The new bike... SM610, first thought.

[antarius]

Today was the first day I got a chance to put 100+ miles on the SM610. I was trying to hold judgement prior to actually riding, but now that I have I think I can make an honest initial assessment.

Overall, I love it. It's defintely all the DRZ was, and all the stuff the DRZ lacked. What's throwing me off is the suspension, but even in its current "wacked out" state of adjustment, I was able to toss it around nearly as quickly as I did my DRZ and this was my first ride on the Husky.

The bike vibrates a lot less than I thought, runs a lot smoother than I expected, wheelies like you can't imagine, stops even better, and looks gorgeous. Build quality on some of the parts could be better, the shift-lever could be a little lower, etc, but all in all, I friggin' love this thing!

Now we'll see how the reliability/maintenance goes.

http://www.antarius.net/junk/sm610.jpg
and
http://www.antarius.net/junk/sm6102.jpg

[Mortifer]

Are you gonna get a yellow or black DRZ?:teeth

Congrats on the bike!:thumbup

[antarius]

Haha! Very funny!

I definitely see myself getting a DRZ again sometime, just to beat on and not care about. For now it's the 250 and the Husky though.

[scottiedawg66]

cait wait to have another 600 motard in the neck of the woods!

[antarius]

Scottie, Garret and I are going out either thursday or friday (and I will probably go out saturday as well) so if you're available for either of those days, let me know.

Shoot me a PM with your number if you want...

[paroxysm]

ASS!

Can't wait to see it :)

[Flipside]

Look's like your about to loose your plate from the vibration.Congrats!

[Mortifer]

so...second week in Dec....nice looooooooooong northbay tard ride.:ride

I can't wait!:Party
but we're gonna have to try and behave, a bad wheelie could make for a super long day.:(:p

[hapamoto]

that bike looks much better with out all the epa stuff on it!! when did you remove it.........?? =-))

peace out Kyle

[antarius]

that bike looks much better with out all the epa stuff on it!! when did you remove it.........?? =-))

peace out Kyle

Haha! Yeah, I dunno, when did I?

I left all the EPA stuff and my spark arrestor at Stan's house, but I'll just get it sometime later. Or, if it's gone, I won't.... no big deal either way! =]

[DukeD]

Very very nice Ant. Congrat!

[mikev]

Wow, didn't take you long to upgrade from the DRZ!

I'm getting the itch again, I might have to move the SV and get a Duke 2 :P

[stan23]

Dude, JP I told you the bike was a riot.. I think the brakes are amazing. The suspension needs a bit of work to make it feel right - no doubt.

Congrats man!

[blackOnblack]

Today was the first day I got a chance to put 100+ miles on the SM610. I was trying to hold judgement prior to actually riding, but now that I have I think I can make an honest initial assessment.

Overall, I love it. It's defintely all the DRZ was, and all the stuff the DRZ lacked. What's throwing me off is the suspension, but even in its current "wacked out" state of adjustment, I was able to toss it around nearly as quickly as I did my DRZ and this was my first ride on the Husky.

The bike vibrates a lot less than I thought, runs a lot smoother than I expected, wheelies like you can't imagine, stops even better, and looks gorgeous. Build quality on some of the parts could be better, the shift-lever could be a little lower, etc, but all in all, I friggin' love this thing!

Now we'll see how the reliability/maintenance goes.


looks ALMOST as cool as Hapamoto's :)

[Mondo]

Nice bike! Check the shift lever. You might be able to lower is just by losening the nut and moving it one tooth. Worked wonders on my kxf for missed shifts. :thumbup

[antarius]

Mondo,

Thx. I did adjust it down a step, and it definitely helps, but still not enough to satisfy me. I'll be bending the bar a little to help out...

