A cast swingarm pivot plate mated to a dainty steel trellis frame. A self-supporting carbon seat unit. A 55lbs, 250cc, single-cylinder four-stroke making something in the neighborhood of 54bhp. Tiny two-piston radial brakes. 326lbs (including rider). These first live photos of the KTM Moto3 racer, shot during Valencia testing, make for some great bike porn on a Friday afternoon. :continue:
Dakar: most epic motorcycle race on Earth. Dakar: too big, too wild and too much for even its organizers to cover effectively. A list of names next to a list of times does little to capture the sheer magnitude of the undertaking. 5,000km, off-road, in 14 days. A minute-long video recap can’t do it justice, but somehow, frozen in time, images seem too.
Take this shot for example. That’s just a top-down image of Juan Pedrero sliding his KTM 450 Rally on the very edge of a hundred foot precipice. An inch further and he’d be dead. Here’s nine more like it.
Photos: Red Bull/KTM :continue:
Sean rescued damsels in distress, Ashlee spoiled us rotten and I chased mountain lions through the woods at night when a few of us said “Screw Santa,” and went camping this weekend instead. Somehow, a bunch of bikes, bikers and the wilderness felt a lot more festive than bad holiday sweaters and carolers. Guess we’re just that sort of people here at HFL.
Photos: Sean Smith and Ashlee Goodwin
Another slick stunt video aboard a KTM 125 Duke from Slovenian rider Rok Bagoros. This one takes place in an abandoned industrial complex with a distinctly eastern European feel. Reverberating off the corrugated steel sidings, that little single-cylinder sounds damn good. :continue:
The KTM 350 EXC-F is a bike a lot of people will buy to go racing. It weighs 250 pounds and its fuel-injected, four-stroke 350cc motor produces an honest 45bhp. There is nothing second rate or cheap anywhere on the bike. And, if you can afford a service every 15 hours, it’s theoretically possible to to ride this honest-to-god race bike from your home to the trails.
Photos: Grant Ray :continue:
Actually, it’s not just Dakar legend Despres, but French mountain biker Cedric Gracia too. That sort of drives home the whole point of the KTM Freeride 350 — at just 219lbs it’s accessible enough for a cyclist, but still capable enough for a professional used to 450 rally bikes. As a dirt n00b looking to get much better, I’m seriously excited for this enduro to arrive next year. :continue:
To many of you, the bike you see here is something of a unicorn. A street-legal, single-cylinder sportsbike that weighs just 275lbs and makes 70bhp. That KTM LC4 motor is well-proven, has reasonable service intervals and won’t rattle your fillings out. Looks sexy in RC8-esque fairings too. The problem? KTM doesn’t actually make it, instead, the RC4 is only available in kit form from a German supplier. :continue:
He of the Kushitani leathers and Union Jack Arai, Alan Cathcart, just became the first motorcycle journalist to take a KTM Freeride E prototype for a spin. He liked it, but the real news here is word of production dates, prices, configurations and future electric KTMs. E-Duke anyone? :continue:
With the 2012 season beginning in just four weeks, KTM supercross riders Ken Roczen, Marvin Musquin and Ryan Dungey are busy doing final shakedown tests aboard their new KTMs. Here, photographer Frank Hoppen visits them at the Cahuilla Creek MX park in Anza, California, bringing back stunning action shots including this composite image of a full lap.
Cyril Despres, Marc Coma, Juan Pedrero and Ruben Faria are pictured here carrying out final tests of the KTM 450 Rally ahead of the 2012 Dakar. The bikes are now packed up and winging their way to Argentina. This year’s rally starts on the Atlantic coast at Mar Del Plata, but unlike previous years, finishes on the Pacific in a new country — Peru. :continue:
