KTM 400 work well

[kidrman]

I am an absolute bike newb but have a chance to get a 2005 on trade and wondering if it would work for a snow bike. Mostly looking to see if the bike is good or not in general.

Thanks

 

[DieselTwitch]

I am an absolute bike newb but have a chance to get a 2005 on trade and wondering if it would work for a snow bike. Mostly looking to see if the bike is good or not in general.

Thanks

Depends.

1. Your weight
2. Your Elevation
3. Your Snow
4. Kit you want


250lbs, 9000', bottomless pow, Long Track = No
150lbs, 3000', 1' pow max, SX Track = Yes

 

[kidrman]

I'm in between those, 185 pound before gear and between 4,000 and 5,000 elevation.

 

[DieselTwitch]

I'm in between those, 185 pound before gear and between 4,000 and 5,000 elevation.

It will be iffy at best. you could always bore out to a 450-500.

 

[kidrman]

Thanks for the input, not really interested in jumping right into a big bore. I have done the mod route with a sled and prefer to just ride.

 

[Rush44]

When picking your first bike there is one very important thing to remember: it's your first bike. You just need to get on the snow and then you can figure things out. If the motor is strong I don't think you will have a big problem but you will most likely want to upgrade to a 450+ for the next year. No big deal, ride the 400, sell it in the spring, and wait for that great 450 deal in the fall. Because of how our sport falls between the dirt biking seasons you can usually find a killer deal on a lightly used 450 at the right time.

New fit kit to the new 450+, done! Just get out on the snow. You live in Spokane so it's not like you are dealing with insanely deep snow, especially this year.

 

[M5-]

How much is this 400 going to cost you, there may be better value elsewhere if you are going the snow bike route? Usually for me at least I've found it always ends up being cheaper in the long run to get the best suited whatever it is right out of the chute rather than do the upgrade/mod thing. Every time I sell a vehicle I take a hit.

M5

 

[n16ht5]

If you want a cheap bike for snow pick up a YZ250, CR250, or CR500. I picked up a really nice 97 CR250 for $850 with title.

 

[kidrman]

Good thoughts, definitely no snow around Spokane.

The bike would be about $1,400 in trade value. I haven't even looked at it yet.

 

[M5-]

Good thoughts, definitely no snow around Spokane.

The bike would be about $1,400 in trade value. I haven't even looked at it yet.

That's pretty cheap, so long as it doesn't need a bunch of work you should be able to recoup your money fairly easily down the road. If you are thinking KX450 or YZ or anything other than KTM you need to add in the cost of a fit kit if you decide to go away from the 400 you can likely sell the old fit kit just not for TS pricing.

M5