1995 LC4 400cc VS 1998 Suzuki DR 350

[supersmooth97]

I've never owned a KTM before, but from what I hear they are a great bike. I am wanting kind of a do it all bike, ride to work, hit some off road, maybe even take blinkers etc off and do a hare scramble. I am very limited on funds and I kinda have the option of these two bikes. I think both would suit my needs just fine my question is what is the cost to maintain the KTM, are parts for like oil changes etc more expensive than a Japaneese bike? How is the Reliability of the LC4 motor vs. the newer exc and sx motors. I guess I'm just a little leary about going KTM just because i've never owned a ktm. I've owned several Suzuki's back in the day and they were bullet proof. Any ideas or thoughts would be much appreciated.

[dmthayer]

Those are both great bikes. I've owned a 95 DR350se and a 94 KTM lc4. The KTM is going to make better power, but given the choice of these two bikes I'd take the suzuki. Here's why:

-The KTM carries it's weight much higher than the suzuki; they weigh close to the same amount, but the suzuki will feel waay lighter.

-Since the suzuki is a 98, it should have decent suspension, (the older DR's had terrible damping rod forks, but the later models with the cartridge forks were much better). The KTM suspension may be a bit better, but not enough to make a huge difference.

-The KTM has 2 filters to change when you change the oil and they are both more expensive than the one for a DR, so the DR will cost less to maintain.

[dmthayer]

a couple more benefits of the suzuki:

-no radiators to smash

-smoother / less vibration