oy vey! 390 vs. 450?

I know for sure I'm getting a 2011 now over even a smoker of a deal I can get on a 2010 450.
The big thing is whether to get the 390 or the 450.
I live in Vermont, USA and ride super technical, steep, wet, rooty, rocky terrain.
I recently rode a 2010 390 and 450 back to back but only down a dirt road. They both had auto-clutches. The 390 was in the standard map setting and the 450 was in the mellow setting. I liked the 450 more as it lofted the front wheel much easier as I came out of a corner. That might be because my last bike was an 09' 300XC-W.
I am an expert rider and have had everything from little 2-strokes to a 640 adventure. I used to ride an XR 600 on the same trails I rode the 300 on and actually had a blast on it. So, I can handle a big bore for sure.
BUT! I keep reading reviews of the 390 that spell it out to be a trials wonderkind. Oh yeah, I used to ride a trials bike too. I'm fit enough. I raced bicycles and still ride a minimum of 2 hrs a day.
My two favorite bikes were a 2005 Kawasaki KDX 220 for it's unbeatable handling in the super tight eastern woods.
And my 98' XR 400 for how tractable to power was, even though it was a softie. It chugged away anywhere.
I guess my 3rd would be that 300. That thing ran awesome and had enough power but it lacked the four stroke torque.
On a super steep climb that was too technical for all out attack, it would move it's way up fine but there was some chug lacking in there.
I have owned a 450. a 2007 Husky TE. It was good. kinda like a modern XR, but the jetting never made me happy no matter what I tried and, well, it was like an xr...... Heavy!
One friend I have has a 390 and he is a pro racer. He loves it. I have never ridden with him though. My closest buddy that I ride with once a week thinks i'm cut out for the 450 and I don't deny that I can handle it. I just have to make sure cause $10k plus is no joking matter
Thanks

I haven't ridden the 390 or the 450, but I have ridden with people who have.

Here is the gist of what I think I heard from them:

The 390 would have the edge in a competition where you were riding all day and the terrain was technical, but both the 450 and the 570 are similar enough to be a good bike in the same terrain - especially if you use the map switch to tune the bike to your advantage. Now granted, you aren't going to turn a 570 into a 390 with that switch - it isn't magic, but it does make a difference. I use the soft setting on trails and the 'aggressive' setting on the roads to/from the trails. I mostly notice the difference on the trails - the difference seems to be mostly in how immediate the power is delivered, but also somewhat the amount. For example, on small section I like to warm up on has a small tree across the trail where I need to lift the front wheel over it - with the 'soft' setting I get a one foot wheelie, with the 'aggressive' setting I get a full on three to four foot wheelie. It is kind of too bad that the switch doesn't work without shutting down the engine because I can imagine that racers would love to have both responses on tap. Either way the power is still there; I can still pull third gear wheelies, but they are more subdued and less surprising when on the 'soft' setting.

So, the people I have talked to have said that there is of course a noticeable difference in power, and some in handling, but that these differences would only be an advantage for those who compete at one level or another, otherwise they prefer to have the power of the 450 or even the 570.

I such at off-road riding, even though I learned to ride on dirt bikes. I just never got into it enough to really practice enough to be good at it - not like a halfway decent rider is. I say that because I want to say that even though the 570 has plenty of power, it is very linear, very manageable, and on the 'soft' setting I usually don't have to fight the bike. There are times, especially before I had my suspension tuned for me, where I could feel the bike wanting to loft the front during a climb, or when I was stuck on something. I have looped the bike three times - but not without plenty of warning - it was my fault that I pushed it; the bike just finds traction like nothing I have ever ridden.

So for what it is, an all around dirt bike for all different kinds of terrain, and even street legal to boot, I think these bikes are great. Are there better lighter weapons for one purpose or another? Sure. But I only have one dirt bike (I may get a trials bike someday), so even for varying levels of skill from someone who can barely ride like me to a very good rider, these are great bikes.

Thanks CodeMonkey!
Hmmmmm.

I rode them all and purchased the 450 :wink:
Sounds like the 450 would be better for you

I have ridden all three and owned the 570 and 450. The 450 motor is my favorite, I just felt the 390 was a little too soft on the power and the 450 was more to my liking.

Does the Auto-clutch help "tame" the motor as well?

I didn't find that it tamed the motor per say but did help make it easyier to ride. The power is still there with a Rekluse, but I just found I could concentrate more on riding the bike and being smooth on the throttle without having to worry about stalling.

jbrown15 said:

I didn't find that it tamed the motor per say but did help make it easyier to ride. The power is still there with a Rekluse, but I just found I could concentrate more on riding the bike and being smooth on the throttle without having to worry about stalling.

Click to expand...

+1

I don't think the motor needs taming that much, if at all. The map switch does that for you. The power delivery is not abrupt and very controllable. You can 'tame' the throttle response/power delivery with the map switch for trail riding - but some people prefer the more immediate power of the most 'aggressive' mode - it depends on your style and skill. I plod along slowly so I prefer to put along most of the time.

The Rekluse/Revlock just allows you to forget about the clutch and stalling and instead concentrate on where you are going and throttle control. I like it a lot. Very few downsides and those you get used to for the most part, and they aren't often encountered. If you keep the clutch lever you can use it to override the Rekluse/Revlock and treat it mostly like a regular clutch - except the bike still won't stall. All in all, the best of both worlds. The Revlock Dyna Ring has the added advantage that you can still bump start the bike.

I sold my '07 TE450, in order to purchase a '10 FE390. I ride in New England woods, so it's common for me to encounter 1st & 2nd gear stuff. My (bone stock) 390 can feel a bit soft at times, compared to the more immediate pull of a 450. But if you are a faster rider, you likely won't be in that fluffy region of the power much. Riding it a faster pace, it's kinda like a porky, 250 smoker -- handles a bit similarly, and it runs well in the middle of the powerband, but it's got so much more traction. In some of the slower stuff (2nd-3rd gear, hills), it can feel a bit "gappy." The bike's EFI allows it to pull cleanly from almost any RPM at slower speeds, but when grabbing another gear it can fall off the pipe a bit of you're not well into the mid/upper RPM range. I'll likely be replacing the 52t with a 53t to close up the ratios some. The bike's power is nearly perfect, and I don't need the pull of a 450 (most of the time). The engine is remarkably smooth (I've got a street plate on mine), and the bike just about refuses to stall. Quite a difference from the ol' Husky. No more flame-outs in rock gardens! There are times I do miss the added thrust of the larger engine, but not very often. And the smaller engine has made the gnarly stuff fun, where it was a ***** to ride on the Husky.

Thanks.
I'm signing up for the 390

Never mind
I bought a 2010 450!
I love it. It turns better than my KTM 300 did.
Just putting around right now to break it in.
Thanks for all the tips and the useful website

Good choice! Not that you could have made a bad one. I love my 450...

Congrats! :cheers:

I am looking from the other direction at the 570 or 450. I am leaning more towards the 450 since I already have a big bore Dual sport and we do mostly trails.

Are you going to plate it?

Jeff

Thanks!
I'll reg it in the spring so I can do some turkey runs and enduro's next season.
Doing the first "break-in" oil change tomorrow. I'm all smiles with the 450.
"Berg in the tight stuff" video has me so psyched I'm building my own trail on 400 acres.

Congrats 8) , I'm new to a 2010 450 (FX for me) as well, Great Bike!!! All smiles here :cheers: