Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Mini shootout: M-star YS. KTM ~ 00 O"l (A bove) The front disc brake isn't very strong . (Below ) The rear sprocket and drum brake are both located on the right side of the hub. Ev en t hough M ai co has cha nged it s name to M-St a r in th e U .S., th e rivalry betw een th e West G erm a n-built M-Sta r lilli e a wk wa rd wh en si tt ing still . but o nce o n th e track th e handleb ar / seat / Ioo tpeg rel ati onship is ver y co m fortabl e. Oth er than the faulty float need le va lve a nd lea ky fork seal s, we didn 't experien ce many problem s with th e M-Sta r. But we did hav e to wat ch th e side- pa nel scre ws like a hawk - th ey tend to back th em selves o u t o f p lace. T he n, th e side pane ls dang le alo ngs ide th e bike a nd g ive dirt a nd water a stra ig h t shot into th e a ir bo x. T he c hai n h el d up to o ur a b use a n d req ui red lillie adj us tment, b u t th e rea r tir e wore o u t very quick ly o n h a rd- pack ed grou nd - th e front tire, though. still looks brand ne w. On th e tr ack . the tires performed well o n dry surfaces, but the front end wash ed Specifications M-Star GM250 12 .. Eng ine t ype • • •• . Liquid- c ooled, reed -valve two-strok e Bore x stroke • . . . • • . 67x70mm Displacement . . .• . .• . • . 247cc Compression ratio ••• • • . 14.7 :1 Carburetio n . . •... . 38mm Bing Horsepower . . • . . • . • . . . 47 bhp @ 8 0 0 0 rp m Pr imary . .. •.. . . ..... . 1. 87 5 :1 Final •...... . • .. ... •. 4 .000: 1 5th 0.916:1 1.090:1 4 th 3rd , 1 .300:1 2nd , ,. , ., .••.... 1 .555:1 1 st. , . , . , , , . , , • , . •. • 1,875:1 Frame . ... • , , Single downtube, split double cradle Front suspension ., . Telescopic fork L.-- (Maico), a nd th e Aus tria n-bred KTM is sti ll in full force. On the tr ack , th e bikes have m an y similar characteris tics: suc h as th e motor. Both ha ve pipey powerba nds , b ut the KTM hi ts hard er in th e m iddl e and pulls stronger a nd a li ll ie bit lon ger th an th e M-Sta r. Off the bottom, the M-Sta r ha s th e sligh t advan tage a nd exits tigh t turns quicker, but if th e straig htaway following th e tu rn is 10nR enough, th e KT:\I w ill make up the lost grou nd . Since the M-Sta r h as m ore lo w end, a nd isn ' t q ui te as p o wer ful , it is eas ier 10 m an age a nd becomes less tir in g 10 hold o nto durin g a long race. T he KTM ' s m ot o r is m o re suited fo r th e P ro -level ri der. Starting th e KTM is much sim p ler; o u t a few times; ge nera lly . th o ugh , lever is on th e righ t side, a nd is eas ier to they staye d g lued to th e grou nd . use. Both bikes sta rt abou t th e seco nd Eve n th ough th e M-St a r lost 14 or third kick. pounds this yea r, a t 2 18 pounds th e Sh ifting , o n th e o ther h and , is M-Star is still o ne o f th e heav iest 250s much better o n th e M-St ar; th ere is o n the m arket and it feel s h eavi er, eno ugh of a d ifferen ce to cu t the too . It is by no m ean s a blimp, but th e KT M ' s a d va n tage in th e p ow er weight co u ld affec t so me rider s by th e d epart m ent in half. Whil e th e M-Star end o f a lon g race. rider is sh ifting his wa y through th e For a heft y $2980 p ri ce ta g , yo u get gears , trying to stay a head o f th e a 250cc M-Sta r with lea ky fork sea ls . a KTM , the KTM rid er is busy missm ed iocr e front br ak e, a n a n noyi ng sh ifti ng a n d lo si n g gro u n d. Th e kick sta rrer a nd a n a ll-iro u nd poor KTM d oesn 't lik e to be sh ifted with cl u tc h, bu t in return you ge t o ne o f th e p ower o n, o r with the clu tch , a n d the bes t-ha ndli ng bikes o n the track , missed sh if ts became too co m mon o n a po werful m ot or a nd th e di stinction the KTM. That 's exactly th e o p posite of ow ni ng a Europea n m o torcycl e. If o f th e M-Star. T he M-Sta r h as a posiyo u ca n p u t u p wi th so me of th e tive feel, a nd finding a fal se neutral incon veniences, th e M-Sta r can be wa s ra re. just th a t .. . a star. • Both bikes have ha rd -to -u se Magu ra co ntrol levers. The front brake a nd clutch levers are too fa r to reach, and both ha ve hard- to -p u ll cl u tch levers. Neith er has grea t br a kes bo th fro nt d iscs a re n' t as strong as Fo rk tube diameter , .. , . . 