Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ADVENTURE Assault an d bat t ery Life with the 199 7 KTM 400 RIXCe By Matt Freeman h e n I found o u t that I wa s i n v i ted to th e Thor / Alpinestars /Moose Rocky Mou ntain 300, I was stoked. Let's see: Ride 300 miles of so me of the best trail, with the best scenery that thi s country has to offer' No one had to ask me twice. I had riding gea r, I had transportation, I had reservations; the only thing I needed now was a dual sport bike. J needed a fOUTstroke, of cou rse, and so meth ing reliable, but nimble for my ISO-pound stature. I needed something th at coul d make a serious assault on fight, rocky, muddy terrain. yet also be up to long d ays in the saddle while traveling on pavement. Most of all , I needed som ething with a magi c button· the ever-so-appreciated electric sta rt. I needed a '97 KTM 400 R/XCe, and Scot Harden at KTM was mor e than willing to g ive one up for my long trek. The '97 400 R/XCe had und ergon e some substan tial chan ges sin ce the '96 model, and I couldn ' t wait to try it o ut. The big gest change of a ll is the new electric-start LC4 engi ne . First introduced on KTM ' s '96 Duke "e" street Spo rtmotorcycle, the lightweight electric start only ad d s eight pound. to the R/ XC, whi ch is hardly ev en noticeable. Granted, the 400 we ighs in at313 pounds dry, but the extra eight pounds o f electric start can be a lifesa ver when needed. The 620 R/ XCe also comes with the highly d esi red magic button in '97. I u sed and abused the electric-start button from the beginning of the ride until the very end, wh en I d ecided to manually ' ta rt the 400 with my left leg, just for kicks. I say the new red button o n th e '97 can be a li fesaver beCau~ it sav ed my hid e several times wh ile on the infamou s Alpine trail. Mo re times than I would like to admit, I m an aged topark the R /XCe in a spot where gravity - and my short legs - would not allow m e to use the left-sid e kickstarter. Luckil y, the electric start was at my disposal every time, even in th e w orst conditions, Ano ther change from last year's model is the switch back to W P inverted forks . The '96 came equipped with 45mm KTM Magnum conventional lorks which featured 11.8 inches o f travel. The new, rigid WP 4057 fork s also boast 11.8 inches of travel, but do not have the extr a underhang below the axle which the '96 had. Less u nderhang equals fewer collisions wi th rocks and ru ts, which, in my opinion, makes it a nice feature. Out back, KTM: ditched the '96 Ohlins shock for a matching WP 4681 BA shock. The new WP shock offers 13 inches of tra vel and, like the front end, is also fully adjustable when it comes to setting rebound and compression damping. The new WP su spension worked admir abl y o n surface s ran gi ng fr om th e hairiest tra il to th e 0 0t · 5 0 · sm o othest road . Manv o f the na rrow trails wh ich we encoun tered were overgrown with tall grass, which had the tendency to hide rocks, roots and any other obstacl es on or aro und the trail. Thi s was not a probl em for the R/ XCe, because I had two choices: If I saw th e obs tacle a t th e last seco nd, the R /XCe and it s 59.4 inches of wheelbase enabled me to quickl y steer clear of it - which is no t bad for a d ual sport bike ; i( I did not see the obstacle until it was too late, the R/ XCe and its 14.2 inches of ground clearance would ju st glide right ov er it like a Cadillac. Although the lro n t end felt heavy while on rocky, ro oted-out trails, it wa s a better tr ad e-off than bo uncing o ff eve ry rock in (or a lit) of sig ht. Be fore I ev en laid eyes o n th e bik e, KTM fac tory mechani c Tom Moen jetted th e California-lega l Qwik SiIver 11 car bu ret or lor the Colo rado wi lderness. Little did he know that r would be tak ing the R/ XCe to well over 13,000 feet in to the clouds. Regardl ess of the hu ge elevation changes, the carbu retion was goo d and the bike did no t have th e d readed cough-and-stall syndrome. The Qwik Silver 11 comes with a rem ote idle adjustment, an easy-access enrich men t lever for simple start ing , and imp roved pe rformance setting s over m od els from previous yea r~. With a 398cc engine displacement and a five-speed wide-ration tra nsm ission, the 400 R/XCe seems like the perfect alternative to the larger du al sports while rid ing in Co lorado. Even th ou gh the bike itse lf is mo re dirtrelated than stree t-related, it comes gea red very tall and with a street bike-li ke gap between first and second . This yea r th e R/XCe received a new first-and-second-gear W 16 combo for better transmission spacing and sm oo ther shi fting, as well as a sho rte r second gear lor faster accelera tio n. Still, the R/ XCe accelerates slow ly and, like last ye ar's m odel , is still d own o n power with the sto ck 16/ 45 gea ring. This