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/127365
~ RIDING IMPRESSION 199IKTM250E-XC th ro ttle contro l is crucial . It has just enough flyw heel weight to keep th e rear wheel fro m losing tractio n and sp itti ng ou t to the sides every tim e th e th ro tt le is tw isted. T his rea lly co mes in han dy on o ff-cambers, especially when there's loose gro u nd a nd tree roo ts invo lved. T ack ling steep h ill s o n th e E-XC is a piece of cake, i r'I l ca rr y you up a n y incl ine yo u d ar e -climb , a lt hough yo u' ll proba bly find yourself quick ly downsh ifti ng to first gea r as soo n as yo u ma ke your in itial a tta ck on th e hi ll , because first gea r is tall enoug h to mai ntain speed as well as low enough to keep p u lli ng w he n m om en tum sto ps. In o the r words, first gear is very usefu l a nd useable with th e EXC. ' T he Au strian-made KT M's ' transm ission worked fla wlessly th roug ho ut o ur da y a nd missed sh ifts were few and far be twee n. Pl us . the ,gea r rati os seeme d to fit the powerband qui te well. T here are no excessivel y wide gaps betw een gear s. Suspension-wise, the E-XC recei ved a number of refinem ents, especia lly to the 4054 Multi- ad j uster Wh it e Pow er inverted fork , whi ch boasts 1l. 8 inches o f wh eel travel. Most o f the cha nges are in tern al a nd designed to produce an a ll -a ro u n d plush er r id e - it worked. T he revamped fork soa ks up the jo lts extrem ely well , but whene ver bo ttom ed, th e fro n t wh eel woul d co ntact the inner back po rt io n o f th e fen der, leaving a nasty black mark. . Like the fork, the rea r Wh ite Po wer In tegr al R eser vo ir Shock re ceived many intern a l refine ments a nd for th e sa me reasons. And , as wi th the for k, we have no co m p laints. We spe nt a lot o f tim e on the E-XC ro lli ng over big ,imbedd ed rock,S, as well as tree ~ The 1991 KTM 250 E-XC should appeal to th e more aggressive off-road rider with its somewhat pipey and ' . powerful motor. It's a serious machine. Checkpoint terror By Kit P alm er s KTM 's Scot H arden put it, " T he 250 E-XC has been our bread and butter o ff-roa d bi ke for many years a nd we feel that o u r 1991 model is by far the best yet." And to prove his point, Ha rden offered Cycl e Ne ws th e first ride o n th e 1991 KTM 250 EXC, a nd even th ou gh we o nly go t to ride th e KTM for j ust one day , it was a day filled with tackling tight trai ls, steep d own hi lls and uph ill s, offca m bers, logs , roc ks and ledges, Someth ing you wo uld expect wh en you go riding with a succes sfu l veteran offroa d race r like Harden. The new E-XC features a numb'e r o f refin em en ts ov er th e previ ou s model. The wat er -coo led, two-stroke, case-reed induct ion motor now has a two -rin g (instead of a sing le ring) p iston, as well as revamped cylinder porting; a new ex ha us t pipe, readjusted power-valve sett ings, a beefedup clutch a nd a lar ger airbo x. This all translates into a motor thatreal ly breathes fire. Wh en referring tl? dirt bikes, wh en A 16 most people hear th e word "e nd u ro" (as in end uro bike ) they natu ra lly thi n k, " O h, it must be slow, " as co m pa red to their mo tocros s-rela ted co u nt erparts. A few yea rs ago: that was 99.9% o f th e 'times accu ra te. But no t a nym ore , especia lly in th e KTM 's case. T he E-XC's moto r p roduces very MXish type power, the kind of power th at so ma ny serio us end uro riders have been seeking for a lo ng, lo ng tim e. The KTM is a quick revvel' and pulls. hard as yo u shift through its five-sp eed wide ra tio transmission. An aggressive rider wi ll reall y enjoy th e mo to rcycl e' s , responsi ve a nd so mewhat h yper (for a n end u ro bik e, that is) motor. Accord ing to Harden . th e E-XC's mill is nearl y identical to its m otocross 'bro ther, th e 250 MX mod el, except th e E-XC has different transmission ratios, ignition and muffl er (the E-XC model comes with a U.S. Forestr y-approved spa rk arrester ). Even though the motor is pretty pipey for an end uro bik e, it still is easy to control on tri cky terrain, wh en