VOL. 53 ISSUE 13 APRIL 5, 2016 P57
welcome addition and helps sep-
arate the FE from the standard
version. Orange triple clamps,
an orange sprocket, ODI lock-on
grips and a trick front brake rotor
guard finish the list of differences
between the Factory Edition and
the standard model. Of course,
as the past has proven, this is an
early look into what the 2017 KTM
SX-F machines will feature. The
WP AER 48 air fork will mostly
likely be the biggest addition for
2017 while much of the bike will
stay as it was in 2016.
PUMP IT UP
KTM was one of the few compa-
nies still rocking the spring fork
in 2015 and while the 4CS was
slowly improving, it wasn't on par
with the Kayaba SSS fork. The
writing is now on the wall and
the 4CS will be gone from the
2017 KTM motocross bikes. The
4CS won't be horribly missed,
especially since WP has done a
great job with their air fork. The
new WP AER 48 only uses one
air chamber, meaning only one
air valve to adjust and fill. The air
spring is in the left leg and the
right leg is home to a new damp-
ing cartridge, designed to handle
the single damping leg require-
ments. Compression adjustment
is on the top, rebound on the
bottom. With the change to three-
pound lighter AER 48 fork and
the addition of the one pound
lighter FMF muffler, KTM claims
the weight of the 250 SX-F FE
without fuel is an astounding 217
pounds.
FEATHERWEIGHT
We recently spent a full day
testing the 2016 KTM 250 SX-F
and 450 SX-F Factory Edition at
Cahuilla motocross track. Like
the 450 SX-F FE, the 250 SX-F
FE is pretty darn sweet looking.
Performance-based changes to
the Factory Edition include the
AER 48 air fork, valving changes
to the shock, an FMF slip-on
muffler and a slight gearing
change. Otherwise the 2016 250
SX-F Factory Edition mirrors the
2016 SX-F standard model very
closely on paper. Out on the
track handling is improved thanks
The new WP AER
48 air fork is light,
performs well, and
is easy to adjust.
This is an air fork
done right.
The 250 SX-F FE
does an excellent
job putting the
power to the ground
which translates into
fast exits.
