Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126645
Impression: 1983 KTM 495MXC Motivated lDonster By Larry Langley W hen KTM introduced their monster-motor 495 last year, they laid claim to building the fas tes t product ion off-road m o torcycle in the world. Rightfull y so. T he 495 was fas t, bu t unfortunat ely pos ses sed a powerba nd reminiscent on the old Suzuki TM400. Re member? Grab a h andful and hang on for 22 dear life! What a 495cc mot or doesn't need is a I25cc powerband. For 1983 th e MXC (Mo toc ro ss/ Cross Country) has been red esigned with a l l- n e w frame and engine changes designed to mellow out the powerband. So let 's sa y right up front they have succeeded. Perf ect? No . The bike is heavy a nd ta ll. T his bike wasn ' t designed for tight woods enduros . The weight, seat h eigh t an d a bu nda nc e of power makes it a bit much . What th e MXC does excel at is hare scra m b les, desert racing, gra nd prix a nd a ny en d u ro th at 's not a real tight woods event. If KTM could put together a Baja racing team, we sus- pect thi s bike would be h ighl y co mpe ti tive. We borrowed o u r test bike from a local end uro rid er Charlie Brown . a member o f th e U n ited En du ro Asso cia tio n . T he bike wa s purch ased from and set up by Hal Sanguinetti a t Track N' Travel in Pasadena. Calif. The MXC differs from the pure MX version in that it comes eq uipped with a five-speed wide-ratio transmission, 3.6-gallon gas tank, lights and an optional VDO speedometer. Also th e MXC co mes equipped with a Fox Twin C lick er shock, not a White Power as some magazines hav e erro neo usly reponed. We had no complaints with th e Twin Clicker. With a large multitude o f adj ustm ents for both rebound a n d compression damping. dialing in th e shock for both rider preferen ce a nd terrain is easv, The rea r su b-fra me unbolts co mpl etcly. a llo wi ng easy access to th e shoc k. T he shoc k p rovid ed 12.8 " of rear wh eel travel. The Fox unit is co n nec ted to th e swinga rm with linka ge sim ilar to th e H onda Pro-Link. ' In fact KTM ca lls th eir's Pro-L ever. H eim joints ha ve zerk fillings to m ak e it easy to keep the fillings lubricated. Incident all y, Hal recommends using Mai co heim joints if yo u have to ever rep lace th em . Th ey are th e same part bu t co ns ide ra bly chea per in pri ce o ver th e KTM replacement pans. Th e shoc k linkage is co n nected to a beefy a lu m in u m swinga rm which a p pea rs to be m o re th an stro n g enough to do th e job . We cou ld detect no swingarm [lex during o ur riding. At th e o ther end o f th e bik e. 42m m Marzocchi fork s provide 12 in ch es of plush suspe ns io n. We hav e not been fans o f Marzocchi forks because they are u suall y encum bered wi th very h ar sh co mpress io n damping which leav es th e rider 's arms limp a fter a S pacifications Engine Type Displacement Bore x stroke Compression ratio Starting system Ignition system Transmiss ion Carburetor A ir-cooled two-stroke. 495cc. 92.25 X 74mm . 10:1 . Kick. CO l. Five-speed . 40mm Bing . F~me . Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Double cradle. Front suspension /travel Marzocchi fork /12 in. Rear suspension /travel Pro-Lever rising rate /12.8 in. Front tire 3.00x21 Metzeler. 4.50x18 Metzeler. Rear t ire : Dimensions Wheelbase Seat height Minimum ground clearance Fuel capacity Suggested retail price : 59 .0 in . 37.8 in . 14.0 in. 3 .6 ga l. $2892 .