Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128353
We alrea dy loo ked at doing this at the time we were discussing whether to go to 250 GP road racing, but the development costs for this would just be too high to make doing so profitable for the 250cc street bike class. It' s a pity, because I know that bikes like these are lots of fun, and for sure we could fix the emissions prob lem with fuel inje ct io n. But we couldn't ever hope to charge the pri ces we'd need to in order to make a profit. A Q How a bo ut other model sectors ? You cam e very clo se to buying Moto Gu zzi six years ago, befo re bowing o ut and le tting Aprilia do so instead - which in retrospect seems a smart decision! Is t here st ill a ny interest for KTM in expanding int o t he cus t o m sect o r, m aybe by making an offe r for Guzzi now t hat t he group is being sold t o Piaggio? SChedule Saturday Gates open 6:30am Q A That's true. We started discussions a couple of #-\mo nths ago w ith our equ ity fund, PC Partners, which owns 48 percent of KTM,and after five years - as is usual in this kind of business - they want to take their profits and move on to something new. We knew th is would happen, so we had a proposal ready to buy the ir share, and it seems we have an agreement so that I and my partner, Rudi,will purchase the rest of the equity. We may bring KTM back to the market again at some later date and refloat it as we did already once in the 19905 before taking it private again; but that would only come after a successful on-road strategy, and for sure for the next three or fo ur years we're going to keep it a private company. And we're not selling out to Milwaukee! eN Save $15. Pre.-entries mu st be received by December 17, 2004 Race ~ - 10:00 am start - Lepe TBA ($iglHlp 809:30 am) sr., SSr. AB C, Genls ABC (5 to ma ke dass) to be in souvenir pro gram. All Rac. ,3 · 1:00 pm start -laps TBA{sigtHJP 10:30 · 12:30) SlDDD.DO All other C ooers . C women and D-36 B Women Pre-entry Post entry and aUPro Fomwla 150 Exhibition 8mlJ RltCe ... • 3 :30 pm start · 30 mloutes (Sign up 1·3 pm) J" Youltl (4-8 ~ · Youth course ~....., ~ k e c ,WIt Sunday Gates open 6:30am Race., . $60 Y outhlJr. Youth Entry Weekend Gale Fee Seniors (over 65) ""'I':.ow= jIthmJ lriu min lalli:u Kl!iIlI1l1i1! $75 $50 $35 $10 Free hyw rhl IU !lim W5th 8:30am start .1 hour (sign-up 7-8 am ) Youth (11 and under). Youth course Camping Fee (per da y)' $10 °RVs 30' or tess OK All others mu st camp in Area 5 or lower ranch except staff. sponsors , or vendors . Race.2 · 10:00am start -1 h(u (sign-up 8-9 am) Youth (11-15). Youth rourse Autograph Sess k!n -10:30 am NalJonal will use 2004 barcodes - keep your same numbers Rlden'meeting • 11:45am Main Event - 12 noon start (sogn up Pro, A &.8 Races 100% entry pa )tladl lo top 10 Pm Podiu'n pre sentation bOth days ~ 11 am) for more info: www.offroad ri der.com/hDllisternational for entry form or online registration P&D Promoti ons (408) 249-4336 Must meet sound req uirements, 96 db approved spark arrest er, testing available at the park before the eve nt. (e /lj1liz!prn) Honda _ " ~.. __... . .._ .... c u BERKELEY crossover? Eve n though it's rumored that your financial partne rs are loo king to sell out? Don't miss outl Ra~ It - 8 -JOam start - Laps TBA (sign-up 7.a am ) Formula 150 Q We did talk about this a little while ago , but the MAmerican way of doing things is different from in Europe. They just want to buy KTM, not to collaborate on joint ventures, as we 're used to doing successfully on this side of the Atlantic. So nothing w ill come of this, because we're not for sale! cc series ~ Youth Friday gates ope n to track, 3 pm Having a KTM ATV model range w ould make teaming up with yo u even more a ttracti ve fo r Ha rley-Davi ds o n, w hic h doesn't hav e its own offroad range but whose deal e rs would su rel y like on e . I know you've talke d with Harley at t he high est level in the pas t a bout a join t venture , se lling KTM dirt bikes th rough Harley dealers in the USA. Is t hat still on the table now yo u' re expanding in t o the road se ct or, even t ho ug h t here's zero model A ~ B/c and WANTED Friday Ilgn ups , Area 5, 2·5 pm (all classes) ~ A No. We only have limited resources for the road #-\market, and we realized KTM has a strong enough identity now in its own right to develop as a manufacturer concentrating on the sportbike segment, without looking at other markets. But, there 's o ne product sector we are thinking of entering soon , and that's the A1Y marke t. Look at wha t the Japanese are do ing very successfu lly: They take an existing mo tocross o r off-road 450cc eng ine and put it in a suitable chassis to make a sport three-wheeler. This is exac tly KTM's kind of prod uct , and with the way the market for these is exp loding in Europe, we can't ignore it. We already have the engine platform and a unique displacement in the 525cc mo tor, which is a litt le bit nicer than a 450 because it has bener torque off the bottom - which is important for a fourwheeler. We already got approached by Polaris and Arctic Cat, who both want us to supply the engine to them, but I think the best thing is that we do it ourselves - and we will! Saturday, January 8th and Sunday, January 9th 2005 Rain or Shine Gilroy Motorcycle Center IlANEMOTO Rl clng Z Clawson Motorsports H IIlIl I IlONl>A l'lWINS llLA II ~ ~ Honda of Modesto CycleStop Honda r-------------------------------------- ~~~~~~ o YESI St.u l m y s ubsc ript ion immediately to Cycle News. J yearl 50 is!>Ut'!> fu r $45 .0tl. (ca n be hilled 2 m un th ly p.l)·nwnb) Na me CJ _ .. ddn·~ s \ ':J _ Evvr y w cck fur two yt.. Us , ( 100 Issues tor S8(HlO) Si.", months secon d c las -, ( 2..~ Cily State Z ip Pho ne Q _ Order Da te r:J ':J Send to: ~ Inc. Bo x 50~. o Cos ta Mesa , CA 92628-508-1 Toll Free Subscrip tion Hotline (80 0) 831-2220 I'l t'.,~· hill rue 1 Ilw, ~- mt"T1 t o f S>4!i nill 2 payments tlf szz.so Enclosed ts my chec k o r moncy tl rd t'r C h.ugt· my ..J \'i!iol 24· ho ur FA X Order Line (71-1) 751.. 685 · [ "oMil: Subscribcescyctencws.com 6 Sig nature Ihis is" :J New 5u~ripti(ln .J Renewa l _ I ~O. tssues for $ 23 .UO) _ :J Md!' t",rc.ud _ ,tr,.. ,..... 1.... _ MC / Visa# Exp. Date ...). 2nd da-t.'-..d" or "'..... cu o ~"~~~':e~~~~~I~L lot ~-------------------------------------www.cycienEWS.com CYCLE NEWS • DECEMBER 8 , 2004 33