[supertireguy]

I'm a big fan of 600cc black supermoto bikes. Good choice. :thumbup

You can eulogize the DRZ all you want but there's no replacement for displacement. :twofinger The DRZ is a great intermediate bike. You have graduated young padawan learner. :) Remember all the extra gear shifting on the DRZ for the same speeds? Now life is more of a two gear braaap-braaap salute to maintain the boil.

What tire pressures you running? They should be in the 25psi department.

You'll be a happier man after you smoke those old Dunlop D208ZR tires and upgrade to some Pilot Powers or slicks.

Baseline dyno run ($50) the bike someday soon to see the hp-ft/lbs numbers and to confirm you have good smooth air/fuel graphs. :nerd

I will be curious to hear your thoughts of the ride at higher freeway speeds. +80mph gets mighty blustery.

[antarius]

Supertireguy,

Word on the tires. I hate these Dunlops, I slide all over. The Pilot Power's are going on next and that should do the trick. The bike at 80+ is fine, it's windy but less so than the DRZ and far more stable. It also has passing power at 80, it really only starts to slow down around 92-93, which was the very top of the DRZ. As you said, there is no replacement for displacement.

On the dyno stuff, it's going to Factory Pro next week for a jet kit / dyno tune, so I'll have numbers (also will be compared w/ the JD dyno kit for all you SM610 owners) on stock, Factory Pro jetting and JD jetting.

I moved the suspension back to the stock settings and have 3.25" of race-sag, which is more than I normally like, but all in all it seems to be handling much better. New tires at the correct pressures will really make or break the deal.

[supertireguy]

It will be fun to see the before and after dyno numbers.

I'll guess at 55hp at the rear wheel or so and 40ft/lbs of torque.

Ask about the FactoryPro Emulsion tube. The one with the line of pin holes along its length to improve atomization of the fuel.

[paroxysm]

I hate that bike. Its too buzzy, too thumpy, too twitchy, too loud, too expensive, too not mine...but holy god is it fast. First gear is unusable and anything more than finger-weight on the brakes make you think you're going over the front.

It was good riding with your JP. I'll post up about Thursday/Friday and see what kind of interest we can get. I'll only be riding one day but don't know which yet.

[antarius]

Sounds good! Thursday or Friday works for me, doesn't matter which. Let's make it a relatively long ride, with some good variances on types of roads.

[Mistyz]

So jealous. Hate you. :x

[stan23]

So jealous. Hate you. :x

but your bike takes the loudness award:)

[scottiedawg66]

hope u are happier with the suspension, lets ride u bung holes!

[paroxysm]

hope u are happier with the suspension, lets ride u bung holes!

Hey Mang, we did 200+ today, WTF were you? lmao.
-GT

[antarius]

Hey Mang, we did 200+ today, WTF were you? lmao.
-GT

Can't wait for the post-ride writeup! As said by you, "epic."

What a freakin' adventure.... awesome ride!

[wsmc831]

Supertireguy,

Word on the tires. I hate these Dunlops, I slide all over. The Pilot Power's are going on next and that should do the trick. The bike at 80+ is fine, it's windy but less so than the DRZ and far more stable. It also has passing power at 80, it really only starts to slow down around 92-93, which was the very top of the DRZ. As you said, there is no replacement for displacement.

On the dyno stuff, it's going to Factory Pro next week for a jet kit / dyno tune, so I'll have numbers (also will be compared w/ the JD dyno kit for all you SM610 owners) on stock, Factory Pro jetting and JD jetting.

I moved the suspension back to the stock settings and have 3.25" of race-sag, which is more than I normally like, but all in all it seems to be handling much better. New tires at the correct pressures will really make or break the deal.



Done any research on parts availability? I've been told by a couple guys at supermotojunkies to get an SMC over the SM610, mainly because of parts availability....though in the Bay area I would guess we would have more access than just about anywhere. trying to decide between the two currently...

..and not the 08 smc, the lc4 model.

[Rorschach]

There is definitely better (more accessible) parts support for KTM, although a quick phone call to Motoxotica isn't exactly a chore.