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KTM Motorcycles are most famous for their offroad motorcycles although during the last few years, they have expanded on this range to now include street motorcycles.
Starting out with just 20 employees, in these early days they were producing three motorcycles per day. Almost all of the KTM production was carried out in house.
Priding themselves on moving forwards rapidly, they have always been on the leading edge of motorcycle innovation and this philosophy has carried on to this day.
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Since 1990 KTM motorcycles and automobiles (X-Bow) have been designed by KiskaDesign. A Salzburg-based design firm of over 100 employees that offers transportation, product, environmental, identity and branding to an international clientelle. It is responsible for the overall branding for KTM; including the design of the vehicles, shops, exhibits and printed material. The firm applies a method IDD (integrated design development) to all of its client projects. Gerald Kiska is the princial.
KTM began in motorsports with Motocross Racing. In the last few years KTM has gained more success in motorsports by dominating rally-raid events such as the Paris-Dakar Rally and the Atlas-Rally. In 2003, KTM started sponsoring and supporting Road racing in various capacities, with the most successful results stemming from their SuperMotard or Supermoto efforts. KTM's new road racing focus will soon grow to include Superbike competition with the help of their newly developed V-Twin engine dubbed the LC8 as employed in the 950 Adventure dual-sport motorcycle, and more specifically the 2005/2006 990 Super Duke followed by the superbike contender known as the 1190 RC8. The Super Duke will have a higher output, second generation version of the LC8 engine, geared for high rpm peak power as required in road racing and superstreet applications while the RC8 will sport a 1190cc version of the LC8 for more midrange.
KTM offers a range of different engines for its larger motorcycles, all liquid-cooled.
KTM's official company/team colours are Orange, Black and Silver. To create a strong brand identity, all competition-ready KTMs come from the factory with bright orange plastic with "KTM" emblazoned on the side of the radiator shrouds. All KTM bikes also come from the factory with a Motorex sticker on the outside of the motor. All first fills of oil come from Motorex as well. Some official KTM teams use different colors for their bikes, most noticeably in the Paris-Dakar Rally.
The documentary series Long Way Round follows actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on their extraordinary 20.000 mile journey from London to New York City. In 2004 KTM abruptly pulled their support from the famous motorcycle trip around the world. BMW then donated BMW R1150GS Adventure all-terrain motorcycles for this adventure.
[edit] Off-road motorcycles
The term off-road refers to a driving surface that is not conventionally paved. This is a rough surface, often created naturally, such as sand, gravel, a river, mud or snow. This type of terrain can sometimes only be travelled on with vehicles designed for off-road driving (such as SUVs, ATVs, snowmobiles or mountain bikes) or vehicles that have off-road equipment. The KTM is well equipped for these environments and is popular among many off-road riders. The design of this motorcycle is well suited to this sport and the weight of the motorcycle is another advantage. KTMs come stock ready to race, with a hydraulic clutch, full adjustable WP front and rear suspension and powerful engines requiring no modifications prior to racing. The KTM has won every Dakar rally since 2001.
Motocross - The 2008 SX line includes 65, 85, 105, 125, 144 and 250cc two-stroke models, and 250, 450 and 505 four-stroke models. In 2005 KTM released the new 250SX-F to the general public. For the 2007 model-year, all of KTM's four-stroke SX motors were re-designed similarly to the 250 SX-F, in a dual-overhead cam 4-valve line dubbed the "RC4". The SX-F's are KTM's new racing motocross range introduced in 2007.
KTM now produce a 150SX (144cc), which was developed to take advantage of AMA (American Motorcyclist Association)rule changes in the ameteur classes. KTM and TM are the only manufacturers to develope a 144cc motorcycle.
Cross-Country The XC line includes 65, 85, 105, 200, 250 and 300 two-strokes, and 250, 450 and 505 four-stroke models. The XC line updates and replaces their old MXC bikes. They feature a close-ratio gearbox, stiffer suspensions, and the four-strokes have a shorter-stroke design, mimicking their SX line. In 2007, they introduced the 250XC-F which is based on the 2006 SX model.
KTM's XC-W offroad bikes are 200, 250 and 300 two-strokes, and 250, 450 and 530 four-strokes. They feature plusher suspension and a wider-ratio tranmission than their XC line counterparts. The XC-W replaced their old EXC two-strokes, a move the company made in order to comply with EPA restrictions in the United States. Two-strokes are still designated as EXCs in Europe markets.
Enduro The 2009 EXC line consists of 250, 450, 530cc four-strokes,and 125, 200, 250 and 300cc two strokes. The EXC line has been a long-time favourite for Enduro market, and outsell other larger-volume brands to Enduro racers. The RFS motor (2000-2007) was replaced with the RC4 motor for the 2008 model year.
Super Enduro consist of 690 and 950cc machines, mix between a enduro and a trail bike
Supermoto KTM produces several supermoto race bikes with displacements ranging from 450 (a supermoto version of the 450sx-f) to 565cc . They also make four non race-oriented models in 625, 654, 950 and 990cc displacements. KTM was the first manufacturer to offer a competition-ready Supermoto bike to the public, and their sponsored racers currently sit atop the US Supermoto racing circuit. The new LC8 SuperMoto 950 has received rave reviews from all the bike magazines and newspapers in the United Kingdom.
Dual-sport Adventure bikes offered with both the LC4 Engine (Adventure 640, 640R) and the LC8 Engine (Adventure 950, 950S, 990), the 640R is the base of the Rally 660 which has won many Dakar Rallies.
[edit] KTM 2 Stroke Development
Since the major rule changes in Motocross to make 4 stroke bikes more competitive in motocross and being given a 125cc 2 stroke to 250cc four stroke advantage the cheaper, simpler and faster 2 stroke bikes have being dying out.
Since other manufacturers have decided to discontinue their 2 stroke models, KTM has continued with creating and improving their 2 stroke models and taking up a very high proportion of the 2 stroke bike market.
KTM has also created a new 2 stroke MX bike with 144cc to comply with the 2008 AMA motocross class changes. This change has been made to bring back the 2 stroke bikes to encourage more entry to the market as the 2 stroke bikes are cheaper to maintain and repair than the expensive 4 stroke bikes.
Environmental agencies have tried to remove 2 stroke machines because they produce more pollution than 4 strokes. However with newer advances in technology 2 strokes have began to burn cleaner and pass green sticker standards.
In recent interviews KTM has revealed that they will continue to produce and improve 2 stroke bikes and have already began looking at EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection). EFI will benefit the 2 stroke bikes because they will become more fuel efficient and will also produce less waste.
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