Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

the sight of a tight, whoop-free, singletrack trail. Like the w hoope d-out trail, the single- track brought out some more of the ATK's strong and, well, not so str ong points. The long chassis and tall, comfortable seat tha t were so nice in the fast going, wer e not nearly as welcome in the rocks and roots. Judging by the tracks on the tra il we' d chose n, it did see moderate Use every now and then - by deer and foxes. Apparently, their chassis are better-suited for tight turns than the 406. Actually, the ATK does steer fairly well, as long as the turns aren't too tight. At a claimed 225 pounds, the bike isn't at all portly, so it d id n't feel nearly as top-heavy as the 605 four-stroke. Still, it is hard to bend around really tight turns, and heave n forbid you lose your balance an d have to put a foot down. Whoaa! The engine was per fectly suited for technical sections . It likes to be lugged, and it is ver y hard to s tall the engine. Sh oul d you sulidenly hear silence, the bike usually refires on the first or second kick, once you get accustomed to the left-side kick lever . Usually, you can just ride a gear tall and idle over rocks an d other obstacles, rarely even bothering to slip the clutch. That's a good thing, because the clutch pull on the 406 is brutal, or at least ours was. The lever is too far awa y from the bar, and pulling it in requires jizr too much effort. In addition, the plates heated ·up when th ey w ere abused, and what enduro have you ridden lately that wasn't abusive? Th e s us p e nsio n performed much better on the slow trail than it had in the whoops. ATK sells the majority of their tw o-stro kes in the Midwest an d on the East coast, a fact that is no t at all surpris ing to us . Back east, stiff suspension is actu ally a de tri ment. We think ATK may ha ve overdo ne it, but the bike does feel plush over rocks an d roo ts. The 406 doesn 't seem to be nearly as polish ed a package as ATK's fo ur-strokes, a nd the re were several small detail s w hich ha d us s nivel ing . On e was the nois!! level. We wer e imp ressed by h ow qui et the ATK thumpers were, b u t th e sa m e d oes no t hold tru e for the two-st ro kes . The long Cobra silencer probab ly muffles the soun d qu ite a bit, bu t unfo rtuna te ly, i t's not en o ugh for a go o d off-road bike. We suspect tha t mu ch of the n o ise co m es from the motor itself, r a ther th a n from the exha ust note . On the subject of exhaust, the ATK's pipe has a severe case of "the ben ds. " The thing twists up , down and sid e w ays before fina ll y swoo p ing d irectly over th e cyli nder itself. The FMF-like chrome-plating actu ally looks nice, and - apart from ap pearance - we have no comp lain ts abou t the numerous ben ds. Finally, the sub frame has a bu lge on the left side to clear the shock. Taller ri de rs m igh t n o tice it when ri d ing aggressively, but we adap ted fai rl y quickly. On the plus side, we love the Pro Taper bars an d wide pegs. We also like the a lum in um hubs a nd rear b rake ped al , thou g h you r foot ca n slip off the peda l on dow n hills. Ma yb e ATK could add so me teeth to it. The stock IMS tank m ay be a litt le wid e, but it holds a substantial 4.2 gallons. So exactly wh at type of customer does ATK have in mind for their 406 CC? Well the bike can be rid den (not raced) fo r lon g periods of time, w it hou t punishing the ride r's body too much (with the po ssible excepti on of his clutch hand). Much li ke KTM' s new 440 E/ XC, we feel that the ATK is best suited fo r old er r iders who a re mo re interested in tra il riding than racing. If this fits yo ur d escrip tion, then the 406 could be the bike for you . Oh yes, one m o re thing ... It d oesn ' t hurt if you're over six feet tall and live east of the Mississippi. C\ (Right) The ATK406 CC has a long 58.5inch wheelbase . Combined with the tall seat height, the result Is a very stable chassis. (Below) Like its