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/127665
::'-aID G'M.P E S N. 1994 KTM 400 and 620 LC4 RlXC IN : R S IO I By Chris Jonnum Photos by Kinney Jones ditors of motorcycle publications are not immune to the effects of burn-out, a fact I recently discovered towards the end of a three-monthlong hectic schedule of race reporting, bike testing and recrea tional racing. Don't get me wrong - the job is great, but when your livelihood and your hobby are one and the sa me, it's only natural to hit a saturation po int. Luckily, just as my case of motorcycle burn-out was reaching critical proportions, I discovered the cure. What was it, you ask? A mo torcycle ride, of course - or more accurately, a dual-sport motorcycle ride on KTM's two newest models. When I firs t got the call fro m Scot Harden, KTM's resident P. R. honcho and h ighly re spected off-r oad rac er (Scot is one of the few people who may a ctuall y spend more time around mo torcycles than moto-joumalists), my bout wi th b um-out. had just peaked aided in no small part by a scary crash in Mexico that provided my first experience with ground-induced unconsciousness. My hesitancy to hop right back on a bike m ay ha ve been evi d en t in our conversation... Sco t : I've got g r ea t news, Chris . We 're in viting Cycle N press intra for our two new dual-sport bikes, the 400 and 620 R/XCs. U you can play hookey from the office for two days, I'v e got an epic dual-sport ride laid out. We' ll start from our office in San Diego and head eas t over the mountains to the desert town of Borrego Sp rings, then come back the next day. You're luc ky the rest of the ed itors are out eating lun...er , I mean, you're lucky I thought of you first. Chris : Hmm, ride you sa y? On motorcycles? Yes, we ll, that is - ahem interesting. Now th ese m otorcycl es, we'd actually be riding them you say? Yes, w ell, I g uess it is m y luc ky da...whoop s, lo ok a t m y ca len da r. I' m scheduled to proofread the want-ad section on those days. I'd ha te to miss out on tha t. Scot: But Chris, I haven't even told you w hen the ride is yet... Foiled again, I showed up bright and early at the KTM offices on the date in question, resigned to yet another two days in the saddle. Even with my bad attitu de, however, my attention perked when Scot led us into the back room for our first peek at the new bikes... THE PRESCRIPTION Despite the hoopla, the R/XCs really aren't "all-new" models. Sure, this is the first time they 've been marketed in the States, but Europeans have had similar machines since the LC4 engine was first introduced in 1988. This fact made KTM America's decision to market a dualsport bike considerably easier. The basic prod uct already existed, so all that remained was to wade thro ugh the red tape - admittedly no mean feat with our glacier-like U.S. government bureaucra(Below) KTM's LC4 RlXC 620 (left ) and 400 (right) are the Austrian company's fi rst entries in the American dual -sport market. Similar versions of both machines have been available in Europe.