Trail Rider Magazine

TrailRiderMAY2024

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18 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com One of our testers really loved the Ranger but he was almost 6 foot 2 and felt like a grasshop- per on it. We eyeballed two bikes and decided to put the Pro seat on the Ranger for grins. The seat comes off with one bolt, easily accessible once you pop off the le side panel. This also accesses the air filter and changing air filters is a no-tool quick process that I neglected to men on earlier. Easy peasy and fast. We put the Pro seat on the Ranger and the tall guy was sold. That inch and a half made all the difference to him and he felt the bike was per- fect. While most probably won't opt for a taller seat, other Pro bits swap straight over to the Ranger, the most desirable being the Gnarly pipe. My buddy did this on his 2020 Ranger and loves it. You get more grunt and snap out of the engine while retaining the plush ride we older guys appreciate. If you wanted even more bang, you could play with the power valve, swap on a Pro head, or I believe S3 also makes a compe on head which will wake it up even more. The Ranger doesn't have the mapping switch, and if you wanted that you'd have to swap out a Pro igni on as there are differences. It was a split verdict at the end of the day, Pro versus Ranger. Lucas (KTM 350F), his son Jack (KTM 250SXF), and Lavon (former expert MX, 83 YZ250) liked the hit of the Pro, especially once we discov- ered the magic map bu on worked so well. Lucas and Jack are racing A class in the NEPG and are ag- gressive riders who can put the Pro to good use in a compe ve environment. Lavon liked the rain mode in the woods but liked the explosive sun mode for track-type condi ons where you'd be doing doubles and rhythm sec ons and needed that instant power. All agreed that they'd have to work on the suspen- sion, and that may be doable simply using the KYB adjustments that we didn't think to fool with. Paul (Beta 200RR), John (Kawi KX250F), and Sheila (KTM 150) leaned towards the Ranger thanks to its supple suspension, lower overall height, and tractable predictable engine. John was the tall guy who'd add the higher seat, and all thought adding the Gnarly pipe would make the Ranger even more versa le. All three preferred the rain mode on the Pro, but the aggressive power and s ff suspension didn't suit them. Paul said he'd take the Pro if he was a faster and be er rider, but the Ranger felt a lot like the 200 Beta he currently rode and was very com- fortable on.

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