VOLUME ISSUE MARCH , P113
Rosso surmised that taking one
more step—matching the longer
stroke with a slightly larger 71mm
piston—might produce something
special. Unbeknownst to anyone
in management at KTM, Mike mar
-
ried these components in a 1984
KTM 250, making a 273cc version
of the bike. Test rider after test
rider immediately fell in love with
the powerband and raved about
the engine's rideability.
As a covert race test, Rosso
quietly prepared a prototype for
Dirt Bike magazine editor Tom
Webb, who entered the bike in
the 1985 Blackwater 100, billed
as "America's Toughest Race,"
the hard enduro of its day. Ac
-
cording to Webb, the bike was a
clear winner. It was powerful and
fast with great low-end grunt, but
light and nimble like the 250cc
model on which it was based.
In 1985 and '86, KTM pro-
duced a small run of 300s based
on Rosso's 273cc engine pack-
age and the 250cc chassis. With-
out any real marketing behind it,
however, the bike mostly went
unnoticed—the best-kept secret
of its day. Next, KTM sleeved
down an existing 500cc engine
to 350cc and offered it as part of
its 1987, '88, and '89 model lines,
dropping the 250cc-inspired 300.
Instead of a lightweight, nimble
250 on steroids, they got a heavy,
underpowered 500 that was a bit
dated and, ultimately, a disap-
pointment on the sales floor.
By 1987, U.S. KTM sales had
bottomed out at fewer than 1000
units. Something needed to
change, and in March, 1988, Rod
Bush was named president of
KTM America. Those who know
anything about the history of KTM
and its phenomenal success
know what a huge impact Bush
had on the company's direction
and culture. I was fortunate to join
Rod and another industry legend,
Selvaraj Narayana, as western re
-
gion sales manager in July of that
year, and later, as VP of marketing.
We all knew making KTM relevant
would be a challenge, so from a
product-planning perspective, we
had to be innovative.
That first year, 1988, was
significant in many other ways for
KTM. One of the founders, Erich
Trunkenpolz (the "T" in KTM), sold
controlling interest in the factory
to GIT Trust Holding and as a
result his "voice" at the factory
became less influential. At the
time, KTM Austria consisted of
three business divisions: motor-
cycles, bicycles and radiators. GIT
installed a new group of manag-
ers, who were highly educated but
with no motorcycle experience.
Each manager had "Dr." as part
of his title. There was a Dr. of
Marketing, a Dr. of Engineering,
and so on. So many key staffers
with Dr. in their titles was a little
intimidating. In self-defense, we
came to call KTM Austria the
"hospital staff" to describe the
corporate environment at the
time. Fortunately, we had a pow
-
erful ally inside the factory, some-
TWO-STROKE OFF-ROAD MOTORCYCLE:
WASN'T
KTM's entire model range in
1990 included three 300cc models:
D/XC, E/XC and MX.
