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KTM’s rapid developments come with their issues. People are starting to realise that they don’t perform as good as they look.
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Ktms look great on paper, but ownership reveals they aren’t perfect. Over the last theee years I’ve had husky’s ktms and Hondas, each has their pro and cons. No way can you say Japan has been left behind in performance.
Yamaha on the other hand did start the 4Stroke Revolution, had the Powervalve, Mono-Shock, they even got the reversed Engine running to an very high Level
KTM bought Husaberg to get their 4 Stroke engines Reliable with the Husaberg design (which was also based on older Husky 4strokes), took their ready to race slogan and buried them afterwards. They are good in marketing/promoting, their bikes are very light and they spent a fortune on riders to get their wins (win on sunday sell on monday) which are cruciual for them as they rely on them as most of their bikes are race bikes...
Anyway- we can all be happy there are still some companys around building bikes to our likings- there is a specific bike to suit any costumer- so lets just be happy and ride them.
Yes they do
KTM came out lighter bikes.
KTM came out with TPI and TBI-2-strokes.
KTM came out finger followers for MX 4-strokes.
KTM came out with mapping/launch control switch.
KTM came out with E-5 electric kids MX.
Other factories have followed them so they have some things that changed the sport.
And I do ride Yamaha.
Pit Row
The thing that cracks me up is for years MXA has been shitting on the weight of the Japan brands and now this new KTM weighs more than the previous Gen. In their test they said they liked the additional weight because it’s more stable and the weight added was from “trick” parts. They just can’t help themselves.
Steel clutch basket, thin friction steel core clutch plates (Rekluse copied them here), diaphragm spring clutch, hollow pin clutch hub, hydraulic clutch actuation, amazing brakes, light weight, counterbalanced 2 stroke, fuel injected 2 stroke.
The idea that KTM bought husaberg to somehow increase their engine reliability is laughable considering the RFS engine line is arguably one of the most bulletproof “modern 4st” engines ever designed… one of the mags did an ultra long term review on a 400 with over 20,000 miles on it and said, that the Japanese should be embarrassed at their maintenance schedules and should take note at the lifespan of the KTM engines… this was WAY WAY before KTMs were so mainstream and were still considered “odd European” bikes. I think they said that they really didn’t even need to change the piston but did simply because they had it apart.
There is so much tech that has been brought to the game in the last decade by the Austrians that is now used by other manufacturers that people like yourself have either conveniently forgotten or don’t even realize.
I get that most people have their favorite color… but it blows my mind that people like to shit on companies who have brought innovation to the table that all companies have either added to their products, or been forced to innovate against to stay competitive.
In the end we all win
Beta actually used the KTM RFS engines in their bikes the first several years that they offered 4 strokes… that has been in this last decade
Q: WHAT DID IT WEIGH?
A: Initially, the KTM engineers told us that the Factory Edition was "4 pounds heavier, more or less" than the 2022 production 450SXF. The "more or less" comment scared us. It could have meant that they knew exactly what it weighed and didn’t want to tell us or that they didn’t know what it weighed and were guesstimating. We drained the gas tank and weighed the bike ourselves. It weighed a surprising 231 pounds. That is 8 pounds more than the 2022 production bike.
That sounds bad, but we give KTM the benefit of the doubt, because: (1) Even at 231 pounds, it is still the second lightest 450 motocross bike after the 222-pound GasGas MC 450F. (2) The Factory Edition is littered with "added value parts" that not only add value but add weight. (3) By our calculations, the Factory hubs, rims, cross-three spoke pattern, skid plate, front rotor guard, pleated seat cover, wider front fender, split triple clamps, hybrid aluminum/plastic subframe and "forged" head tube cradle, shock tower, frame gusseting, motor mounts and head stay brackets all add approximately 4 pounds. (4) If you subtract 4 pounds from 231 pounds, you get 227 pounds ("more or less") for the yet-to be released 2023 production 450SXF.
Their logic (and maths) is so far off its kind of embarrassing. Somehow the following parts are exclusive to the FE and won't make it to the 23 production bikes.....
".....wider front fender, ..... , hybrid aluminum/plastic subframe and "forged" head tube cradle, shock tower, frame gusseting, motor mounts and head stay brackets all add approximately 4 pounds."
WTF ?!?! So the production bike won't get the new frame, subframe, motor mounts, head stay and shock tower?!?
But if we are talking innovation i would say ALTA and Cannondale where the most Innovative Brand in the last 25 Years, Alta because they had a brand new Product which was great from the beginning, Cannondale for the creativity- Electric start, eFI, Backwards engine... it just wasnt engineered right.
Post a reply to: Innovations 2022: Stark new E-MX, KTM modern 2-T and big4 from Japan BNG.