2018 Husqvarna FE 501 vs KTM 500 EXC-F | Ride Review

hi i'm eric from rocky mountain atv/mc comm and today we're doing a ride review and a comparison of two great bikes we've got the 2018 KTM 500 exc F and the 2018 Husqvarna 501 F II we're gonna take these bikes out well first we're gonna explain a little bit about them we're gonna talk about how they're similar how they're different then we're gonna take them out we're gonna ride them and then we're gonna come back and we're giving them give you our thoughts you know both these bikes I think that's gonna be a challenge because both these bikes are very very similar they're both born in Austria the motors are identical the exhaust is very similar a lot of the components are very similar we've got EFI both of them are fuel-injected both of them are electric start both of our wide ratio six speeds they've got the two lists air filter access a lot of things are very very similar on these bikes but there are some subtle differences and you know we're curious what those differences are and how they affect the bike and how it rides and how it handles alright so let's get into it so differences you got the husky over here it's got a carbon composite subframe KTM has a traditional aluminum subframe both have steel frames so it's just the sub frames that are different the seat height on the husky they're claiming to be about 3/8 of an inch taller than the KTM some people that are a little vertically challenged that might be a big deal moving up to the handlebars so we've got little differences like husky has went to Pro Taper where the KTM is still sticking with the neck and bars both great bars oversize so the inch and an eighth and then the hydraulic controls this is kind of interesting so the husky has all mogera hydraulic controls so that includes your your hydraulic clutch that includes your brake systems everything's magura on this bike over here we have the Brembo so the clutches are Brembo the the brakes or Brembos so kind of an interesting difference there moving on down to the wheels the wheels are even different so on the Husky you have the D ID dirt stars for rims and over on the KTM you have the giant brand Hoops both of them very durable they've been around a long time very similar something on this different on the Husky is it has a machine triple clamp and the KTM has a cast they both have the same 22 millimeter offset so you know essentially this should handle the same now moving on to the suspension that's probably the biggest difference to these two bikes it's very obvious of course you've got the WP linkage system on the husky as opposed to the PDS the Explorer PDS over here on the KTM both of these rear suspension systems have their advantages and their disadvantages the others there's plenty of articles out there talking about the differences both are definitely good in different areas so onto the fork same 48 millimeter Explorer fork the only difference is the husky has the adjustable preload caps and you know you can actually get them for the KTM pretty simple to install but still it's it's definitely a difference and then rounding this out okay you've got the the KTM that comes in at 240 pounds without fuel the Husky is a bit huskier it's 244 and some change so very similar there and then to price you've got the husky is about $100 more retail than the KTM with all that being said we're going to gear up get out there on these bikes I've got chance with me we're gonna go out we're gonna swap back and forth we're gonna get some good footage we're gonna see if we can tell a difference see if these you know these differences are enough that they're you know are they meaningful and we'll chat about it and then we'll see if we can come to a conclusion all right here we are we've been riding these bikes for a little while trade it back and forth couple times and right off the bat you know I guess you guys can see that we got here--oh dirt today it is absolutely perfect for riding a little enough for film and so we'll try to keep the the cameras clean but sell these tires both these bikes come stock with the tkc Conti Continental dual sport tires and they are maybe not the best tire today but I want to get a feel for how these things feel you know they roll off the showroom floor and so we're taking one for the team today so and man these things feel so light they feel great even with all the dual-sport stuff on so we're just kind of playing here in the trees get a pretty good feel for the flat corners and the berm corners and the sand and how the two bikes compare you know we went through the section a couple times and both of us are kind of having an issue stolen in the panic stock situations well that just might be your Ryder air all right so back on the KTM all right let's talk about suspension a little bit both of these bikes are amazingly capable for street-legal bikes definitely soft for I don't know I'm about 200 pounds I feel like I definitely will want some more spring for me and that's how they're set up Oh the crazy part is is these bikes just stay so straight tell me this it's actually a little crazy no steering stabilizer we haven't even really set the sag so let's go to the forks so works on the fast stuff they always seems like they always work pretty good on the fast stuff a little chaunt sometimes but for me I gotta have a pretty comfortable up there on my thumb iris so it's when you're getting into the beat up the rocky the because they're definitely staying up in there stroke other than super heartbreaking they'll dive a little bit but