Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

roots and logs, a nd the bac k end didn't hav e the tendancy to over-rebound and kick the rid er in the bu tt. Even on ' whoop-de-docs, th e back end tracked well and was very stable. The overall rid e a t both ends was cushy and progressive. At a claimed dry weight of 224.8 pounds, the E-XC isn 't exactly a feat herweight, but it 's well within the acceptable lim it. On th e trail, it feels light, but lifting the bik e is a different story. This has a lo t to do with not being able to get a good grip where you usually lift a bike near th e back o f the seat and the rear fender j u nction. You have to grab the fender and the edges d ig into your hand. It isn 't a p leasant feeli ng at all. Luckily, we d id n 't get stuc k too m uch duri ng our day o n th e KTM, bu t we su re wo uld n 't want to lif t the th in g o ut of a Blackwat er 100 mud hol e. In short, it needs a gra b handl e. An y rep u tation th e E-XC had for ha vin g a poor rea r disc brake is now a

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