four-stroke brother, the 406 features an alrcooled Rotax powerplant. The chrome-plated pipe has more bends than San Francisco 's Lombard Street. (Right) A linkage less , sidemounted WP s hock handles the rear su spension chores· or at least tries to handle them. M ost riders willrequire a swap to a stiffer spring. While Cycle News believes theforegoing test reliable, it is the opinion of the reuiewers only and should not be relied upon in determining the performance or safety of the oehicleis). The reader should make his or her own investigation assembly, manufactu ring, mat erial storage, s pa re p a rts, engin ee ring, . service, and research and d evelopment. Apa rt from actual as se mb ly of the motorcycles, the only m aj or parts constructed in-ho use are th e fram e and swingarm. (All motorcycl e m anu facturer s have some o f n addition to Mo rmons, their parts sourced out, including g r ea t deer hunting and H a rl ey-Da vid son and ev en the awesome skiing, the state Jap anese companies). Of the parts of Utah is quickly becoming k n o w n as t he h ome o f Four-strokes on the left, two-strokes on the right: The bought from ou tside suppli er s, all America's biggest dirt bike ATK plant Is a genuine motorcycle factory, complete with are U.S.-ma nufactured excep t fo r m a n u fa ct u rer. Wh en they an assembly line. the engine (Austria), susp ension took over the firm in 1993, Frank and Dale White (along with (Holland), brakes and carburetor (Iapa n), hubs (England) an d an investment grou p) decided to move the hea dquarters back most of the plastic (Italy). "We would p refer to have 100% of our parts manufactu red in the States," says Frank. "Unfo rtu to their home in Boun tiful. Utah. "It' s a great pl ace to build motorcycles," explains Fran k. nately, that's not always possible. We always look to Ameri"The business climate is much better. We get community sup- can companies first, but if we have to sacrifice qu ality, we go port, there are less taxes , and it's easier to go testing. I can elsewhere." This year, ATK has man ufactured a maximum of 12 bikes a drive five minutes and go riding, and the city and state are building us a motocross track right by oW; plant. That stuff day in their Utah factory (65% four -strokes, 35% two-strokes). It may not sound like a lot compared to the bigger companies, doesn't happen in California." . The ATK factory has 45 in-house employees, wo rking in a but ATK has come a long wa y under the leadership of its new number of different d epa rtmen ts. The 50,000-square-foot owners. After all, this is their first year, and they've got even bigger plans for the future. bUil~ing includes separate areas for frame welding, pre- Bountiful harvest I .1·9 4· :.TK40. . C 9 A . . .. 6C. : ·Specifications · List priCe';.. ...;..:.:... . ~ ::.'. i: ', :$4795 · Displacement '. :.:': '. :: . .•.; :c·.·, .. : . .:. .3.99cc . · EngineType .,-; : " TwcrStroke:Single' .Bore.X Strok e :.' :. :84.0 X 72.Oinm . Compression Ratio . . '. : , : . .10.0:1 Carburetion .: ': ·.38mm Mikuni flat-Slide .' "Ign ltion . . ; . . . . . : : . . • ... ... . ; . . .Electronic T rinsinissiDn Speeds : : .5, wide ratio Starting System : :-: '-.: , Kkk · Fuel Capacity · . : :': . : ; , ',l.2 gal. Wheelbase . : : :, '. •58;5 inc ." · Rake/Trail ,.. ~ ,~..'. .,. . ~..26.50 degreesI4.:? in. Seat He ight :. '. . ; : .:'. . : . . : ..... ; .37.0 in; Front Tire : : ..:.80/ 100-21 Dunl op K.490 · Rear Tir.e . , ', . :l i o/100-18 Dunlop K695 IT Front'Wheel ,Travel :. .. : •', : : .:. .', ,.l i .8 in; . Rear Wheel Travel, : : . ; ; 13.6 In. Front Brake . . .. ; . : . . : .Nissin d ual-pis ton; . , 9.3 in. stainless st eel roto r . , .:: . : ' Rear Brake : : : .: : . . :: .Nissiri d ual-piston; '. .', ,':- , . ·' ~.66 in. s tainless steel rotor . . Final Drive,' . ; . . .:' : :'.£? I.D VS ~rii:lg 520 Oaimed Dry, Weight:.:. . • , '. :: , . . ;, 225 lbs: ,", .. ". . . . . ' . .. . . . .' . 35

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