VOL. 51 ISSUE 17 APRIL 29, 2014 P67
REFINING
EXCELLENCE
BY THE CYCLE NEWS STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
U
p until 2012, when the all-
new KTM 500 EXC first hit
the market, there were al-
ready some pretty impressive off-
road-minded dual sport bikes on the
market. Husqvarna, Beta, Husaberg
and, of course, KTM all had dual
sport models that leaned far more
towards dirt than street, something
that so many of us off-roaders have
been screaming for since the in-
ception of the dual purpose, or
now "dual sport," motorcycle. But
it wasn't until the 2012 fuel-injected
KTM 500 EXC came along that
we really got excited. As good as
some of the other dual sport bikes
were, the EXC was far better. It
was truly a full-on dirt bike with a
license plate on the back that per-
formed like a true full-on dirt bike.
But here's the key - right out of the
crate.
For all intents and purposes,
the 2012 EXC was simply a 500
XC-W woods racer with blinkers
and that's all. Okay, maybe not
all (it also had lights and mirrors)
but where it really mattered most,
We throw a leg over KTM's
updated 500 EXC dual sport.
It might be
a dual sport
bike, but the
EXC can be
ridden hard
like you would
a full-on off-
roader.
