From sportsbike to Supermoto

[joezxr]

Iv been riding sportsbikes for about 3 years now iv gone from a cagiva mito 125 to a zxr400 to a zx7r and then to my last bike a 1997 cbr 600f3 which was set alight so i now have money for something new...

Iv always kinda been tempted by a supermoto but never really ridden one or have any idea what they are like, from what i see they are half the bhp of my last bike near enough but also 50kgs lighter!

Within my price range is the ktm 640 LC4, iv read a few reviews and from what it seems if you like to wheelie and hoon around then its the perfect bike ( which i like to do very much ) also i dont do much long distance, just short commutes through town and villages/country roads.

I just really dont want to get a supermoto and be dissapointed, and realise wrapping the throttle back produces a wet fart and the pull of mobility scooter .

Has anybody else dare make the move from sportsbike to supermoto? and have they regretted it or have been converted into a supermoto hooligan?

[garth]

In before G suggests a downgeared sv650.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[Eddie Hitler]

[stuartt]

i've got a busa & a gas gas ec 300r .

the gas gas is about 110 kg , 300 2 stroke .

i find myself using the gas gas nearly all the time , its major fun , it's not a good bike if your bothered about fuel .

the furthest you can really go is 15-20 mile as the seat is rock hard

the only down side is its speed , 12 tooth on front & 40 on rear 90 mph is flat out .

there's loads of fun to be had on the roads under 60ish ( the more bends the better )

what i have noticed is it's easy to plod about at 30 on the busa & its very easy to get carried away on the gas gas

if i want to go off road all i need to do is swap the wheels & even more fun

[Fladdem]

Mines not a supermoto. It's just a baby really. TTR250.

But, on my commute, I regularly see the same lad, he's either on his Mito 125 or his Hyosung GT250. Now, when I ride a mates Mito 125, I know the machines can handle well, not sure about the GT250. But he can't keep. Whether it's the rider or the bike. He always gets me on the straights, I always get him in the corners, unless he manages to get a decent lick of speed up, but we'll both get to Stratford at the same time. We overtake each other about 20 times a morning.

Anyway, my TTR is great fun, I can't imagine a larger supermoto. I can pull the front wheel up in 4th, so long as I yank, sit near the back and I'm on reserve.... But third no problem. I can lean her over till my feet get pulled off the pegs, good job I ride feet forward, boot out , pull some stoppies, not massive because it's got offroad brakes on it. Ride straight over round-a-bouts, take short-cuts offroad. She's great fun, only issue is the 9 litre tank, chain and sprockets from all the hooning and the low top speed, about 80MPH or so meaning I only have a max cruising speed of about 65-70. So motorways are a no. Also I chew through a tyre in about 4000KM's with stuff like avon distanzias and about 1500KM's with stuff like AC10's, great drifting tyre!

I'm the other way round, I'm worried I won't enjoy my GPZ550 after riding around on my 250.
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Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[joezxr]

Well i should mention my cbr 600 i had streetfightered with renthal bars because i prefer the riding position but tbh even after changing shocks and tyre profiles and multiple fork adjustments to get it handling right, when using all 100bhp you could tell it wasnt meant to have dirt bike bars and past 110 was tank slapper heaven lol....

This is basically the ktm i want to get... maybe not as clean or flash but just a rough idea of how beautiful they can be!

https://p1.bikepics.com/2008%5C10%5C10%5Cbikepics-1444358-full.jpg

I love the look of the bikes and the presence they give off but i guess the big deal for me is just what the power output and performance is like, does or has anybody on here owned one or one similiar?

[drzsta]

I have a 690 SMCR. They are ok bikes and are good fun with a good rider.

However if you are going to get a street orientated Supermoto have no illusions about arm ripping power especially from the 640 Lc4.

