Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Above) The s uggested retail price for the SX is S5048, so me S51 less than the Honda CR250 . (Above right) Marzocchi Magnum forks are standard equipment. At the other end is a fully ad jus table O h li ns shock . It too works well , but requires a bit m o re dialing in . th an the fo rks . Once broken in, it takes careful tuning to ge t thi ng s ju st righ t. We w o u n d up bump ing up both the rebou nd and co mp ression da mpi ng qu ite a bit. Wh en it's d ialed in, the back end works qui te we ll. KT M re co rnmends tha t yo u run 105m m of sag, bu t w e even tually ended up with 90. The liquid-cooled, case-reed-inducted motor has been retuned for better wo rking m idran ge to top-end p er forman ce. KTM engi neers a cco m p lis hed this by goin g to a flat -to p pi st on, red esi gnin g the cy lin de r head, and incorporating a more heat -d iffusing design which allows fo r high co mpres si on ra tios. It almost goes w it h o u t say ing th at the cylinder ports have been touched up, an d that the hefty exha u st pipe is all-new . Plu s, th e reed-peta l m aterial has been chang ed as welI as th icken ed, which KTM claims g ives th e SX m ore top-end power and longer reed life. To im p ro ve sh if tin g fee l, th e shift d rum's gea r selector has been modified t o im prove s h ift ing a n d m ini m iz e missed shifts. A harder, sm ooth er finish is u sed on the shi ft-fork cha n ne ls. Adding to th e finishing tou ches, the engine-case, ignit ion an d clutch-cov er fas te ners h ave alI been cha nged fro m Allen head to 8m m hex-h ead bolts for easier se rvi cing and greater stan d ardizatio n of faste ner sizes. Plus, the eng ine cases, ignition an d clutch covers are titan iu m an od ized , util iz in g an acid dip trea tmen t to give a "w orks like" appear ance. Th e SX's m otor is downright powerful, yet is extre mely easy to manage. There isn 't a ton of pow er off the bottom, but fro m m idran ge on u p, th e KTM h ooks up and p ulls h ar d . The p owerb a nd is s u pe r s moo th th ro u gh o u t, w hich no d ou bt gives it tha t " I can d o any thing" feel. It really is a confidenceinspi ri ng mo tor. Th e 250 SX m o t o r doesn ' t give an yth ing away to its competitors - it's fast and smooth . O u r bike came jetted a little on the lean side. While w e hardly noticed it on the tighter tracks, the KTM pinged har d . There's plenty of power on tap from the SX's motor. It pulls well off the bottom but really ta kes off from midra nge on up. (Right) The rear suspension is handled by an OhU shock. ns on lon ger, fas ter courses, particularly on th e s trai g h ts . Fu r ther inves tiga t io n found a #170 m ain jet in the carb, and a sim ple switch to a #172 cu red the problem a n d s li g h tly im proved pulIing po we r off the bottom. KTM says it' s not ou t of th e question to go as big as #175. The KTM is very comfortable. It's the kind of mo torcycle yo u can hop on and immediately feel right at home on . That " Eu ro" feel is for all intents and purpose s co m plete ly go n e, ana h a s been repl aced by pure co mfort. O ne rider said th at the KTM still feels a little big in ove ra lI s ize, but h e lik e d the add ed roo m . Only the sea t gave us something to comp la in abo ut. The two-stage p add in g is overly s tiff - it fee ls as th ough you' re sitting on the narrow side of a brick. But the alu min um-alloy handl ebars (w hich are now 8mm taller than before), grips, levers and overall layout left u s g rinni ng fro m ear to ear. The half-w a ffl e -d e s ign gri ps, m ade by Domino, are d ownright awesome, and all of ou r testers praised the handleb ar's bend. However , one rider d id mention that he felt that the di st an ce betw een the handl eb ar and the levers w as still to o far . And ano ther rider is still cu rs in g ab out the small pl astic frame guards by the foo tpeg a rea, which he s aid con stant ly caught on his boots . Even the Brem bo disc brakes work we ll. O kay, mayb e not as good as the Ho n da ' s cl ass- s ta ndard b ind ers, but good eno ugh . Some rid er s com plaine d at firs t that th e back br ak e w as overly se ns itive and g ra bby, but th is p roblem became less noti ceable after a few hard m o to s . Both fro nt and rear d iscs u se double-piston calipers and organic pad s. The re is plen ty of po we r at bo th ends to get the job done. We've rid den the KTM a lo t and have be come q uite fo nd of it, an d the Marz occh i forks an d easy- to- m a nage and p o w erfu l m otor h av e a lo t to do wi th tha t. Com p laints fr om our tes ters were few and far betw een . Wha t would it take to make the KTM better? Not m uch . We' d like to see th e b ike co me s tock with fork protecto rs . Right now, th e stanchion tu bes are susceptib le to di ngs and damage . Slightly sof ter seat padding woul d be nice , and perhaps a mo re progressive rear brake w o ul d sile n ce o ur p ickies t test rid er. Things that we especially liked were the Mar zo cch i forks, th e powerful, yet rid able mo tor, the alumin um su bframe, the Du nlop tires, the gri ps and handleb ars, th e beefy exh a u st p ipe, the new hexhe ad bol t s, th e n a r row sea t, a n d th e slick sty ling. Sim ply put , this is the best KTM 250 MXer ever. And it's affor dab le. 1"X While Cycle Netos believes the fo regoing test reliable, it is the opinio n of the reviewers only and should not be relied upon in determining the performance or safety of the uehiclets) . Th e reader shou ld make his or her own inves tigation. 1995 KTM 250SX SpecificaIions Engine type ....Single-cylinder, two-slroke, case-reed induction, liquid-eooled Cylinder Mahle Nikasil coated Exhaust TVC Twin Valve Control power-valve Sileneer .Aluminum Bore xstroke 67.5x 69.5Omm Displacement 248.6cc Transmission 5-speed, closeratio Finsl drive 13-50520 chain Fuel capacity 2.4 gal. Carburetor Keihin PWK 39mm '0" slide Ignition SEM digital controlled Frame type ChromlHllOly, . aluminumsubframe Fork KTM Magnum Marzocchi 45mm conventional Frontwheel travel 11.8 in. Rake angle 27.7degrees Front brake 10.2-in. disc, double piston Front tire Dunlop 701,801100 x21 in. Shock Ohlins type 3A/16 shaft, mm ext. rebound & compression adj. Rear wheel travel : 13.3 in. Rear brake 8.65-in. disc, double piston Rear lire Dunlop 701 ,106/90 x 19 in. Seat height 37.2in. Wheelbase 58.3 in. Ground clear nce a 15.2 in. Claimed dry weight 218.2Ibs. MSRP $5048

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