Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1994KTM 440 E/XC f the Open class is indeed dying, as would seem to be the case, then 0\ som eone had better tell KTM. The 0\ AMA has discontinued the big-bore r l division in National motocross for 1994, ... and the FIM has done likewise in the 00 International Six Day Enduro. But while ~ the Japanese manufacturers are either Q) devoting minimal dollars to any two~ stroke over 25Occ, or sim ply abandoning ~ the class altogether, the little factory in Q) Austria seems to expand its big-bike U lineup nearly every year. In '93, KTM's Q) stable of Open-classers included motocross and off-road versions of their 300, as well as a do-i t-all550, and for the new year they've added M/XC and E/XC440s: Is KTM simply ignoring the writing on the wall with their devotion to big bikes , or is there a method to their madness? That was our question, and the best way to find the a ns wer was to take the new est Katoom out and try it for ou rselves. Cf') I Q • ro 1 a son appeared from the line-up several years . ago. "We used to really sell a lot of 350s," explains KTM techno-wiz Tom Moen. "T he bike was very popular among older guys because it had good bottomend 'power and sit-down suspension. It was a simple, u tility-type motorcycle that you just couldn' t kill - even if you ran it on Pemex . It had some problems, though, mainly some gaps in the transmission, and we quit building the bike in '89 when we came out with the 300. We brought a few more into the country in '90, but that was it. Since then, dealers have been haunting u s to import the bike, and Rod Bush and Mike Rosso (from KTM's eas tern office) have always wanted to br ing it back as well. That's where the 440 comes in." Though the 440 is aimed at replacing the 350, it uses an entirely different motor. The 350's powerplant was based on their old 1985-'86 500cc engine, which had some gear ra tios tha t were too wide for the 350's mellow power. Also, while the old 350 could chug like a tractor down low and even rev out fairly well, there was a distinct "flat spot" in the m iddle. In 1989, at the same time Have we met? When giving the new KTM 440 a q u ick o nceover, the first thing you'll notice is the mod ernlo o ki ng cha ssis . Upon closer inspection, however, a very familiar looking mo tor w ill soo n g ra b your eye. At first it may seem odd tha t a bike with an all-ne w d isplaceme n t size would u se an antiquated p owerp lant, but the feeling of deja v u is n ot ac ci den tal - on th e contrary, KTM is hop ing th e 440 will fill the void le ft wh en o ne o f the ir most popular mode ls d is- Th e KTM 440 ElXC received the same updated bodywork as their new fourst rokes. The M1XC version has no lighting or odometer, but is otherwise identical. 14 that they did away with the 350, KTM in troduced th eir "new-generatio n" Open-class motor, which the y used in the ir SOO and 550. The main differences between the two mills were in the clu tch, the cooling sys tem and, of course, the tranny. The 440's roots are based on the newer motor, but this time KTM made the necessary alterations for a smaller-displacement motor. The bore is identical to that of the 500, but the 440 has a shorter stroke. Also, the transmission on the new bike' is unique to the 440, with a slightly lower firs t gear than the 550, and a wider-ratio fifth gear. The 440's chassis is identical to that of the 550, which was first introduced in '92. In addition , the all-new plastic bodywork that the four-strokes gotfor '94 Was also adapted to the 440. The bike got the new-for-'94 WP Bleed Adjustment shock and Internal Bleed System fork, which are both cla imed to allow for a wider range of effective external damping adjustment. Like Hu sqvarna did this year, KTM finall y ditched its oldfashion ed Magura brakes and levers for m or e - comf ort able Brembo units. The front brake lever has a notch near the tip, d esign ed so th at it will br eak there in a crash, rather than at the perch. We rod e the 440 in it s E/XC configu rati on, bu t the d ifferences betw een o u r bike and th e M / XC are minimal. To make the E/XC, KTM basically take s an M /XC and adds a head light, a tail lig h t a nd an od ometer (a nd changes the sidepa nel d ecals). Even the suspen sion se ttings on the two bike s are the same . So far, it a p pe ars that the new 440 will be at least as successful for KTM as wa s their beloved 350. KTM America is planning to cu t back on the number of 550s they order, and is increasing orders on the 440s. According to Moen, two shipping con tainers full of 440s ar e on the

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