Went out with my cousin and a friend to one of our local riding spots (dis-used old coal mine grounds) at the weekend for a few hours.
I was on my '00 FC600 (6 speed), My cousin was on his '03 CRF450 and my friend was on his '04 KXF250.
Jumping from one bike to another revealed the following:
Husaberg was the fastest and most stable in a straight line. Engine had the most power off the bottom and the power felt 'rawer' than either of the other bikes. Traction wasn't the best due to shot tyres and I need to soften-up the suspension as there were a lot of small sharp bumps and ripples which the bike wasn't soaking-up. The stiff suspension made the bike quite tiring to ride.
Honda was easy to ride from the word go. Didn't have the tractor-like bottom end of the Husaberg, but still had more than enough midrange and top end. Suspension soaked up the small sharp bumps alot better than the Berg which made it less tiring to ride, but the front end seemed a bit 'tucky' through the bends.
Kawasaki was the easiest to ride due to the power being less intimidating than the other 2 bikes. Suspension was better than the Husaberg, but not as plush as the Honda. Steering/ chassis was less stable than the Berg at speed, but better than the Honda through the bends. Engine was surprisingly quick when wound up, but got slaughtered if caught in the wrong gear.
Outcome:
The bikes were ridden as-was (no fidding with suspension etc) and all could be better with a bit of fettling and tweaking.
I still like prefer the Berg and with a few suspension tweaks, I know it'll handle the bumps a lot better and still be faster than the rest!
I was on my '00 FC600 (6 speed), My cousin was on his '03 CRF450 and my friend was on his '04 KXF250.
Jumping from one bike to another revealed the following:
Husaberg was the fastest and most stable in a straight line. Engine had the most power off the bottom and the power felt 'rawer' than either of the other bikes. Traction wasn't the best due to shot tyres and I need to soften-up the suspension as there were a lot of small sharp bumps and ripples which the bike wasn't soaking-up. The stiff suspension made the bike quite tiring to ride.
Honda was easy to ride from the word go. Didn't have the tractor-like bottom end of the Husaberg, but still had more than enough midrange and top end. Suspension soaked up the small sharp bumps alot better than the Berg which made it less tiring to ride, but the front end seemed a bit 'tucky' through the bends.
Kawasaki was the easiest to ride due to the power being less intimidating than the other 2 bikes. Suspension was better than the Husaberg, but not as plush as the Honda. Steering/ chassis was less stable than the Berg at speed, but better than the Honda through the bends. Engine was surprisingly quick when wound up, but got slaughtered if caught in the wrong gear.
Outcome:
The bikes were ridden as-was (no fidding with suspension etc) and all could be better with a bit of fettling and tweaking.
I still like prefer the Berg and with a few suspension tweaks, I know it'll handle the bumps a lot better and still be faster than the rest!
