VOL. 52 ISSUE 24 JUNE 16, 2015 P81
2016 KTM 250 XC-F
What a difference torque makes. The new 250
XC-F just might have surprised us the most at
the Indiana introduction. To test all of the XC-F's,
KTM ribboned off a small portion of the facility's
GNCC track, where the new KTM 250 XC-F re-
ally shined. It seemed that the tighter and more
technical the course got, the better the 250
XC-F worked—far better, we believe, than the
previous 250 XC-F would have. Why? There are
a number of reasons but mostly because of the
bike's increased torque and bottom-end power.
This improved the transition from bottom to mid,
making the bike much easier to ride and to keep
your momentum up through the twisties. Throw
in the bike's improved chassis, lighter weight and
quicker steering, and you have a serious woods
weapon when things get technical. In fact, one of
our test riders flat out liked the 250 XC-F best on
the GNCC track.
Recently, we compared the 2015 KTM 250
XC-F with the Yamaha's new YZ250FX, and the
KTM came up just short. We're not so sure that
would have been the case with this bike.
The new 250
XC-F also
benefits from
better bot-
tom end and
lower weight.
