The new KTM's power is healthy and manageable.
If there is a bike that is turning heads and begging questions for 2007, it's KTM's 450SX-F. And the real surprise is that it is here so quick and we're already riding it.
Dirt Rider got our hands on one of the first few bikes in the country and we've been riding it for the last few days getting all the impressions for the upcoming magazine test.
First is the looks - there is no mistaking this KTM for any older SX, or any other brand for that matter. You either love it or hate it, but most seem to prefer the style, after a few minutes of getting use to it.
Riders can move all over the flat-seated and roomy ride.
Electric-start only isn't anything new, just forced to the forefront by KTM in the MX market. Once you get used to it, you won't want to go back. We're already used to it. And is the battery and extra weight an issue? Not even worth discussing, we'll take the push button convenience any time.
From the first minutes on the bike you notice that this isn't your typical KTM, yet at the same time there is a very at-home feel for those used to orange bikes. It is tall in the seat and roomy in the bars with adjustability to push it farther. Snap the throttle and the trend continues from the 250SX-F of a very snorty and aggressive nature. The old RFS motor has been duly relegated to enduro duty. The power is very linear, pulling right off idle and ripping through the RPMs faster than past SXs, but with plenty of control. There is a four-speed gear box that is not a wide-ratio and with stock gearing the bike is a bit limited on top speed. There aren't any gaps to the spread. Is it fast? Just try holding it wide-open in fourth, the bike feels like it wants to loop out!
Are those numberplates AMA approved?
The handling completely steps up the game for KTM. It makes the previous bike feel like it wanders and flexes and is never precise. This is the same jump the Yamaha YZ took with its new frame and it will pay off big time, especially as development continues. Right away there is a much freer feeling to the suspension movement and at the same time more control. The turning is worlds better and every rider who rode the bike was pretty impressed with the stick of the front end in the turns. The bike retains excellent stability and feels competitively light, even back-to-back with aluminum-framed 450s.
To say we are impressed is an understatement only because we expected this much from KTM. They know how to make power, they are learning how to get the suspension in the game and they are now wrapping it with a chassis that makes no excuses - and breaks some set-in-stone rules along the way.
The new chasis is more precise. | 
The 450 SX-F flicks and flies with the best of them, the suspension has plenty for the landings. | 
We like the new orange 450. The competition won't. |