be 55+YO. At 60 I take the 500 exc on tighter trails than anything that is shown in this video
@@Me-yh4uc Granted nothing looks as tight or steep on video and I have no first hand in person experience with these exact trails, but most of the stuff at Little Naches and Gifford Pinchot NF in Washington state have this beat, and I've ridden a good number of the trails there. All on a 500 4 stroke.
Im 43 i ride a 250exc. My dad whos 80 also rides a old 250 exc. Im not even kidding. What old man worth his salt in the woods would choose a 4t. None. Gaaaaaaay! Hahaha wtf.
