[Robert Evans]

Evan,
We gotta' talk sometime.

Yeah, the 525 is quite the rocket. As I said, faster than any CR500 I've ever ridden. Maybe not in raw top end HP, but with tons of torque that translates into massive traction. I've always ridden 2 strokes until my '93 LC4 came along when I started riding alot of Baja. Our rides would be about 175-200 miles/day for 3-4 days. You definitely need a nice rider-friendly bike and the 4 stroke is the only way to go. All the 2 stroke guys with us were dogged tired half way thru each day. The LC4 was all low end torque and could rip out tree trunks, but the 525SX is a screamer on top...almost scary at times. The SX is just a 4 speed, but it will still do over 80mph. I plan on putting in the 5th and 6th real soon. You can literally ride around all day using just 2nd and 3rd gear.

I have two other friends with 525 KTM's; one with an EXC and the other with and EXC and an MXC. BIG, BIG difference between the EXC/MXC and the SX. While the EXC's are set up to have a smoother hit for the tight work, the SX is set up to have a much bigger punch for moto work with a different carb and ignition...plus it weighs about 20 lbs less. The 450's are really ideal for most riders because it is a "just-right" kind of power, where the 525SX is like having a 427s/o with nitrous for us older guys who weigh more than the average guy. It's quite often a liability and can get you in trouble because all it wants to do is wheelie. (It's a blast to grab a handfull in any gear and at any speed and do wheelies for as long as you want.)

Your first choice for the slowest dirt bike was right, but remember the Honda MT125's? Supposed to be a street clone of the CR125, but it was a dog. Those '73 CR125's put and end to the Penton 125's real quick, didn't they?! (if for no other reason than you could shift the CR without missing every other shift like the Penton's)How about those old CZ125's? They had a 49 lb. flywheel on them and would take forever to rev.

I rode a red '73 250 coffin tank CZ until 1975, then got a '75 Ossa Phantom. Lightest 250 ever produced; 198 lbs out of the box. I bought two more of them in '76 and '78 while working at Mid-Valley. We could make those things scream. I used to ride one in the 250 class, then hop on the other one and race against the open class guys and still get holeshots. Pissed off the guys on the Maicos. Kenny Zahrt rode a 250 Ossa with a bored cylinder (260cc) in the 500 Nationals and at Mammoth Mountain and could holeshot those too back in '76. Only bike that I ever got to ride that really scared me was a factory '78 400 KTM that we set up for Marty Moates. Faster than the old 501 Maicos! Moates is the only guy that could ride that animal back then.