Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

NEW BIKES speed of the damping forces. while the rate of progression is controlled by the linka ge and /or linkage ratios. KTM claims that the shock "is both spe edand position-sensitive, which eliminates the need for complex linkages elabo rately engineered to accom plis h the same task." KTM likes to call the new shock the "smart shock." claiming it' s the first shock wi th a "brain." KTM claims that by eliminating the use of linkages, yo u reali ze man y benifits, but the most important ones are the reduction of weight. increased rigid ity (by reducing flex and increa sing torsional resi stan ce ), and the fact that the shock can be relocated and mounted off to the side of the swingarm to accommodate a larger airbox, thus producing a direct air intake track into the carburetor. KTM wa s also able to design the airbox a little na rrower to give the bikes a slimmer profile. And another adva ntage of the no-link design is less ma in tenance, since there are significantly fewe r bearings and bushi ngs to worry about. All of the KTMs. exce pt for the 125 and 2oos, are fitted wit h WI' suspension components ; after all, KTM now owns a controlling interest in the Dutch suspen~ sion co mpa ny. These bikes also boast all-new , massive 50mm WP Extreme, non-inverted forks . The new 125 and 200 KTMs. however, use Ohlins shocks and 45mm . KTM Magnum (Marzocc hi) conve ntiona l forks. KTM claims that the 50m m WI' fo r ks "are the most rigid . flex-free com ponen ts yet offered by any s usp ens io n m anufa cturer. ..a nd are lighter and have less underhang than KTM celebrates in style By Camero n Coatney ure. KTM celebrated its first 30 years on American soil in style by producing tw o all-new limited-edition 125 and 200cc offroad moto rcycles. aswell as revamping its entire lineup. However. the real celebration took place at the Hard Rock Cafe in Beverly Hills. California, on july 31. when KTM Sportmotorcycle USA officially releas ed information on the 1998 KTM twostroke motorcycle lineup to the press and oth er celebrated guests. On hand from KTM at the celebration were Rod Bush. the company president; Jack Penton.son of company founder jack Penton ; Selvaraj Na rayana, company vice-president; Scot Harden. the marketing coordinator; Appie Hens. the design engineer of the new Whi te Power PDS rear suspension; and KTM factory racers Lance Smai l. Guy Cooper. Michael Lafferty . Scott Plessinger. jason Dahners, Nick Pearson, Russell Pearson and Destry Abbott. Special guests Lyle Lovett and Fabio were also in attendance and received recognition for their passion and support of the spo rt of motorcycling and off-reading . Representatives from Paramount Studios and from all of the major motorcycle publications were also in attendance. The celebration was well -received by all and went well into the night, but the real surprise came when recently paralyzed motocrosser Mike Young entered the bui lding and stayed on to celebra te with his wife, his Alex. for most of the night. It was great to see "Smilin'" Mike hanging out with the guys and getting on wi th bis life . which has cha nged so drastically in the last few mo nths . S KTM 's 30year anniversary celebration gets under way at the Hard Rock cafe in Beverly Hills, any other conventional model." A a ~ ~ r-, 0\ 0\ ,..... o N ..... rfJ ;::l 00 ;::l

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