Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

The Marzocchi literally han d les everything you throw at it. It wo rked when I came up short o ve r a long ta ble to p jum p at Rainbow (the SX 250 fork is identi cal), and it worked when I hi.!a 3inch rock at low speed in the enduro. The fork's spec ialty is soaking up small, high-speed hits, but it also does a good job on everything else. I d id hit the lowhanging sliders on rocks now and then, bu t it wasn't enough to deflect me off course. The shock holds up its end of the bargain as well, reacting to rocks and roots without d eflecting. The E/XC u ses a sligh tly so fter spring than the motocrosser, so the back end is a little wallow y lin fast . whoops and over jumps, but it works great at what it' s designed fo r - technical trails. In my opinion, this is the best suspension KTM has ever had. KTM upda ted last year's motor by giving the cases an acid-dip treatment and cha ngin g the cylinder porting. A flat-to p pis ton and a head w ith a d ifferent combusti on chamber are said to di ffuse hea t better and allow for higher com pression ratios. The reeds are thicker, the exhaust pipe is different and the shift d r u m and gear selector h ave sm oother shift-fork channels. The KTM' s motor is perfect fo r end ure s, providing plenty of bottom end and m idrange. Top end is n' t too im p ressive, but hey, good en duros don't let you use top end anyw ay. Delivery is sm oo th, w ithout any odd blips or hits, and trac tability rivals a four-stroke. You can lug the 250 down to crawl ov er rocks, then slip the clutch to accelerate like a dragster when you find better traction. After trail riding with the stock long silen ce r a nd bullet-typ e spark arrestor, we installed an FMF silencer with a we lded-on screen -typ e arr es tor. Throttle response improved a nd th e bike ran more cr isply, w hile vo lume increased only slightly, if at all. A wi d e-ra tio tr a nn y resid es in the gearbox, and I foun d it to have a few gaps, es pecially before an d after thi rd gear. I im agi ne ins talling ,a one-too thlarger coun te rshaft s p r ocke t wou ld tighten things up nicely. Shifting may be . slightly improved , but it's still not up to par with a Honda or Suzuki. When it comes to handling, KTM has opted for stability. The bike feels lon g and ta ll - perhap s a bit too tall for shorter riders. Subsequently, it will try to stan d up in tigh ter comers, instead preferring th e ou tsid e line . The bik e is extremely narrow and ye t the tank holds an impressi ve three gallons. Som e riders will no doubt compl ain about the rockhard seat, but I like it once it breaks in. Tall riders will like the room y feel of the bik e; I'm 6-feet-3-inches tall, and I didn't feel th e need for a taller sea t. By now it should be pretty clear that I was ve ry happy wi th the E/XC, b ut (Above) The KTM leels high and long. It's stable, but a bit hard to turn. (Below) The lork received most 01 the press this year, but the new Ohlins sh ock is also stellar., (Above) Out 01 the crate , the 250 ElXC motor Is ready to race enduros. Lowend and midrange are Its strong points. (Right) The new conventional M arzocch l Magnum 45 lork handles everything Irom big hits to rocks and roots. You'll be hardpressed to lind a better off-road lork. that doesn 't m ean there w eren't a ny compla ints. For one thing, the clutch exhib ited more drag than fashion-model RuPaul. In-gea r starts were imposs ible, and the bike would creep forward when in gear with the clutch all the way in. This was a bit disconcerting on steep downhills, as the motor would pull against the brakes and try to stall. When it did stall, the back tire would lock up and slide uncontrollably, since it was impossible to disengage the clutch. I had very little play in the lever, so I couldn't just adjust the problem away. 