In 2000, KTM bombarded the American motocross race scene with a full assault on the Outdoor and Supercross series with its factory 125 efforts. Although many fans thought this was a rebirth of KTM, it was merely a case of out of sight, out of mind. KTM has been winning World Championships overseas as far back as the Bobby Moore, Trampas Parker days to as recently as just last year with James Dobb. The Austrian manufacturer's accelerated learning curve created a knockdown, drag-out battle between KTM's Grant Langston and Kawasaki's Mike Brown for the Outdoor championship in 2001. This epic battle was lost when Langston broke a rear wheel in the final moto. Although KTM lost the Outdoor championship, it won over fans nationwide and, more importantly, proved how competitive its bikes were on U.S. soil.
What's New?
For the past two years, KTM has remained king of the engine department, consistently building the fastest 125 in the class. The 2003 engine remains almost identical to the '02 unit, with only a few minor modifications for slightly enhanced performance. Even with the limited changes and an up-and-coming 125 class filled with new models, other manufacturers will be hard-pressed to find the incredible power that last season's KTM was able to deliver. Following the ever-popular five-speed-transmission trend, KTM has opted to eliminate sixth gear. The new five-speed transmission is a direct result of technology which was passed down from the race team last season for weight savings. The only gearing change is a wider, more load-resistant second gear to stretch out the power. In an attempt to achieve flawless shifting under power, the '03 has a new aluminum gear-selector drum with narrower shift grooves.
In the past, suspension has been an area of controversy for KTM. Supplying excellent power and marginal handling left KTM unable to reach its full potential. This is no secret, and the Austrian engineers have made a long list of changes, starting with the unique White Power 48mm fork that is equipped with external pre-load adjusters. All-new for '03, there are three bearings per fork tube to ensure better guidance of the inner tube during compression travel. Higher-quality chromium fork coating was implemented to prevent stiction and excessive fork pump. The offset of the fork has been brought in 14mm for quicker steering characteristics. The shock also has considerable modifications, starting with changed flow cross sections for the oil stream and altered tuning setups for better progression. The enlarged shock body holds more oil volume to prevent premature fading during long motos.
The '03 axle has been enlarged from 20 to 26mm. In addition, the hub diameter has been increased from 36 to 52mm, giving the front end heightened rigidity and more accurate turning. The rear hub also has been reinforced from 48 to 64mm. Utilizing the race team's settings, this year's machine will not only look like a knockoff factory bike, but the ergonomics will replicate the factory bikes. To achieve this the sub-frame has been lowered 5mm and the footpegs have been raised 3mm. Crunching the numbers for weight savings reduced the rear caliper size from 28 to 26mm. Saving the best for last, KTM has gone with softer seat foam, which eliminates one of the major complaints we had last year.
How Does It Work?
The KTM still remains the master of the motor department. Although the power feels virtually unchanged from '02, this is by no means a bad thing. The powerplant remains very potent mid to top, retaining its status as fastest production 125 available. Off idle the power doesn't erupt until the midrange, but it pulls even heavy riders with ease when it comes alive. The controllable power delivery makes finding traction in flat, slippery corners not a problem. This same linear powerband smoothed out our novice and beginner testers, allowing them to keep the rpm up without lots of clutch. Even with the taller second gear our testers noticed the KTM can go through gears rapidly, but the strong motor was able to pull a taller gear with the aid of a little clutch. Shifting was smooth under power and showed no glitches. The cut sub-frame and more aggressive offset allow the '03 KTM to turn on a dime.
Although KTM has made leaps and bounds in the area of suspension, this category still hurt its overall rank last year. The many changes in the fork and shock have the '03 KTM handling better across the board. The 48mm WP fork has lost much of its initial and mid harshness and acquired a plush stroke with the same great bottoming resistance. One flaw we did find is that the new front-fender design rubs, and on hard landings it sounds as if you are bottoming. Rough conditions didn't hinder the fork's performance; it still soaks up square-edged braking bumps and absorbs midsized bumps and big hits. Most of our testers found that a couple of additional clicks of compression to the fork gave the bike a more balanced front-to-back feel. The shock is also vastly improved with much of the help coming from the softer seat foam. The unique linkless WP shock absorbed high-speed chop and flat landings very well. In rough, rutted corners the shock gave some riders a little more feedback than they would have liked. After a long day of testing at Glen Helen, the suspension took all the abuse the battered course had to offer with little resistance. As a package, the suspension is still best-suited for faster, heavier riders.
Decisions, Decisions
Brand favoritism is very common in the motorcycle world. Just as Harley-Davidson owners are proud to sport the H-D sticker on the back of their Range Rovers, motocrossers are proud to rock the sticker of their favorite bike manufacturer on the back of their Trans-Ams. Don't let this close-minded thinking keep you off what is arguably one of the best 125 motocrossers of the year.