once again that's all spring related that's to be expected but the crazy thing is because when you set the front end down it it doesn't slap there's no slapping down on the front which it's very nice these are pretty big big G out how does it good one of a fan of the linkage I've I've spent years and years and years on PDS bikes you know the dual linkage and [Music] they work great I mean especially like when you're jumping logs or something like that you don't have the linkage hanging down but that feels like you've got on the leakage mic it feels like there's a bigger range of motion where the the PDS feels like it works really good up to a certain point and then it's not as plush it's not as controlled oh yeah super cutoff salutes on our dual sports we're always trying decide what bikes better when the real question is what bikes better for you for what type of riding you do and this spikes crazy because it's so versatile that you've got you can do whatever kind of riding you want I mean you could you could be a dual sport and be desert racing firm it up a little bit go works racing you know it's it's got a wide ratio which is actually not why terrestrial transmission is one of my favorite parts it's the let you go to a granny first so you're you know you're barely barely crawling along and the nasty yeah you got a hundred mile an hour top top speed that's just crazy how versatile it is and that's one of the parts I really love about the big KTMs is that we've been known to do a lot of different kinds of writing you know we can to weekend Rock to hell this bike feels dirts that's a little bit as my gosh the suspension is so active underneath yeah you know I miss a line right there get all those rocks it's no big deal but crazy these big bikes are made for that crap just tractable barely here on in come walking hot oh yeah half in the clouds so we know a lot of guys are going to use these boxes light adventure bikes and I can't see any reason why they wouldn't be absolutely excellent for that you know on some of these bigger two tracks i meanness it's awesome that's still plush enough - silk up the little stuff but yet it's definitely silk in the bigger G outs my kinda diddle sport perfect temperature perfect dirt no dust so we'll get it up to speed here a little bit so that's cruising about 58 60 and it's remarkably comfortable so Chancellor these guys have heard me talk for a long time about what I've thought about everything about this bike and I just I'm curious what what your thoughts are you know so for the type of writing that this fo this this 501 and 502 B and and what type of riding you're gonna be doing what do you think what do you think about these two bikes I'm gonna find myself on more more wide-open areas I'm gonna find myself on the two track I don't think I'll find myself I'm gnarly gnarly terrain as much and so I think I think the link would be the way to go yeah I noticed a little bit when we were out there you know and we're talking about suspension because really that's the big difference between these two bikes --is it seems to be a suspension and everything else feels really similar but it's just kind of how the bike is reacting and it's a very subtle difference but for some reason that linkage it feels like the suspension is very active underneath and keeping me on the ground so it's not like I'm bouncing around a little bit even in the big whoops it feels like that I'm hooked up with the ground in contact with the ground where it feels like the pds the KTM it hops around a little bit and I don't have that one with the earth type feeling yeah gnarly terrain where we weren't hitting whoops we were just going over rocks and logs both bikes did great I couldn't tell the difference between the linkage didn't linkage in non linkage so that's what I'm coming down to they're both excellent bikes I don't think he could go wrong with either one me knowing what I know about the two bikes and actually spending time on them I might lean towards the Husky but I definitely would be happy with the KTM absolutely well there you have it just a quick little wrap the KTM 2018 500 exc and the husky Ethel 1f e 501 2018 as well initial ride comparison great bikes stay tuned because we're gonna do some different things with these bikes we have a you know we're gonna probably do a trail build on on both of them you know all-around build really so we can hit whatever we want to you know we can go do some desert racin we can go hit the the gnarly mountain single track and then later on stay tuned because I think we're gonna build some light adventure bikes out of them maybe put some great big tanks on them some light luggage and actually go on some adventures so perfect platform for both of these kinds of things now once again Rocky Mountain atv/mc calm you can find all those accessories online make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel if you like this kind of content okay we'll catch you next time you

Channel: Rocky Mountain ATV MC

Views: 435,791

Rating: 4.8255539 out of 5

Keywords: Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, rmatv, rmatvmc, atv/mc, atvmc, motocross, rockymountain, dirt bike, motorcycle, parts, accessories, rocky, mountain, ktm vs husqvarna, husky 501, 501 fe, ktm 500 exc-f, 2018, ride review, bike review, reviews, husqvarna 501 fe vs ktm 500 exc-f, comparison, first look, first ride, adv, dual sport, dualsport, long way round, adventure, adventure ride, riding

Id: kgsr7bxINIg

Length: 19min 59sec (1199 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 24 2018