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/801507
IN THE WIND P24 KTM PLANS PRODUCTION FUEL-INJECTED OFF-ROAD TWO-STROKES K TM unveiled its plans for two-stroke fuel-injection for its 250/300cc off-road bikes. Widely speculated to be coming for years, the official announcement from Austria fi- nally came Wednesday, March 15. The new models will be 2018 EXCs in European and other global markets, while the North American markets will see just the 250 XC-W in, "… very limited quantities in late fall." Following is from the KTM press release… "KTM is pleased to mark a major global milestone by an- nouncing that it will unveil the world's first serial production fuel injection two-stroke enduro machines at an official launch this coming May," KTM said in a release. "The KTM 250 EXC TPI and KTM 300 EXC TPI models will be introduced to the global market as part of the model year 2018 lineup, while the 250 XC-W TPI model will be introduced to the U.S. and Canadian markets. "The Austrian manufacturer is well-known for its revolutionary advancements in technology and now the game-changer is finally here with two-stroke fuel-injection enduro models being launched as part of the 2018 EXC range. With KTM's unwavering commit- ment to being at the very fore- front of off-road motorcycle sport, in which the orange brand has achieved many championship wins over the years, the latest, exciting development in technol- ogy has come to fruition. "It has been no secret that KTM's Research and Develop- ment department in Mattighofen, Austria, has been developing this technology, which offers consid- erable benefits over carbureted models including drastically reduced fuel consumption, while also no longer having the need to pre-mix fuel or alter the ma- chine's jetting. Not only that, the new two-stroke TPI models offer a completely new experience in terms of power delivery and rideability, which, once again, demonstrates KTM's commitment to its off-road roots, continuing on from the all-new generation of enduro machines released last year. As market leaders in this segment, KTM believes the new two-stroke fuel-injection tech- nology, known as TPI (Transfer Port Injection), is revolutionary. More information will be available during the international media launch, which begins on May 15, 2017." Joachim Sauer, KTM Product Marketing Manager, said, "This is an incredibly exciting develop- ment for KTM. We have been de- veloping two-stroke fuel injection for some time and our goal was to create competitive motorcycles with all the benefits of fuel injec- tion, while fitting into our Ready To Race mantra. There has been extensive testing and consid- erations for our Research and Development team to take into account during this process, so we are very motivated by this next step and world-first in technology, as we take a major step forward in this segment. We are certainly looking forward to unveiling the new 2018 KTM 250 EXC TPI and KTM 300 EXC TPI machines in May. In Europe the bikes will arrive at the dealer floors in early summer, and in the U.S. and Canada, the new 2018 250 XC-W TPI will be available in very limited quantities in late fall." CN It was coming, now it is here. KTM officially announced it will have fuel-injected two-strokes in its 2018 lineup.