Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

KIM A littl e ha rsh o ver the stu tte rs but mak es up for it on the harder hits; a definite improveme nt ove r last year's shock. - K.P. 1~5SX MOTO R HAND LING Th e m o tor is s tro ng, but th e s p re a d is k ind of na rrow. - Tim Sha rp Fastes t top-en d of its class. It has goo d m id . The th in g is a rock et. - Dano Lege re Awesome m o to r, feels modified . Decent bottom, s tro ng midran g e a nd th e top e n d revs to th e m o o n . - Chri s Sp renk el . Excellent top-end . Low end about the ..arne as the RM, but KTM p u lls fu r t he r . Very crisp top-mid overrev . - Jason Stro ng The m otor is very fast. The KTM motor I would ra nk second p la ce to t he Ya m ah a b ecaus e of la ck of bo ttom en d. . - ~~ ~ ~ The sX's powe rfu l motor allowed m e to ge t over obstacles th at o ther bi kes were n o t p owerful e nough to . - Matt Freeman Very ridabl e fo r suc h a s trong- ru nnin g motor. - Kit Palmer FRONT SUSPENSION The fork is a litt le bit tw itcl1y. - T. S. Whil e landing hard and corn eri ng fast, the KTM's suspe nsion works reall y well. - D.L. The fork felt a lit tle s tiff and harsh. It put a lot of shocking feedback throu gh the a rms on the ro ug her sect ions . - C.S. A litt le bi t soft o n big hits. 'o t quite as good at tu rning as o the r bikes. - ).5 . REAR SUSPENSION For huge jumps th e suspe nsion would be great. - D.L. Same as th e for ks . Th e shock felt too s ti ff and springy. In rougher s ec tio ns it was hard getting the power to the ground. - C.S. Deflects a lot on deceleration bumps, al on g with th e brake being too tou chy . - ).5. The sh ock is kind of hars h in big braking bumps . - C. D. Overall ha ndling o f th e bike is ve ry good, but it feels a littl e hea vy . - T.5. . On w hoo ped-ou t parts of th e track it d id not handle o r dcliver the pow er to th e gro u nd tha t we ll. D.L. The KTM was pretty solid an d stable and hand led pretty well, wi th the exception of the stiff suspen sion . - C.S. In fast-accelera tio n whoops, the KTM did no t feel very sta ble to me. Plus, it does not tum very well for me. - ).5. Ov erall, the KTM handles - at the very least - as good as th e others bu t with a slightly different feel. It only tak es a few laps to ge t used to. CORNERING The KTM love'S rut ted corners, a ltho ugh it kind of wash", out on flat comers . - T.5. It did not hoo k up like the ot her bikes when turn ing. - D.L. Turns stro ng a nd sm oo th. It likes to be th ro wn in to rutted ber ms. It' s a littl e s ketc hy on fla t tracking, mos t likely becau of the stiff su spens io n. - C.5. se Ave rage. - ).5 . . The SX is extre me ly ha rd to pu t in a rut. TI,e entire bike wa nts to slide sideways w he n 1 aim the front end to ward a rutted tum. - M.F. BRAKES Good feel and powerful. - T.s . The brakes are the best; stops on a dime. lt took a while to get used to. I was braking too early and then I would have to ga s it agai n, bu t I got used to it. - D .L. Str on g and cons isten t brakes . Smooth and comfortable. - C.5. The front brak e is awesome . - ).5 . The back brake is a little tou ch y until yo u get used it; front brake - aw esome. - K.P. CONTRO LS/SHIFTI NG Very nice clutch , Does n 't fade when hot. howeve r I mi ssed th ird gear more than on ce. - T.5. I loved the clu tch . lt was th e best and rea lly cas y to pull . D.L. All con tro ls a re nice a nd easy to reach . Hyd raulic clut ch is very nice. Sh ifting is eas y and smooth. - C.5. Clut ch is super smooth. - ).5. Th e clut ch and throttle pull a re top-notch. There is a lo t of detail in the controls . - j .5. The hyd rau lic clu tch works great. It has the best clutch pull, but I don't like the clutch lever. - C.D. You can't ask for a better clutch. - M.F. All of the above. - K.P. ERGOS The right-side rad iator sh ro ud ca tches o n my bo ut. - T.5. Th e ergos of th e KTM feel a littl e fat . Th e gas tank and the shrouds felt funny. It felt Euro. - D.L. Seating positi on is go od . Sca t feels too s kinn y between my legs while sta ndi ng. - C.S. Th e ergos of the bike feel a little bit di fferent tha n the o the r bikes . It's not ba d . just diff erent. - C. D. What di d yo u like most about this bike? Ver y solid su spension . Jt d ocs fe better than las t year. - T.5. el The best thing about the KTM is its top -en d pull and clutch action. The top end just wa nted to keep pulling. - D.L. Th e mo tor, clutch and shifti ng are very nice. - C.5. Motor overrev - ).5 . The' power is the s X's bes t tra it. Tha t, and the s tra ight-l ine handling. - M.F. No glaring faults . just lin a ll-aro und good motorcycle with horsepower. - K.P. What d id you like le ast abo ut this bike? Th e wor st thing abou t th e KT 1 is the sus pe ns ion. It's too stiff. - D.L. The slende sea t, and it is real slick too. - C.S. .. Handli ng. I never felt at ho me on this bike going throu gh wh oa!", or in the co rners. - ).5. Th e front fender. - C. D. The SX does no t turn for me at all. • M. F. The shorty d u tch lever. - K.P. Wh at cou ld make th e b ike better ? Th e bike cu u ld us e a little bit mo re low-end, - C.S. M ore 10\"" to m id and bett er for k. - ).5. A littl e more bottom-end. - CD. lt would be better if I cou ld get it to turn eas ier . - . .F. M Perhaps mo re b o tt o m-end , K.P. I fe lt li k e a h ero on th i b ik e because... The motor was a rocket. - D.L. I fe lt li ke I could go fast and atta c k th e• co u r-se with a mo tor like that , It was fu n to jump too, easy to man eu ver . Testin Crew Tim Sharp Chris Sprenkel Jason Strong Craig D avis Dano Legere Matt Freeman Kit Palmer Over-25 Pro Heigh t 6'2" Wei&ht 179 lb. pro Heigh t 6'2" Weight 175 lb. .lnt : Heigh t S'S" Weight 165 lb. Vet Pro Height S'S" Weight 1651b. pro Height 5'10" Weight 165 lb. Over 25 lnt MX/ A Enduro Height 5'9" Weigh t 155 lb. Vet Nov MX/ A End uro Height 6'1" -c.s. Weight 160 lb. It is really fast. - C D. I cou ld w h~}' ove r these weird camel-hum p th in,gs at Gle n Helen like I was on a 2ST. , '" '" '" - M.F. 21

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