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
.... 'R.'. ..INrIM R. S IO . 1994 K ID C P': .E S N: TM400and 620LC4 R1XC .'. . '. - -. ..: .:. " , '.. '.. ~ :. '-.- . '. . .:, :. (Lett) To set the bike on its centerstand, pult out the k1ckstart lever and pu ll up and back on It with one hand . The rubber pads on the pegs decrease vibration, but li ke the sign says , they 're slippery when wet. (Right) The seat Is com fortable, and you won't kick the narrow tum signa ls whe n you swin g a leg over the bike. The slack muffler Is hea vy, but Is qu iet and doesn't ro b muc h power. (Below) Stock geari ng Is too tall for most off·road riding, but t he tires perform quite well • on street ordlrl. (Below rig ht) It's nice to see a nylon fuel tank on a dua l-spo rt bike ; KTM's holds three gallons. The handlebars hold a number of Items not fo und on the fo ur-stroke dirt bike , Inclu di ng a keyed Ignition , speedometer and tum signal actu ator. to stall when pulling away from stop signs, th rottle response is lacking, an d some popping and surging is detectable u n d er e ngine br a kin g. Do n 't get u s wrong; the problem isn't a big one, bu t it is noticeab le. Also, the governmen t makes KTM put tamper-proof "pl ugs" on the carb, so switching to the E/ XC jetting (should yo u choose to d o so) wo n't be a simple five-minute job. Within minutes of leaving KTM, we had hopped on a freeway and were heading east towards the first d irt road . With stock gearing, both the 620 and the 400 are easily capable of freewa y speeds (and h igher ), with the former predictably getting the n od on top-en d velocity . The 400 gets the job done too, but doesn't have as much on reserve as its big brother; on a grade, the rpms will begin to fall on the 400, and the rider will have to click down a gear. When rid ing the bikes on the asphalt, vibration quickl y becomes bothersome on the 620. The aluminum bars and rubber peg pads do a good job of stop ping the sh akes, but on longer street rides, the vibrating tank will have the insides of your thighs feeling a bit "tingly." The sensation (which, by the way, is not as pleasing as it may soun d) is not nearly as noticeable on the 400. After taking an off-ramp and negotiating a twis ty mountain road for a few mile s, we soo n arrived at our first fire road. Both bikes felt righ t at home in the d irt, with the stock tires performing much better than the typ ical D.P. rubber. No, they don't offer as much bite as a full -on knobby, but they're a pretty good compromis e. Both bikes are good, predictable sliders on dirt roads, giving the rider enough confid ence to ride fairly aggress ively. For serious di rt work, you may wan t to swap the front tire for a D.O .T.-approved kn obby (av ail able from several companies) but a rear knob isn't necessary if you spend any time at all on the street. The stock tires are n' t skatey on pavement, but remember tha t they are d ual-sport tires. On e test rider (who shall remain name less) went do wn in a tight asphalt tum when his front end wa shed out as he imitated Kevin Schwantz. As th e fire roads end ed and we re repla ced by some good , tight trails, the off-road h eritage of the KTM s soo n became apparent, and I really sta rted to feel at home on the new bikes - especially the 400. Last year, when Cycle News tested the then-new KTM 400 LC4 dirt bike, we concluded our impression with the following sta tement : "To be honest, we feel th a t the KTM holds a lot of potential as a d ua l-sp ort bike. It ha s alread y proven to be reliable for street use in Euro pe, and the 400cc powerplan t is close to the perfect compromise for on- and off-road use." It wo u ld appear tha t we're either lucky or go od , (proba bly the former) because I've decided that the 400 R/ XC is indeed the perfect dual-sport bike. The 620 is nice, but for the way I use a D.P. machine, the 400 fits the bill perfectly. The 620 can get to be a bit of a handful when the going gets rou gh, but the smaller bike is confidence inspiring. There is onl y a three-pound diffe ren ce in claimed d ry weight on the two bikes (288-291), but on the trail it feels like much more. In fact, had I not ridden the tw o machines back to back, I never wo uld have believed the difference . My theory is tha t the ad ded gyroscopic effect of th e 620's heavier p iston and crank causes the bike to feel mu ch heavier than the 400 (which of course has less mass spinning away on a vertical plane). What ever the reason, the 400 is m uch easier to flick around, and isn't nearly as intimidating in rough going . I feel that the 400 is more in li ne wi th KTM's "barely street legal" d ual-sp ort philosophy, but admit that the 620 may be the better cho ice if yo ur idea of off-road consists main! y of fire roads. Surprisin gly, I felt that both the 400 and the 620 offered plen ty of power in stock form , even with the.hefty exhaust pipe. The po wer is typ ically fou r-stroke - broad and linear - and while the pipe is hea vy enough to pu ll the bike to the left when riding a wheelie, it doesn't strangle the power of the LC4 powerpla nts. Best of all, exhaust note on the bikes is downright qu iet; leave the stock pipe in place unless you go racing. The suspension on both bikes, in my book, is set up id eall y for dual sport.