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/127206
BLUE... dy for the gold! "Who is 7#'ampas Parker and why is he . doing all these terrible things to us7" Tllese were the words of a horde ofworld class racers as KTM-mounted Parker put it on a field of international riders at the first 125 cc championship round In Italy. Maybe it was afluke. Maybe that blisteringly fast KTM just had one ofthose days when it ran perfect and everything else ran like a moped on kerosene. Then, out of the blue, it happened again. Parker won another 125 World Championship round in convincing style, this one in Belgium. This caused aflurry of activity in the pits. All ofthe other racers started checking their gas tanks for kerosene, and their mechanics started hanging around the KTM pits to see what sort of secret weapon young Trampas Parker was riding. His secret weapon was a stock KTM 125, just like the one you can buy off the showroom floor. In typical laid-back Louisiana style, Trampas noted: "O I tried all kinds oftrick stuff, but I h, keep cOll)ing back to astock engine. It's got great punch down low and nothing out there beats it from comer to comer." By mid-season, it became more than apparent that both bike and rider were not flukes. Parker won three more times, strongly backed up by two more American teamsters, Mike Healy and Bobby Moore, also astride KTMs. Win followed win; in Germany, Trampas took the gold. In Czechoslovakia, the lightning-quick KTM 125 dominated . . .then Parker backed it up with yet another win in England. . The sight of KTMs running 1 - 2 - 3 became quite common on the demanding circuits of Europe. And the smell of buming midnight oil in the competing camps became the norm, as they frantically searched for more horsepower and better handling. . What makes the KTMs winners? They're designed by engineers who understand racing. KTMs use quality components, like forged pistons and Ultra-strong high-tech chrome-moly tubing. Did you know that most motocross bikes use cheap cast pistons? When you start with the best materials, you can . reliably extract more out ofthem. Exacting tolerances, thoughtful engineering, correct power and balanced handling are the foundation of the new KTMs. When you put a rider at the controls of apackage like this, wonderful things happen. Like winning. If you're a Novice, you can start chasing Intermediates. If you're an Intermediate, you might think about giving the Experts a run for the money. And if you're an Expert, the man you'll have to chase for the money will be Trampas . Parker. No one knaNS if you'll have what it takes to be a world champion. But there's one thing we do know: the kind of machine you'll need. .A KTM 125; theproven wInner! J3ujJt fbr Champjons