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What Makes KTM The Dirt Bike of Choice?
By dirt bike mike | June 5, 2009
Why do KTM dirt bikes seem to be the bikes of choice. Why are they treated as though they are 'Holy Grail' rather than, say a Honda? What makes them faster, better, and more racable? What are the differences in KTM 250 and a Honda 250?
There are those who will say its orange and has fewer letters - which of course means there is more room for your logo - so it can be bigger. After all, that's what racing is all about - advertising. Right?
But in actuality, it's not the engineering that is necessarily better, but the little things like hydraulic clutches, and doing away with suspension linkages in favor of dual rate springs that make KTM arguably better. Their attention to details, important to the rider or a group of riders.
KTM has the SX, EX, XC, and XC-W and each of these styles has different things that are special about them, gearing and suspension tuning that allow the bike to be race-ready for the average racer right out of the crate.
And while the other brands were discontinuing their 2 stroke engines, KTM was continuing to research and design improvements and continued to provide consistent innovations to theirs and had the best performing 2-stroke engines on the market. So for 2 stroke engines, KTM had a corner on the market just out of sheer tenacity.
But with the major rule changes in Motocross to make 4 stroke bikes more competitive in motocross and being given a 125cc 2 stroke to 250cc 4 stroke advantage, the cheaper, simpler and faster 2 stroke bikes have been dying out and with it the advantage KTM has had over other brands.
KTM still excels in the woods and pretty much dominates woods racing because they spend tons of R&D time and money on developing the best woods bike in the world. KTM is known for having a very fast engine, but it takes more than a fast engine to win at motocross.
Bottom line, it's all about which bike feels better to you. Try both a KTM and several other brands including the Honda and chose for yourself. Ultimately, it's about what fits you and your wallet best.
Topics: Dirt Bikes | No Comments »
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