I always say that if you can
make consistent laps on a track without any one
component standing out in your mind while riding,
you know you are on a well set up quad. After
spending a weekend on the KTM, I can say in over
all ride comfort of the KTM even surpasses the
Suzuki LT-R450, in an overall quality feel while
out on the track. This obviously was no accident,
and KTM took a lot of pride in the lengths they
went to setup this quad to be motocross specific.
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After
just a few laps around the test track,
Kyle Dammann was right at home on the
KTM SX ATVs
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As mentioned earlier, KTM didn’t just
re-badge an existing model when designing what
they claim to be the most race ready MX quad
on the market. Minor details like the 5mm lower
seat foam, to the 10mm lower stem and even a
trimmed down fuel tank all add up to make a
very comfortable package. Maybe a slightly bolder
example is the 100% newly designed power plant
specifically built for the SX quad. Yes you
read correctly, the 2009 XC will have a single
cam engine, and the SX will have an all new
quick revving close ratio twin cam engine. The
fire breathing FCR fed powerplant has a very
deceptively smooth powerband. The SX never felt
flat anywhere throughout the RPM range. In fact
it was just as happy going into a corner a gear
high with a little clutch, as it was revved
out in second.
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All New
KTM 450SX and 505 SX ATV Engine
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The close ratio five speed transmission was
the icing on the cake for me. With the torquey
smooth power, I don’t think I ever touched
first gear as second had more than enough low
end to pull out from just about any foreseeable
situation. Our test track had a slick sweeping
corner that started out too slow to take in
second, but you quickly needed to jump to 3rd
as hit the straightaway. In my experience with
the modern 450 class four strokes, their gearboxes
can be quite temperamental. If you don’t
clutch at just the right time, or let off the
gas enough you are punished by a loud thud,
a hard lunge forward, or most often the quad
just flat out doesn’t shift. This can
cost you precious seconds when navigating a
motocross track at speed, and wastes unnecessary
physical and mental energy when it counts most.
With the SX’s transmission making that
transition under power from second to third,
where strain on the drive train is probably
at its highest, the gearbox doesn’t even
so much as disagree with your left foot. On
the gas, off the gas, clutch or no clutch, when
you tell the SX to shift, it submits to your
will. It even does so quietly, and without any
excess pressure needed. The rest of the gears
are engaged just as easily. I did find neutral
quite difficult to locate when pulling in the
pits after a moto; I assume KTM may have done
this purposely to avoid any risk of accidentally
finding it while out on the track.