'ij\e KTM SX I rode a week later wasn't nea rly as bad, so maybe the E/XC just had a set of warped clutch plates. KTM continues to improve their controls, but they still feel a li ttle funk y compared to the Japanese bikes. The SX models ha ve Domino p arts, b u t the E/ XC is a combination of Domino and Magura. Fro nt a nd re ar brakes offer pl enty of feel , but I'd like a bit mo re p o w er up fro n t. The ba rs are now m ounted on solid cla mps, ins tead of ru bb er -mou nted . Th eydon 't tw is t in falls, bu t installing Pro Tapers wilI be an expensive proposi tion. Hex-head bolts . hav e rep laced most of the AlIen fasten ers, which will make most riders happy. I like th e fact th at the E/XC comes stock w ith a mechanical odo me ter, but the ca lib r a ti on w as off o n m y b ike. When I got to th e 2.9 mile ma rker my mileage read 2.0 - far too much of a difference to be excusa ble. Luckily, I was on the same minute as Jimmy Lewis, so I keyed off him for the rest of the day. I assume my bike had a bad odo drive, and d oubt that this w ill be a common problem. So you're probably wo ndering how I performed, armed with such a poten t enduro weapon and all. WelI, the firs t tw o loops were a little fast for my tas tes, but I h ad a great ti me o n th e gna rl y third loop. Unfortunately, my competition enjoyed it even more, and I finished a lowly ninth in the 250cc A class, 32nd overall. But please do n't blame the bike for my resul t. Apart from the clutch and odometer problems, I couldn' t have asked for a better steed. Kudos to KTM for continuing to improve their enduro b ik es, e ven though th e competition d oesn't forc e the m to make those improvements. Q While CycleNews believestheforegoing test reliable, it is the opinion of the reviewers only and should not be relied upon in determining the performance or sa fety of.the oehicleis). The reader should makehis or herown investigation. 1'99 'KTM250.ElXe '5 Engi~ e ' ..'. ~' . ~ ' . . : ." . . .SiIlgle-<:yJ.!nder, case-ree d-ind ucted, liquid-cooled two-stroke .Cylind er '.:' . . '. :. '. . : , i .. ,' : .Mahle NikasiI-eoated Exhaust . •. . ; : ' : .Twin Valve Con trol Power Valve ' Silencer '. .. . •. .. . . . .:: . . '.' .Muffler and USF5-app roved spark arrestor . B~re.x stroke . :" : :" : : : '. , : : . : . : : : . :'.- . .67.5 x69.5mm ·: Displacemen t ' ' ' ' : '.' 248.6<:c Transmi ssion : '.' ' ' 5-speed,wide-ratio . Pri mary drive '.' . : .. '. .•. .' , Straight-eut sp,ur gear, .26:70 d rive ratio . Final drive , . ,'. ' ' ' :. . : : : . . ;13/ 50, 520 O-ring cha in Fuel capacity : . .. : : : : < : : .3.2 gal. . Carburetor .: . . ~: :-. : . :: . .KeihinPWK 39serni-flat "D" slide Ignition : , : . . , . : .. :' : :SEMK ll, 12V/130W, lighting coil Frame . .• . . .. . : : : . .Chrome-moly; removable subfrarne; bolt-on sidestan d. Fork . . :;. . :: ' ' : : . : . : .Conven tiona l Mar zocchi Magn um 45/ ' . .. , .. . externally adjustable rebound/ compression ~~:,t~~~~ .:'.:.'.:.'.:..\ ': '.., ': t.:..;':'.':'.:' :.: ':':..:.-.:'::.'.i; i ~;:.: . > Fron t brake ' , .. : . : '. .IO.2cin; discdouble-pistonhyd raulic, organic pads.' . Front tire .: : :,..: : . .:. : .Pirelli MT16Garacross 3.00 x 21 Shock ,. . .. : Ohlins type 3A/Single, extemalIy adjustable rebound / compression Rear travel ; " : ; : . . : . .' ;' , , . . '." . . • . . . . . .13.6 in. Rear brake '. . ; . ."; .: . .' 8.65-in. disc, single-pis ton hydraulic, organ icpads. Rear.tire. : . , . . : : . , . .', '. . '~ : . . '. . : : . ; ..', , : . . .Pirelli MT16 Garacross 4.50 x 18 Seat height :..: ".' ' '.:. . ::. . ; : .. : :' ". . :.' .37.2 in. . ' Wheelbase . .- . '. . : .. : : ,. : ', ' : . . ' .' ;.' .58.4 in.. Ground clearance .: ,,: , . ; .': ': ; : 15.2 in . 'Sugges ted retail price .: .' '. : : , : .: . . : . ;:. '• . . . .., ; .. : . , $5148 . Claimed dry weight.· .. : '. ; ; ; , '.' :..:: ~ : ,'. '..224.8 lb. '<:!' 0\ 0\ rl 0\ I-< Q) "E Q) ;> o z 17

• Cover