2011 KTM 450 SX-F Web Impression - Dirt Rider Magazine

This is when a KTM 450 SX-F rider has a smile on his face: Powering out of a turn with a roostertail blowing off of the rear tire. Followers beware.

2011 KTM 450 SX-F New Features:

The accepted norm is to build on success, and not to toss it out and start over, but KTM has (thankfully) never embraced "normal." The 2010 KTM 450 SX-F finally crossed a line on the track: everyone liked it. Not just tall guys, riders who dare to be different or plain old KTM freaks.The bike had a magic motor, and it did the business with a carburetor and not electrons and fuel pumps. Much of the thanks went to the new-for-2010 five-speed transmission. The four-speeder always felt fine until we had five. The 2010 was so good that the entire country was sold out of the machines before most shootouts hit the newsstands. Rather than just printing more of that bike with new stickers, KTM opted for a new frame, swingarm and suspension that features a linkage for the first time in KTM moto-land since 1997! Mounted on the new chassis is sleek bodywork that might share a front fender with the old bike, but is otherwise all new. The clean lines and subtle graphics seem to work: the 2011 draws interest whenever it is parked. KTM opted to change the cooling hose routing for the new chassis. As far as engine performance goes, there is a new muffler. And to the surprise of nobody, the engine - still carbureted - is still great with wonderful git-'er-done boost you can count on in any situation. Off the bottom the thrust is smooth, but solid and a little chunky, and the energy increases heading toward the mid-range. Once the engine is in that mid-range you have found your happy place. All of the rush needed to launch tricky section is right on tap. You can rev the engine hard, and it does serious business on top, but savvy pilots will grab gears early let it pull. Shifting is excellent, and with the hydraulic clutch actuation, the engagement feel is great and always consistent. The actual lever effort is higher than ideal, and a workout for a single finger, but better than most in the class.As always, the brakes are superbly powerful, but sudden to riders just off of other brands. Most riders come to grips with the "whoa" factor, and then they don't want less stopping power.Obviously, inquiring minds want to know: does the linkage make the KTM magic in the bumps. It helps. Remember that the 2010 was a no-link PDS system at the peak of development, and it worked very well. The linkage bike is a little more calm and planted feeling. The suspension has a more usable range of adjustment, and dialing it in is a bit more intuitive for riders jumping from other brands. Setting the sag is pretty normal now. The shock preload ring is made of plastic, and another plastic ring with an Allen bolt locks it. You have to have the shock clean enough to allow turning the spring with your hands to rotate the preload ring. You don't have the option of forcing it with a punch or other tool now, so we miss the aluminum one. We set the sag right around 100mm, and unlike the PDS bikes, that was about all we had to do. Riders in a wide range of sizes, weights and skill ranges adapted quickly and easily, and most made only minor changes to get happy with the action. We tested on fast sandy and tight packed tracks, and on days that got rough, and the bike maintained composure.Once the suspension is dialed in, the chassis is a real pleasure. The seat height feels low for a contemporary machine, and the overall character of the chassis is a solid and stable feel. Nevertheless, the bike steers very well and drops into ruts and berms nicely. The attitude is super easy to manage in the air as well.Some minor points really help the new bike. The bike is slim in places the older bike felt a little thick. The 2008-2010 SX-F models carried much of the fuel above the frame backbone, but the new tank carries the liquid lower. The seat has a good shape and density, and the bike is easy to move on. The rear of the bike even has built-in hand-holds to lift it onto a stand. The problem is, you won't want to park this bike. You'll ride until you are almost too tired to put it on the stand!New Stuff

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