I had a '09 Zx6r before my ktm and think it was a better bike all round. IF I ran the 16-42 gearing I'm running on the 690 on the 6R - then pulling the front would of been just as easy too.

tldr; modern sportsbike is better than soft street biased "super"moto.

https://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x254/FearThis-AK/Mobile%20Uploads/DSC_0193_zpsushnex0h.jpg

[joezxr]

[JAMSXR]

I went from a k4 GSXR600 to a KTM Duke 690 about 7 years ago. Although I had fun on the KTM, it lasted all of 6-8 months before I was back on a sportsbike.

The main problem was comfort and wind protection, I enjoy spending a day in the saddle at times and the KTM is not cut out for that, it became uncomfortable after an hour and the tank range was awful. To me a supermoto makes a great second bike, ideal for early morning backlane scratching all year round.

It's all down to personal preference. Retrospectively I would still buy the KTM, it was fun while it lasted and gave me a riding experience that probably help develop my limited skills.

(Service intervals are also something to take into consideration, I seem to remember them being as little as 5000KM)
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Honda SFX50 > Aprilia SR125 > Aprilia RS125 > Honda RFV400 > K4 GSXR600 > KTM Duke > C1H 636 > K3 GSXR1000 > Aprilia RSV-R > Triumph Street Triple R > Ducati 899 Panigale > Aprilia Tuono 1100 > Triumph Daytona 675R > KTM SuperDuke 1290 2.0

[Irn-Bru]

3000 miles on an LC4 (actually 6000 on the newer ones), drz or wr250x but for the hardcore bikes its more like every 600 miles, rfs ktm's for example are measured in hours. I would not own a KTM as a main bike personally, not had the best experience with them.

I would say the roads you use are important, long straights with sweeping bends become quite boring when you don't have the power, you need tight twisty lanes, single tracks if you can. The KTM 690 SMC will probably still be ok for sportsbike roads because it's very powerful by SM standards. It hurt my arms for a bit when I got mine but I've never been on a sportsbike before.

They are not great on comfort but I am used to pulling over for fuel anyway. I think my 690 lasted about 120 miles before the light came on, my DRZ is more like 80.

If you can be bothered with maintenance get something high strung like a 2 stroker or an rfs based ktm but it would have to be a 2nd bike. I am not that keen so I stick with my DRZ, just put petrol in and go, starts every time, not too quick at around 42bhp (after extensive modifying also) but for the roads I use it's the perfect tool. God bless Cumbria, County Durham and Northumberland
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KTM 990 SMT & Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM

[Copycat73]

I keep a ducati hypermotard .. they is nuts for hoonin around country roads.. eg. weardale..and heavily built up urban areas.. have to make use of the gearbox a lot more than a 1 litre I.L.4 and would not take it far on a motorway.. 20 miles was more than enough.... horses for courses really.
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Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[P.addy]

Day to day riding, not a chance. However I'd want a proper supermoto for hooning at the weekend, Maico 700, WR450/YZ450F, CRF450 etc.

Anything else is definitely not so super.

[G]

How about a down geare.... oh, right!

One of the reasons that's a stock suggestion is that the weight of the heavier LC4s isn't too far off an SV650, which begs the question 'why'?

Generally the fun from a supermoto comes from the lack of engine power - however, for that I'd want lighter weight to compensate.

Power deliver on an LC4 - reasonably flat, but as ever, does need to be revved to get it's full potential.
The lighter competition bikes don't tend to really make more power, but being lighter and often having a bit higher centre of gravity too, can feel more eager, as the front may come up more.

[stevo as b4]

I'd vastly prefer a limp wristed, girls, my 1st supermoto, street motard than a full on race style or competition trick/light/powerful one, for road use.

Nobody needs MX style service intervals for the road, and if your wanting 60bhp or more, then all you need to do is accept you need more than 1cylinder under the tank.

However there's a lot of people out there who only see a big single cylinder engine and often only 4stroke, as being a proper supermoto or even worth bothering with.

If you say all you need is more cylinders with a lower state of tune mill, they look at you like you've gone full retard!

Twins, triples, and IL4's is where it's at for a road friendly supermoto past 50-60bhp IMO.

If you can't find one, then you'll just have to build one!

