VOLUME 56 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 12, 2019 P71
where XC's are semi-wide ratio).
That's about it. When you twist
the throttle, the fuel mapping,
and power delivery (gearing de-
pendent) will be the same.
It's mellow, clean and sporty
with an attraction to traction, but
it is missing the more serious
pull-when-needed response an
ultra-competitive-class two-stroke
requires at times—like at the start
of a race.
What we expected with TPI in
the XC line was more inline with
KTM's four-stroke models. We
thought it'd be different than its
mellower brothers.
If you compare a KTM 350
SX-F to 350 XC and 350 XCF-W
(or 350 EXC), you're going to get
very distinctive bikes. The SX-F
and the XC will be very close,
with the XCF-W (or EXC, for that
matter) being clearly geared
towards the trail segment in
suspension, chassis and engine
character.
With the 250 XC TPI and 250
XC-W TPI, the bikes are much
closer, and the engine character
is identical. While suspension
and chassis attitude differences
are still wide, and the transmis-
sion ratios have a significant ef-
fect on where the bike will shine,
the bikes really do feel very close
at the throttle at trail pace and in
racing situations. But right now,
if you're choosing between XC
and XC-W, you're only choosing
a suspension and transmission
option, the engines are the same.
(We actually raced a 250 XC-W
TPI after this and will have more
on this in an upcoming issue.)
KTM's TPI is still in its infancy
in the grand scheme of things.
And we have no doubt they will
sort maps out to fit what the rac-
ing culture and consumer base
demands or expects. In fact,
we've seen and heard of multiple
map updates rolling into the TPI
platform since our initial ride in
2017—we hoped for more. And
even today, there's an update.
As of press time, KTM has de-
veloped a new map as a running
updated available for all TPI mod-
els (not specific to the XC line).
KTM Dealers have the updated
maps and can flash the ECU in
your TPI model to the latest ver-
sion. The cost, if any, to perform
this service is to be determined
by your dealer. Now, KTM is
pretty discreet with what the
updated map's intention is, and
