small bump absorption has improved
drastically from just a few years ago.
This bike can skip through braking
bumps or take a big landing in stride.
The shock is solid, too, as it tracks
well even when the track starts to
deteriorate. It never felt like it wanted
to step out of line or get skatey, even
when the conditions were less than
ideal. The finger adjusters on the fork
and shock also make trackside tuning
a breeze.
Overall, the KTM was the easiest
bike to ride and simply the easiest bike
to adapt to over our testing. Our riders
made the fewest changes to the SX-F
and said that if they had to buy a bike
on Friday and race it on Saturday, they
would pick the KTM. Even the rider
cockpit feels less Euro than in prior
generations. It's hard to beat the overall
fit and finish of the modern-day KTM's
as they are truly a built-to-race machine.
Winning in your first model year is
tough, but the Orange Brigade brought
the heat and took the W in 2023.
WRAP UP
While the KTM stole the show, the oth-
er bikes weren't far behind. Three of
these bikes were all-new this year, the
KTM, the Yamaha and the Husqvarna,
while the other three received minor or
no updates. And if this were really the
movies, we'd see individual mentions
like the Honda winning best dressed,
the Yamaha taking honors for stron
-
gest motor, Kawasaki as best support-
ing role, and the KTM earning best all
around. More time with each of these
rigs, or bolting on our personalized
parts like bars, pegs, levers, etc., could
easily mold any of these machines
into a race-day superstar. But for now,
we take them as they are and wait
until next year to continue the next epi
-
sode of shootout action.
CN
VOLUME ISSUE MARCH , P115
