Love my KTM. My last ride, a Honda 500 dual sport, feels like I'm dragging a boat anchor after being on the little KaTOOM. Very tuneable bike. Easy to jet and adjust the exhaust valve for power the way I want it. Switch between lots of tractable bottom end grunt with a smooth midrange and flat on top for tight woods; or, a bit of weak 'burble' down low with a bone-jarring midrange 'hit' that begs to pull the front end over in 4th, with lots of top-end and overrev for the more open trails. A handful of jets and small adjustments of the power valve governer is all it takes. She lugs well, with suprising bottom end torque for a small engine (I'm used to a big thumper), doesn't foul plugs (even though I jet a bit on the rich side-I learned early on-the hard way!)and she smashes through or skips over everything I point her at. Very forgiving when taking a jump poorly and landing crossed up, or nose down. A real confidence builder for the novice to intermediate rider like myself. The downsides I found: the seat is as hard as a rock (which forces better standing technique-maybe a good thing?); the rear has a tendency to kick out a bit unexpectantly; and the bike I bought was the street-legal EU/AU version which was de-tuned -it took a bit of experimentation to find the carb, power-valve and suspension settings that work best for me. The quality of the bike is obvious just looking at the engineering, machining and attention to detail. I rode a new Husq 250 for a couple of days-and really liked it, but found the 200 KaTOOM virtually the same for power and easier to throw around in the woods. It's like a 125 on steroids!
Upgrades/Accessories: Stock, with a collection of jets and a set of bush-bars for confidence in the tight single tracks. Bars are a bit wide- thinking of cutting and adding a steering dampener.
Reviews are provided on an "as is" basis with no warranty and should be considered entertainment only. Reviews should not be used for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to, making decisions about any referenced vehicles, products, modifications or other information.