Personally I've always liked the looks, appeal and design of the Aprilia SVX550, but it seems to be a bit fragile from what I've heard. Something similar with a non ram air R6 engine fitted like out of the FZ6 would be brilliant IMO with 120mph gearing.

[G]

690 will hit 60hp and weight isn't unreasonable and as above, newer ones come with 6000 mile service intervals.

690 isn't bad as a 'do it all' kinda bike... but then if you don't want to do serious off road, we're back to the "might as well have an SV650" thing.

[stevo as b4]

Oh and I think the 640LC4 or the newer 690 KTM's are the orange bikes to get for road use.

I say this because I still havn't got over how much a KTM525EXC supermoto got shitted on, in a roll on from about 20mph, up to around 45-50mph by an 1800cc Suzuki cruiser with open pipes.

I went home that night either very impressed with extra huge V-twins, or disgusted with how a lightweight competition 525cc bike was so shit, I could make up my mind?

[G]

When you say 'roll on', was the KTM in a useful gear?

At those speeds, the front should be about to come up if in the correct gear, I'd say.
Of course, high centre of gravity means that will happen at a slower speed.

A quick google shows that a 525 should have a similar standing quarter to a M1800R and be a bit slower than a M109R.

There's also the Honda vs Harley video fapped over by all the fags because the Honda rider can't ride.

Big cruisers really should be decent in a straight line, sharing a lot of attributes with a drag bike.
It's always slightly vexed me why they're not.
I presume it's a combination of poor power to weight and poor tyres.

[chickenstrip]

[stevo as b4]

G, I agree with what your saying about big cruisers should be fastish on straightline acceleration, having really relaxed geometry, long low chassis, and really wide rear tyres.

I did see a vid on Youtube of a Suzuki M109R? 1800cc, doing an 11.8sec standing 1/4. That's not too bad for around 115bhp with over 300kgs to pull, and the same as the best a ZX6R J-series can do.


Back to the roll on, well your right that the KTM was not in the correct gear as when the rider snapped the throttle there was loads of chain slap as well as noise, but the Suzuki 1800 pulled away easily.

I do suspect that if the KTM had been in the right gear it would have kept up and should have beaten the Suzuki thing, at least up to 40-50mph, but then it wouldn't have been a roll on anyway, as the KTM would demand a fair few gear changes id expect.

I remember my old KMX200 was always quicker up to about 40-45mph than my mates GPZ500S, but then it just could have been down to the rider's and not the bikes, as the GPZ500S on paper is a fair bit faster than a KMX200.

[drzsta]

[G]

I see the M109R listed at 125hp or so, but reality probably different. It will also be geared pretty will for a quarter mile I expect - where the 600 (a third the capacity!) is geared for top speed over longer distances.

I thought I'd seen J2s do a bit better than that, but think that's the best sort of time I got on my stock J2.

I don't like roll on's because they're dependant on a lot of factors - gearing being an obvious one. Often a "top gear roll on" will show a lower powered vehicle as better, just because it's got a good bit lower gearing, while if you compared gears with a similar top speed the result would be different.

Oh and I've crashed SVs many times on track and they've been fine. Dropped one at least once messing about on the road (a figure of eight burnout went wrong and it flicked me off and fell to the other side) - again, fine.

[joezxr]

Well my budget is only around £2100 which is why I'm looking at the lC4, every now and again a nice crf450 moto comes up and sells for about 2k so iv also had my eyes on one of these maybe.

To be honest even if I don't enjoy the supermoto I'll keep it until summer, sell for more and save some extra cash for something better, but who knows I might like it and stick to motos!

As for the maintenance and so on its not a problem I enjoy riding bikes as much as riding them and know what I'm doing, so I would even consider a 2stroke... Miss the power delivery they have to be honest haha nothing like it!

So I suppose the question is, for £2000 (baring in mind its winter prices) what 2stroke or 4stroke supermoto would be the best to get?! I expect it to be a bit ratty but I'll soon fix it up!

[Ste]

I did 11.550 seconds on my J2.

[G]

[Ste]

Kinda thought that as well but the only couple of my posts that I can find say 11.550 so I'm going with that.