Cycle News

Cycle News 2023 Issue 11 March 21

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/1495339

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T he 300cc two-stroke motor- cycle is a mainstay in the off- road community. And for good reason: It's the Swiss Army knife of dirt bikes, the perfect combi - nation of lightweight handling, response, torque and overall rideability. In fact, for manufac - turers whose bottom lines are directly tied to off-road sales, 300cc two-strokes often are their best-selling full-size machines. Everyone from the world's top hard-enduro competitors to cross-country, desert, grand prix, and even weekend trail riders love the 300cc two-stroke because it offers a clear advantage over everything else in technical off- road and trail settings, especially the heavier and more physically demanding 450cc four-strokes that sit atop of the motocross food chain. For vet riders, there simply is no better friend. Today, the 300cc two-stroke is such an important component of the off-road market that it's dif - ficult to remember when the seg- ment didn't exist. This incredible sales success was born from a desperate need to make KTM relevant in the U.S. market at a time when the company was a very small player. Indeed, the 300 even helped pull KTM through bankruptcy in the early 1990s. Here's the backstory. The impetus for a 300cc two- stroke production model goes back to 1984, a much different time in the sport, and especially, in KTM's history. Mike Rosso, the techni - cal service manager at the time for KTM's U.S. distributor, KTM America, had logged comments from other KTM staffers, that 250cc models with longer strokes seemed to have more rider-friendly powerbands than 250cc engines with bore-and-stroke ratios that were closer to square. CNIIARCHIVES P112 BIRTH OF THE 300cc TWO-STROKE THE DIRT BIKE THAT ALMOST WASN'T BY SCOT HARDEN Scot Harden aboard the very first 300cc KTM two-stroke model offered in 1990. It was the 1990 300D/XC. PHOTO: KAREL KRAMER

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