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/127132
The newKTM 600 LCR MX is now available in the U.S . but less t han 100 of t hem w ill be imported in 1988. It retails for around $4100. Riding impression: 1988 KiM 600 LC4 MX First ride on KTM's H20-cooled 4-stroke motocrosser By Kit Palmer Building a big-bore . four -stroke that's competitive against p owerful, lightweight and q u ick handling two-strokemotocrossers is n o easy task, bu t KTM feels it's got th e machine that'll put th e twostrokes to sh a me - th e waterI d 600 LC4 MX coo e cc. KTM gave us the cha nce to 16 ride the first produc tio n LC4 fourstroke 600cc MXer brought into the co u n try d uring a n exclusive one -day ridin g session, a nd h ere' s what we fou nd out. Starting th e KTM can be a challenge in itself. If done correc tly, h ow ever , th e KTM fires to life ra the r easily, bu t you must fo llow a sta ndard starting procedure. When th e KTM is cold. it's best to lean th e bike over until gas sta rt s dripping ou t of th e overflo w. T he n rai se th e bik e u p right an d turn on th e choke and pull in th e co m pression release lever on the handlebar s. Wi th the comp ress io n rel ea se l ev er in, kic k thro ugh abou t 10 ti mes, th en let ou t the compress ion relea se lever an d find top dead 'center (TDC) . Then p ull bac k in the com p ressio n release lever a nd r ush d~wn on th e kickstarter until the p isto n reach es Jus t past TDC. Let go of the compression release an d retu rn th e ki ckstarter to its upright posit ion, th~n gh-:e it a h ~a.lth y an d smooth kick WIthout gIvmg th e KTM a ny throttle. Wh en the KTM is h ot , you don't need to lean th e bike over or use th e choke, but th e rest of th e pro cedure is th e same . T he key to th e w hole starti n g ritu al is to never give it any th rottle as you kick it over. Wh en th e mot or's hot it 'll usually sta n o n th e first or seco nd kick. The KTM is ra ther loud once it 's run ning but h as a low and clean to ne . It sou nds pow erful. And it is. . The LC4 has a n awesome m otor. It's ver y p ot ent o ff the bo tto m , especiall y wh en powering o ut o f turns - th e power h its har d a nd p u lls hard, throwing u p showers of din as it roosts through the berms. Gear selec tio n is im portant because you don 't want to over-rev the motor , . or it wi ll lose p owe r noticeab ly. It 's best to almost bog th e motor goi ng in to th e tu rn th en wick th e thro tt le o n (a q uic k fa n o f the clu tch wouldn 't hurt), and the hand leba rs will a lm ost rip out o f yo ur hands wh en the rear tire hooks up. Pow ering down th e straights is . goo d, but the KTM do esn't really liked to be revved com pa red to a two stroke. It likes to be shifted just past the m iddle of the powerband, a little sooner than big-bore two -strokes. T he LC4 us es th e exact sa me tra ns m ission as the KTM 350cc twostroke mot or and it works well. G ear ratios seems spread ou t to su it th e powerba n d, but missed sh ifts did happen. The transmission is rel uctant to go into n eutral while idling at a sto p with th e clutch pulled in. T he KTM ha s to be ro ll in g before it will sli p into neutral. The cl u tch itself works well an d smoothly, and it requires at least two . fingers to pull in the clutch lever. The White Power suspension on th e KTM we rode, which KTM reps said was totally box stock, worked extremely well. Both th e front and rear suspension soaked up bumps without excessive ki cking, despite KTM 's claimed dry weight o f 255.7 p ounds, wh ich is rather light for a big-bore four-s troke. Even th ough the KTM is , no matter how you look at , on the heavy side, it doesn 't really feel much porkier than a CR500, For a heavy rnot ocrosser , th e KTM isn 't difficult to th ro w arou nd thanks to its good A t a claimed 255.7 dry pounds. the KTM is still a little on the heavy side. but excellent suspension ma kes up for t he extra weight.