Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

: g le" ri';g - piston r m~ves in a 'steel sleeved alloy cy linder. Gears are straight-cut. Our test bike showed no tendency to overheat. despite the aircooled cylinder and even required "tickling" if stopped for any length of time. Getting it d irty We can say that the KTM is an excellent handling motorcycle. Once the suspension was dialed in, we could not fault its high speed manners. One trade off we did notice was that the front wheel would occasionally deflect in slow, rocky going compared to slower steering competitors. To discuss the riding manners, we will break them into the KTM's intended categories: Desert/cross country: In the "dez" the KTM was totally at home at speed. Unexpected obstacles were handled with a burst of fear and throttle and the throttle would stifle the fear as the XC would take most anything in stride. It willingly changes direction in the air, according to rider input, and if fro nt wheel la nd ings are encountered, the control is such that they are hardly noticed. We did have the front end wander mentioned earlier, but we did not take the bike out to the desert after getting the forks dialed, which should have helped. In deep sand the steering was a hair sharp but we left the fork height alone because most of our riding was on harder dirt. Going to a 3.25 Metzeler and/or sliding the fork tubes down in the clamps would probably aid this. Utah's Cherry Creek desert race had two KTMs in the top three in the 250cc Expert class, a sign that they work well. The brakes and :> co nt ro ls caused no concern in the I desert. What did cause concern was the seat. When KTMs are uncrated, it feels like a seatcover is wrapped around a piece of wood tom from the crate. At least, that is the feeling the rider gets after a long ride. No other fault is as glaring as the seat. The rear suspension always feels slightly harsh, but watching a rider on the bike shows that the wheels are staying o n the ground well and the suspension I is reacting to bumps o f a ll magni tu de. The blame m ust lay (sit?) with !1< the seat. " ~1 The cl utch is another complain t - it is difficult to pull a nd gets a little grumpy with a buse, but never went away. End uro: O ur announcement of i ntention to enter a tough enduro was greeted by laughs long and hard, but both the KTM and the tester returned undamaged. The KTM was an excellent mount for the run and handled rocks and fast whoops with aplomb. The clutch and seat were still the major complaints, but the gearbox was spaced perfectly and the power came on smoothly enough to chug up hills. That included a normally difficult. rock pile made impassable by numerous bikes and bodies laying in the "best" line. Our tester was following an old desert racer who angled off to the side and gassed it. In second gear, the XC wheelied over the rocks with no problem...well one problem ... a cliff about 30 yards from the top. A quick detour put the KTM in the same rut everyone else was in. Just tromp it into the ultra-low first gear and gas it again. A couple of paddles and bike and rider were over the top. T he desert racer who had picked the line was on a hot tem pered rnotocrosser and didn't make it. One thing that stands out about the desert and the enduro was that the KTM seemed very forgiving of rider error. Motocross: The XC got quite a workout on the motocross track and entirely differen t weaknesses and strengths showed up. C\l 00 0') KTM 's 260/11 XC is e greet e11-eround bike; it works well in meny situetions thenks in pen to the new Pro Lever set-up lin..t ebove) end the reed -wive engine (in..t, opposite pege). Both ere new KTM feetures this veer. O n the track the handling was exemplary. In all situations the XC was easy to control and ride. It turned and jumped well. In the air the rider was in total control; a little body English and the bike was doing what you wanted. Problems that did crop up were the bra kes (not en ough) and interference with the rider's boot by the rear pedal. A small loop welded over the brake rod. like H o nd a uses, would p revent it. but as is the rod will hook a boot heel and make it difficu lt to take the foot off the peg. The action of the brakes was good and predictable, just not strong enough in the front. Theengine produced enough power but fanning the clutch, as is common practice on 2505. was rendered imp ractical by the difficult clutch. If the correct gear was chosen and another gear grabbed soon after exiting a turn, the XC accelerated with authority. Gear selection was not a problem; after becoming accustomed to the longish lever throw. the gearbox stirred flawlessly. The transmission filler cap is right next to the gears and they can be inspected through the opening. After many miles of use, the transmission gears looked unused. In fact, the longevity of the KTM was probably its best trait. O ur KTM went for two 80 mile days in the desert, the enduro, and many motocrosses, and it suffered no mechanical breakdowns, and if anything, it ran better after the miles were p u t on it. The importer claims it should go a year of riding on the stoc k bore if the ring is changed every 20 riding hours. More than just keeping running, the whole bike felt tight and new for the duration of the test. We felt that it was an impressive performance. Though we had complaints about the KTM as a motocrosser, several of the riders who raced it had their best ever finishes on it. Our Expert tester loved the handling and felt that the power was adequate. He also felt that the heavier flywheel was an asset on dry tracks, but found the wide ratio gearbox to be a hinderance on the motocross track at Expert speeds. Most of the KT M's problems are things that could be fixed by the owner without too much trouble. The leaves the XC a flawed but fixable package with many of the important parts that function very well. A motorcycle that does all off-road sports well can be a heck of an asset for the rider that enjoys all types of riding. but is not serious at any. Where the KTM will be a serious threat is as a desert racing tool. The gearbox gives a good top speed and low-speed flexibility . high speed handling is good and forgiving and the standing riding position requires littl e effort. Dependability is also a pi us for the dez. If your truck has a bumper sticker that says "I do it all ," then perhaps you should have a KTM in the back of it. • 29

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