2020 K TM 250 XC TPI
RIDE REVIEW
P70
ly consistent, and rarely require oil
tank refills. But it's sort of boring,
missing a bit of grunt and/or pop
as you begin to accelerate like
properly tuned carbureted bikes of
the past delivered.
This mellowness is a welcome
characteristic above 9000 feet
in the Rocky Mountains when
your bike can crawl to the low-
est possible rpm without stalling.
Also, the mellow nature of the TPI
power delivery is a traction hog.
But when we're sitting on a start-
ing line, you may want a more
aggressive attitude. We're looking
for the two-stroke surge to make
a pass before heading back into
the trees here. After all, that's
what XC-style racing is all about.
As far as do-it-all competition
dirt bikes go, few can match the
pedigree of KTM's XC line. The
pleasant blend of its aggressive,
track-bred platform, and intel-
ligently selected off-road-specific
settings and componentry have
historically made these bikes the
perfect choice for factory racers
and weekend warriors alike.
This entire class of KTM ma-
chinery is designed for closed-
course, open throttle competition
like WORCS, GNCC, hare scram-
bles of any sort and grand prix
events. And, if you're just a trail
donkey looking for some fun with
a little more attitude than an XC-
W, they work there, too. Same
goes for you track-day weekend
warriors—grab an XC and enjoy
moto laps. It'll do it nearly as well
as any MX-specific machine can.
XC's are, in a lot of ways, off-
road perfection.
To continue this legacy, TPI
needs to come into the XC line,
swinging a bit more for the fences
than the trail-focused predeces-
sors. These can't simply be
XC-W's with linkage and closer
transmission ratios.
Unfortunately for those of us
looking for a new world of TPI
with the XC lineup, that's not the
case just yet. Out of the box,
the 2020 KTM 250 XC TPI has
the exact same motor setup and
engine mapping settings as its
XC-W counterpart. The only dif-
ference between the two classes
of bikes at the moment is with
suspension/swingarm (XC-W's
don't have linkage and run WP's
XPLOR suspension compo-
nents), headlights (XC-W's have
lights) and transmission gear
ratios (XC-W's are full wide-ratio
Compared to
the XC-W in
the suspension
department, the
XC has higher-
end components
and link-mounted
rear suspension.
