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/128614
un derway . S imply put, it 's ve ry e a s y to get us ed to an ele ctric starter. The starter is litera lly electric , but the LC4 m otor is s eem ing ly so. A n ic e -l o ok ing SuperTrapp exhaust (no t a d isc type ) th a t's stealth ier than a n on -baffl ed WR400 co ul d e v e r dream of b e ing , p a ir ed with dual sport tuning , den y th e ride r th at e yebulg ing , a rm - yank ing , e a r- ri n gi n g sensation so commonl y encountered on high -strung four -strok es , replacing it wi t h a cal m, qui e t , co n t ro lla b le spread of pow e r. But towards the end of a long day in th e saddle (a nd often at the beginning ) , one 's appetite for bu lged eyes , ya nked arms and rung e ars tends to d iminish . Not onl y is smooth pow e r m or e plea sant for tool- , SPECIFICATIONS ZOOO K1M 400 LC4 DUAL SPOR T LI ST PRICE $6798 DISPLACEMENT 398cc ENGINE TYPE _. Liquid-cooled. slngle-cyhnder. fo ur-stroke wi fo ur valves . ove rhead cam . automatic decompression system , cou nterbalancer. and Nikasil-coated cylinder LU BRI C ATIO N . . . Pressure circulation . 2 Eaton pumps EXH AUST . . Twin head pipe. 2-into-l collector . with pre -muffler SILENC ER . . . EPA-approved muffler wi SuperT rapp USFL spark arrestor BORE x STROKE . _ 89 x 64mm CARBUREnON . .. . 40mm Mikun i BST IGN ITIO N . . . Kokusan Electronic Digital. wit h hghting coil (12V-200Wl TRANSMISSION 5-speed ElXC ing down fire roads, bu t it makes for better t ra ction ov er s lip p e ry ro c k s a n d off -camber singl e track . It wouldn 't be an exaggera tion to say that m y dua l-sport b ike was better suited for the Nevada 200 than most of th e "m ore s erious" machines there . At th e very least, I never fe lt at a d is advantage - with the possible excep t ion o f the FMF Summit hi llcl imb which I wisely o pted to simply wa tch . One area where the LC4 was defi nitely an advantage was in fuel con sum ption . Har rison and I ju st igno red the fuel sto ps ; on the 100-mile s econd day , my b ik e made it to 72 mil es befor e it had to be switched to res e rve , after whic h it made it to within thr e e m iles of the finis h. Not bad for a thr ee gallo n tank , es pec ia lly c ons iderin g that most of the da y was on trails. Pur chase a big tank, and yo u co uld ride Baja fire roa ds to yo ur heart's conte nt. Sa id fire roa ds will be hand led with ap lom b by th e WP s us pens ion, wh ich is s up p le e no ugh th at the rider won 't feel o ut of place du ring mellow going ; (Ab ovel From bottom to top, th is photo shows the KTM 's grab handles, battery, radiator fan, and aluminum ha ndlebar. (Leftl A conventional WP fork and a huge fro nt brake disc are standard equipment on the LC4. many riders on full-on d irt mounts . Of course the KTM's nearly 300pound we ight isn' t always its friend. The bike res ists be ing thrown from sid e to side, and prefers to be given a bit of rein in the handling department. Even on ba ck -and-forth si ng le trac k , I had mu ch better luck if I rode a gear high and let the front tire pic k its own line , than I d id when I br a ke -sli d th e re a r a nd tried to be overly precise with the fron t. O nce yo u learn how to ride it, the LC4 le ts you cove r g round qu ickly while ex pending minimal e nergy . Expend ing m inim al e ne rg y is what d ual-sporti ng is a ll a bo ut, bu t th e cove ring ground q uickly pa rt is a bit u ne xp e c ted . Tha t' s beca use d e sp ite the co m p romises necessi t ated for ada p ti ng t h e b ik e ' s mid dle -of-th e road sta nce, in m a ny ways , the LC4 out- performs m o re s pecialized bike s at t he d isparate ends of t h e dual sporting spectrum. As a ny good Buddhist ca n te ll you, moder a tio n c an bring s t rang e a n d u nex pected benefits. eN I've ridden converte d dirt b ikes th at gobbl ed up gnar ly trai l but literall y ma de pa vement a pain in th e a ss. Not that the LC4 is out of pla ce on tra ils. Just as its friendly m ot or is s urpr isingly competent in technical conditions , th e fo rk a n d s hock a mazed m e w it h t heir ab il it y to t am e the na sty . Ye s , the s p rings a re too soft for hammering whoops (I blew both fork seals tryi ng) , but t his works to th e bike's advantage in rocks. The heavy bike stays pu t , w h ile the softish springs let the whe e ls react to the terrai n , and Har rison and I had an eas ier time of it in th ese conditions than d id wide ratio STARTING SYSTEM Elect ric/ kick FUEL CAPACITY _.. 3.0 gal. WHEELBASE 59 .5 in. RAKE 27.5· SEAT HEIGHT 37.6 in. FRONT TIRE Mi chelin 90/90-21 REAR T IRE Michelin 140/80-18 FRONT SUSPENSION WP 5060 KTM - Extreme - 50mm conventi onal fork w~ 11.0 in. t ravel REAR SUSPENSION WP monoshock wi Pro Lever hanging kit and 12.6 In. travel FRO N T BRAKE Brembo double-piston caliper w/3 00mm disc & organic pads REAR BRAKE. . . . Brembo single·pist on caliper wi 220 mm disc & organic pads FI N A L DRIVE 520 O-ring chain C LAIMED DRY WEIGHT .. .. 299 lbs. cue I e n e _ S • A PRIL 1 2 , 2 0 0 0 39