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/1460403
SPECIFICATIONS 2022 KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION ($10,599) ENGINE TYPE 4-stroke, single DISPLACEMENT 249.9cc VALVETRAIN SOHC, 4-valve BORE X STROKE 81 x 48.5mm COMPRESSION RATIO 14.5:1 COOLING SYSTEM Liquid STARTING SYSTEM Electric FUELING Keihin EMS, 44mm throttle body STARTING SYSTEM Electric TRANSMISSION 5-speed, Pankl CLUTCH Brembo hydraulic, DS FRAME Central double-cradle-type 25CrMo4 steel SUBFRAME Composite body, aluminum mounts HANDLEBAR Neken w/ODI Lock-On Grips FRONT SUSPENSION 48mm WP AER Xact (air) fork, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION WP Xact Monoshock w/linkage, fully adjustable WHEELS D.I.D Dirt Star, CNC hubs, orange anodized FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL 12.2 in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL 11.8 in. FRONT WHEEL 21 in. REAR WHEEL 19 in. TIRES Dunlop Geomax MX33 FRONT BRAKE Single semi-floating 260mm disc w/ Brembo caliper REAR BRAKE Single 220mm disc w/ Brembo caliper TRIPLE CLAMP CNC milled; orange anodized SEAT HEIGHT 37.5 in. WHEELBASE 58.8 in. GROUND CLEARANCE 13.5 in. FUEL CAPACITY 1.9 gal. WEIGHT (CURB, CLAIMED) 235 lbs. Cadillac or a Porsche; very fast but in a refined, controlled manner. The other bikes, like the Yamaha, felt more raw and sometimes more fun to ride simply because of their wild power character. Map two finally gave us a blend of what we've been craving from KTM. It still has much of that top-end carry but now possesses that smile-inducing pop down low. The second map was our choice for the day as we continued to charge the track with some welcomed extra oomph. Power is everything in the 250 class, and with a bolstered-up mo- tor, the KTM feels ready to go toe to toe with the knockout hit of the Yamaha or the Honda. As for the quickshifter, the jury is still out on that. We're still getting used to it, but we are liking it more and more. There are times we feel it is a huge advantage, like stretching the throttle cable down Glen Helen's long and fast start straight and up the track's huge hills. We've got- ten to the point where we pretty much leave the quickshifter button in the "on'' position all the time now. It makes it easier to keep your momentum on the KTM, which isn't exactly always easy to do on a 250F. The quickshifter helps reduce bogging between shifts. Yes, the quickshifter is quickly growing on us. Traction control still isn't a game- changer for us on the 250 SX-F Factory Edition but at least now that the engine hits harder, it's a little more useful than it was before. Overall, we are already extremely impressed with the new KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition. KTM surprised us with a truly new-from-the-ground-up Factory Edition, but they certainly didn't disap- point us after riding it for the first time. The near future looks promising for the standard KTM 250 SX-F, indeed. CN RIDE REVIEW I 2022 KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION P118