42mm they shou ld be. but th e KTM ' s rea r Fran wheel t ravel " ., •• , 1 2 in . bra ke assemb ly is stronger a nd its Rear suspensio n •. Single-s hock bra ke peda l is easier to find th an th e sw ing arm M-Star's. Rear wheel t ravel . .. .•. 13.5 in . Corneri ng o n bot h bikes is good Front brakes • . .•. .• .• . .• . Di sc -the M-Sta r lik es th e tight st u ff betRea r brakes ... . • . . . . • . . . D rum ter, whi le th e KT;\1 prefers ra ili n g Front wheel 2 1 in . th rough th e berm s, but th ey ca n do , : , . , . , ,. 1 B in . Rea r wheel , both wel l. T he KTM sta nds a lilli e Front tire 3 .00-21 Metzeler tall er, w h ich m a kes it a lill ie bit m o re Rear tire .. . • . 4.10-18 Metzeler co m forta ble fo r a rider o ver six foot. Dry weight . .. . . . .. . • • 216 Ibs. T he sea t o n the KT M is a littl e Wheelbase .. • . • .. . . • • • • 58 in . harder tha n the M-Sta r' s, m ak in g Fuel capacity .. .. , , . • .• 2 .8 ga l. maneuverab ility slig h tly bet ter. Ground clearance . , , , , " 15 in . T he sus pens io n d ep artment is th e Seat height .. .. • .. .• .• 37.5 in . big gest d iffer en ce between th e tw o . Co lors ." " . , . . ,.,." " , . Red In th e rea r , the M-Star sh ines o ver th e KTM : it has a plusher feeling w hen Retail price . " •••. • , •• •S2980 stock than th e KT;\1 d oes even after ... I 'lol .. J » 1- being co mple tely rew orked by Whi te Bro s Performan ce. T he Ohlins shock o n th e M-Sta r is a ste p a bove th e stock White Power shock o n the KTM a nd d id n't fade nearl y as much - th e whole M-Sta r linkage des ig n works be tter, too. T he M-St ar feels m ore co n fiden t in th e ro ugh straights a nd a bso rbs la n d in g s o ff la rg e j um p s much more smooth ly. T he KT:\I 's rea r end wo r ks good stock, a nd even bet ter a fter we had White Bro s Per fo rman ce modify the shock. b u t it doesn' t quite match th e M-S ta r' s performa nce. U p front, thi ngs got m uc h closer - thi s tim e, though. we ga ve th e nod to th e KTl\1. T he in verted Wh ite Po wer fo rk h as th e ad va ntage ove r th e M-Star-b u ilt fo rk : but not b y much . The KTM 's fork is m ore rigid a nd h as better feelin g over bu mps. Front e nds o n both b ik es would tw it ch n ow a n d th en wh en brak ing ove r bum p s int o turns , but t he KTM's fork d oes it th e least . Despite th e KTM being six pounds li ghter than th e M-Star, we fou nd the M-S tar to be ea sie r to ride after a long period of time; m a in ly, becau se the KT M had m ore power a nd required a tight er g r ip on th e handl eb a rs more power m eans more work, p lus th e M-St ar vibrated a tad less than th e KTM. Both bikes co me stock with PerIectcross Met zcl er ti res th at work well o n loamy o r hard-pack ed su rfaces, but th e rear ti res wea r o u t quickl y. The qual it y of craftsma ns h ip is a lit tl e bit beuer o n the KTM. T he for k sea ls leaked on the M-Sta r, th e clu tch started to give o ut, the kicksta rt er ga ve us hassles a nd the screws hol din g o n th e side panels lik ed to back out. The on ly mechanica l prob lem we came across on the KTM was the tra n sm issio n missed-s hift pro ble m a nd ge lli ng air in th e fro nt brake's hydraulic ho se. Side pa ne ls are a ttached to the KTM by clips. a nd never fell off the bike; the KTM 's kic ksta rte r is we ll designed; we had no proble ms wit h th e KT M 's cl u tch a nd its fork seals didn ' t leak. Bo th th ese bikes hav e vast ly im p rov ed over th e pa st tw o yea rs a n d ca n ser io us ly co mpete agai ns t rnotocrossers from J apan . In stock form, th e M-Star wi ll a p pea l to a bro ader fi eld of r id er s: th e N ov ices a n d In termed iat es will prefer it s m ore m anagabl e m ot o r a nd su perio r sus pensi on , whil e the P ro s will ta ke a im a t the KTM for it s powerfu l e ngine, eve n th ou gh th e y'll s pen d m an y hours in th e garage di aling-in the rear suspension. • ----------------------------1

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