ge ari ng is not recommended for serious trail ri d ing, an d Moen removed th e 16-t ooth counters haft sp rocke t and replaced it with a 15 bef ore the start of the ride. Thi s gearing worked fine on the roads and most jeep trails, pulling the high Co lorado speed lim its at low rp m w ith no problem. On th e trail, howev er, th e motorcycl e could have u sed a 14tooth cou n tershaft sprocket or a 48to 5O-too th rear sp roc ke t. Th e lar ge gap between firs t and second gear d oes not help the fact that even th e 15/45 may be geared too tall for anything but roa ds. The engin e ove rrevs in first an d bogs d own in secon d o n some trails. Luck ily, the clu tch is able to pick u p the slack for the tall gearing. Some th ing tha t m ay pl ease m os t everyone - even the non-motor cycle types - is the quietness of the R/XCe. no matter w hat the conditions . The twin-h ead pip e, two-into-o ne premuffler exhaust is topped o ff by an EPA- and USF5-ap proved Supertrapp spark arrestor / silencer. There is no better altern ati ve to th e s toc k ex ha ust sys tem, nor d oe s there need to be. ~ Pir elli ti re s ar e m ounted o n th e rims of the '97 R/ XCe instead of the Michel in tir es fill e d in ' 9 6. DOT· approved Pirelli MT21s are mounted on the bike and offer excellen t tracti on in the dirt, consi deri ng their DOT status. A IO.2-inch front disc brak e and a 8.65-inch rear di sc giv es the R/ XCe its stopping power. The brakes work well bu t, while de scending a long, gnarly downhill, I did ex pe rience rear-brake fade. After a littl e add ed fresh brake fluid . the problem vanished for good. So me th ing m is sin g from the '9 7 400 R/ XCe that would be nice to haw in all cond itions are the Acerbis Rally Guard -style hand pro tectors that came standard on the '96 mod els, bu t so mehow failed to m ake the '97 assemblv line . Something that I wish was mi ssing from the bik e is the center s tan d . Sure, it is co nve n ie n t during tire changes, but it is rea lly incon venien t to pa rk the bike on non- lev el su rfaces w hile stopping for a brea k or , little sightseeing. A regular kickstand wou ld make life easier While on the trail- but this is a minor com plain t. Finally, We come to the rock -hard seat . KTM is fam ous for this trai t and, on competition dirt bikes, it is a ve ry va lua ble trait. A hard, firm seat lasts longer and is be tie r for race situations , but not for a dual sport ride that ma y require sitting nearly all d ay. It is no secret that the R/ XCe 400 is in a clas s of its ow n, mainly because it is the only read y-to-ride out-ofthe-crate 400cc dual spo rt bike av ai lable in the Uni ted Sta tes. With a suggested re tail price of $6698, it is well wo rth the p rice. It excuses you from the hassles of building you r ow n m idsizcd d ual sport mount. Just ad d handguards and adjust the gearing, and you' re good to go make a serious as sault on or o ff the road. After 3DO-p lus Colorad o miles on the 400, I came to the realization that the fun I had wa s unrea l. The bike's sli m layo ut still permi ts the use of a three-gal lon fue l tan k which can take you wh erever you desi re. On the Rockv Mountain 300, I took the R/ XCe where the trail guides suggested I shouldn't , and the bike and I both lived to tell about it. "One h und red two switchbacks to go!" is all I heard all wee k about Colorado'. Alpine Trail. "One hundred two switchbacks?" I sa id. "W ho cares? Let's do it. I've got an electric start bu tton !" (Left) KTM ed ded e much-welcomed elect ric starter to the 400 and 600 RlXCe duel sport motors for 1997. (Above) The 1997 KTM 400 RlXCe was a great dual spo rt weapon In the high al1lt udes of the Coloredo Rockies on the annual Rocky Mau nleln 300 Irsll ri de. 1997 KTM 400 R/XCe S pecifications En s i n e type B o re and stroke Displacement Carbu retor Ignition Spa O'k p lug Exha u st Single-cyl inder. liquid-cooled a-stroke 95 X 56mm 39Bcc Qwik Sitver II. 36mm Rat slide Electron ic digital NGK D 8EA Twin-head pipe. two-i nto-one co llector with premuffler S ilen c er .... .EPA.approved mulfler with SupertrappUSFS· T r ans m i s s ion Fuel capacity S ta rting s ystem Fra me type Rake angle Front suspension approved spark arresto r f ive-speed. wide-ratio three gallons Electric/ kick Chrom e-moly _ 27 .5 degrees WP 40 57 1 65 Inverted forks w /11 .S1 inches of wheel travel Rear su sp e n sIo n W P 4681 SA shock w / 13 inches of wheel travel Front brake ..Brembo. dual-piston calipe r w/ 1O.2-inch disc Rear brake . .Brembo . single-piston caliper w/S .65-inch disc Front tire Pirelli MT2 1 90 /90 X 21 DOT-approved Rear tire Pirelli MT2 1 140/S 0 X 21 DOT -approved Seat height 37.8 ;n. Wheelbase Ground clearance 59.4 In. 14 .2 in. Dry weight '" S ugg e s t e d retail price 3 13 lba. _ $6698

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