Three Kings!
Published: 10th August 2007
Author: Geoff Walker Photos by Sutty
Are KTM's new trio of thumping enduro weapons up to the task of heisting off-road gold?
All too often motorcycle manufacturers' new models aren't actually new and instead of delivering a bevy of brand-new beauties to our local dealership they offer up machines with revised this, modified that and a revamped the other. But for 2008 KTM have properly thrown caution to the wind, pushed the boat out and gone the whole nine yards to basically reinvent their bigger bore enduro thumpers while giving their awesome 250F off-road weapon a damn good tweaking too.
Ditching the ever dependable but dull as ditch water EXC450 and 525s in favour of all-new EXC-R 450 and 530 models is pretty much the best thing KTM could do for its E2 and E3 class warriors. While the old-school big bore EXCs were proven to be performers - both David Knight and Samuli Aro pushed that point home in the last few years - they were perhaps a little too old-school to be cool when compared to their Japanese class-mates.
It's fair to say that the 2007 EXCs were their '04s but with subtle revisions and improvements, however for 2008 both bikes are brand new - new motors, new chassis, new look and a new R tagged on to their model name EXC-R. That's R for Racing. I like it...
The all-new motor is a four-valve, single cam unit named the XC4. The 450 motor is a half kilo lighter than its predecessor and now runs a shorter stroke and bigger bore than before while the 530 - actually it's a 510 - uses the same bore and stroke as this year's bike. A bigger bore for the 450 means bigger valves can be used and a 50/50 mix of titanium (inlet) and steel (exhaust) valves take care of the freshly charged and spent gases.
At the lower end of the power plant the countershaft no longer runs through the crankcases which helps decrease engine drag and increase oil flow. The motor and gearbox oil are now separate preventing clutch debris contaminating the finer workings of the motor and the best news of all is that there's now only one oil filter to change!
KTM's well tried and tested electric start system is of course fitted on all three bikes meaning one flick of the red button is all it takes to entice the motor to life but unlike the motocross version the EXC-Rs and EXC-F retain the kickstart lever as back up.
The chassis on the full range of bikes looks similar to that of the SX-Fs using big fat beams of chromoly steel to join the tidy looking lower frame rails to the top tube while there's a fully removable aluminium sub-frame to the rear.
Suspension is taken care of by WP - that's using 48mm USD forks up front and a PDS shock out t' back. The shock is brand new with a 10mm longer stroke than the one found on the old EXC and now features both high and low speed compression damping. The forks come with new works style wraparound fork guards for '08 meaning there's less chance than ever of damaging the fork legs or their friction-reducing coating.
The bodywork is mostly borrowed from its motocross cousins and while it may not be to everyone's taste the sleek contours of the rear end certainly do stand out from the pack. The lights at both ends of the bikes are fairly functional although the front beam points way too high to be of any use when night riding - thank god for companies like Trailtech eh?
Aside from the more obvious features one of the biggest improvements is with the side stand. KTM stands have been notoriously crap in the past, which has encouraged aftermarket companies such as Baseline Racing to engineer a fix for the foot of the stand which rectifies the problem. The '08 edition now has both a bigger foot and meets the ground at an angle more conducive for keeping the bike upright when parked. Problem solved and dealt with - well in KTM!
As with all full size KTM bikes the quality of componentry is impressive - Neken bars, Renthal grips, excel rims and a whole host of well engineered KTM parts finish these bikes off in style. Anyway enough of the drivel let's get with the riding...
Since I'm fairly used to riding KTM's 250EXC-F [Geoff's lucky enough to have one as a long-term test bike] I figured that would be a good place to start. The first thing you notice is how much better the suspension works on the '08 bike - it's much plusher and encourages you to push harder than on the '07 machine.
The revised timing settings and new ignition curve have really helped bring the motor alive too. The difference is amazing and the '08 bike feels so much stronger throughout the range than the '07 - even one with a pipe fitted. And because the motor's so much livelier and free revving it helps the whole bike feel lighter and racier than before.
The Brembo brakes feel very progressive and positive and got better and better the more they bedded in.
The gearing on the EXC-F has always been superb and KTM have wisely stuck with what works as all six gears are usable and well spaced.
Overall the bike feels light and well balanced with the strong motor - I never once felt like I needed more power or was in the wrong gear - making it easy to ride fast for a long period of time. This bike is suitable for all levels of rider from trail rider to pro racer straight from the crate - impressive!
In the past I've never really liked KTM's 450 enduro weapon. It has always been a great bike but the abundance of power has always seemed to make the bike handle a little bit on the strange side - unbalanced maybe.
But the '08 is a much more enjoyable machine to ride. Within moments of jumping on the bike I just had to stop and tell Sutty - who seconds earlier had slipped on a muddy patch and launched his Canon into a prickly bush - just how superb the front forks felt. While he didn't seem all that interested at that point I feel that the new suspension settings and fork leg coating are the *******s and should be shouted about!
The well-balanced nature of this beast encourages you to chuck it into turns hard and it also speeds over rough, rocky and rooty going with no worries either. As a complete package the handling is very impressive and my hat is off to KTM as they've turned the 450 into a bike I actually enjoy riding.
The new XC4 motor has a tendency to light up a bit on the lively side and break grip in the proper British off-road conditions the bike was tested in. Once you've lost it you ain't getting it back but that's a trait of 450 four-stroke motors in general and not purely a problem with the KTM set-up.
To be fair the motor does seem more controllable than the old 450 as the hard hitting low-end punch of old has seemingly been spread across the range. In grippy going the new XC4 motor feels infinitely better than the one of old as it's a much racier set-up than before.
The 530 retains the same bore and stroke as the old bus which means it's still easy to ride smoothly in tall gears. The 510cc motor delivers so much torque it's possible to cover ground super quickly with the motor barely revving above tick over with more noise coming from the slapping of the bike's drive chain than from it's tidy looking and sweet sounding silencer.
In some ways this bike feels much smaller than the numbers on the airbox lead you to believe. It handles well and encourages you to crack right on - a perfect blend of man-size power in a well-balanced chassis - getting you to your final destination way quicker than you'd ever expect in a nice pleasurable Sunday ride out kind of way!
250 EXC-F
Capacity: 248.6cc
Bore and stroke: 76mm x 54.8mm
Transmission: Six-speed
Carburettor: Keihin MX FCR39
Front suspension: WP 48mm fork
Rear suspension: WP PDS shock
Front brake: 260mm disc
Rear brake: 220mm disc
Wheelbase: 1481mm
Seat height: 925mm
Dry weight: 105.7kg
450 EXC-R
Capacity: 449.3cc
Bore and stroke: 95mm x 63.4mm
Transmission: Six-speed
Carburettor: Keihin MX FCR39
Front suspension: WP 48mm fork
Rear suspension: WP PDS shock
Front brake: 260mm disc
Rear brake: 220mm disc
Wheelbase: 1481mm
Seat height: 925mm
Dry weight: 113.5kg
530 EXC-R
Capacity: 510.4cc
Bore and stroke: 95mm x 72mm
Transmission: Six-speed
Carburettor: Keihin MX FCR39
Front suspension: WP 48mm fork
Rear suspension: WP PDS shock
Front brake: 260mm disc
Rear brake: 220mm disc
Wheelbase: 1481mm
Seat height: 925mm
Dry weight: 113.9kg