These tricky parts of the...
These tricky parts of the extreme enduro test showed the only "flaw" in the power delivery. Here the engine seemed to have a bit too much snap.
OPINIONS:
Great torque / pretty mellow down low, but had a little too much hit in the mid range which made it difficult to be smooth in the tight stuff; felt great in the faster sections though. Had one of the best feeling recluse clutches that I have used.-Chris Barrett at Extreme Enduro
Winner! This bike does everything the KTM 250 XCW does just a little bit better. The torque at low to mid throttle is enhanced by the Rekluse clutch which makes every trail bike better, especially with unbelievable torque. The brakes are strong and progressive and the suspension was dialed for moto or trail which is hard to do. Having electric start up's the level even more all while keeping a really light flickable feel. So super comfortable.-Dave Donatoni
My second choice of bikes of the five two-strokes was the KTM 300 XCW. The bike felt similar to the 250 but slightly heavier. I liked the suspension. It also had great power and with the Rekluse clutch, it made riding through the twisty trails somewhat easier by never having to worry about pulling in the clutch. -Sean Crowley, Novice
This highly modified KTM 300 was hard to get a good rating once I got used the stock bike. Why switch things around when stock is even better, but somehow things start to show up with a little time. At first the suspension never felt the smoothness stock bike. I had an uneven feel to it, but I got used to it. I also had mixed feelings on the Rekluse clutch. It engaged too late, but once they adjusted the bike, I really liked it. Great add-on for technical trail riding.
The KTM 300 motor is as good as it gets. Why make a 250 when you can have this! Not because it is faster, but because it has more torque and is easier to ride!-- Alfredo Macklis
Even though a two-stroke generally...
Even though a two-stroke generally wouldn't excel at flat, slick turns like those found in our escargot test, the P-A 300 was pretty darn effective.
Wow, what a difference a few mods make. This is the first auto clutch bike I've ever liked....but....I would only pick this bike over the stock 250 XC for harder trails. For moto or race use the auto clutch is a deal breaker for me. Because of it I felt weird trying to ride this bike aggressively. The suspension worked great, and the whole package was amazingly easy to ride, it hit when I wanted and would also pull from a very low rpm when the trail got really ugly. -Scott Denison
This 300 felt like it needed to be short-shifted too much. I rode the bike in the morning before the Rekluse was adjusted to come in at a lower rpm, so the auto-clutch took some getting used to. But you could definitely get along well with it on tight trails. On our fast terrain test the suspension felt little soft for me under heavy braking, and it was too divvy.--Kris Keefer on Terrain Test
This bike felt like it was built for a very specialized type of racing and riding: the type of off-road/woods events found in the wetter parts of Texas. In the tight it was amazing, and proof that a good hop-up company can elevate even a superlative machine.--Karel Kramer: 6'1"/225 lb./ B rider
This bike felt good. I didn't like the auto-clutch too much because the shifting felt a little funny in tighter sections when I was trying to go through the gears. Other than that, the bike felt good and I liked the power. The front end felt a little squirrely to me, but that's probably because it didn't have a damper on it. -Alexander Smith/ 6'1"/ 155 lbs./ Expert