The Austrians get a little more friendly
By, Trevor Hedge

The outright performance of KTM enduro bikes has never been a problem but I always found they lacked some forgiveness for the average trail rider. I always found the riding position too aggressive and the suspenders overly stiff in the initial part of the stroke which combined to give the rider a hammering. In short I found them to be a little too narrowly focused. Rightly or wrongly there were also some reliability concerns hanging over the Austrian bikes many years ago, but more recently these have been put to bed and the KTM four-strokes are equally reliable and some say perhaps even stronger than their Japanese equivalents.

If you ever needed clear evidence of how far KTM have come in the last few years then some quality time with the Austrian manufacturer’s new 250 EXC-F four-stroke will dismiss your reservations.

I recently joined West Coast TrailBike Safaris on a two-day Blackwood Valley Tour and spent the first full day aboard the KTM 250 EXC-F that is available for hire to tour participants.

The first thing I asked proprietor John Staines when jumping aboard the bike was if he had softened up the suspension at all and his response was ‘no it’s on standard settings’. My next thought was uh-oh, ten minutes up the trail I know I am going to have wind some damping off the 48mm inverted forks and take some preload off the White Power shock. However much to my surprise I never touched a clicker and the KTM proved beautifully compliant throughout the whole day. The front tracked true when attacking some very rocky climbs and gave me plenty of confidence to explore the limits of my riding ability, something I have never been comfortable enough to do on previous KTMs. The back end only kicked when I mistimed whooped out ruts but even then it was more of a nudge to let me know that I got it wrong, rather than a severe kicking that shouted out my deficiencies. Lighter riders may need to soften the suspension up a little but for my 85kg it felt spot on.

The riding position and controls felt quite strange when we rode out from the start point in Boyanup but once up on the pegs and out on the trails it all made perfect sense. I quickly became familiar with the riding position and became more comfortable with every hour I spent aboard the orange lightweight.

The 249.5cc single cylinder four-stroke donk is an absolute ripper. It pulls well right throughout the rev range. I was only caught in the wrong gear a couple of times but a quick downshift through the slick gearbox always had the machine right back on the boil and driving upwards. Top marks must also go to KTM for producing a muffler that is lightweight, attractive and free breathing while still managing to offer a note that is pleasant rather than offensive. I really think KTM do this better than anyone and the stainless steel headers and titanium muffler stay looking good a lot longer than most. My boot did rub on the pipe a little just before the muffler so maybe some generously sized frame guards are called for to prevent that from happening.

The 925mm seat height is quite low for such a serious race machine and that fact combined with its light weight makes the KTM a prime choice for riders that are a little short in the leg department or are still developing their riding skills.

A three months parts only warranty was announced with the machines release but KTM recently doubled that warranty period out to a more substantial six months inclusive of both parts and labour. At $11,995 plus dealer delivery the 250 EXC-F is fairly line-ball with the opposition but for that money you get a quality machine that really is ready for anything right from the off. It is a lightweight but it certainly punches above its weight in the bush. However the most outstanding feature of the machine is the fact that none of those punches reach the rider. My main criticism of the machine is that it is completely devoid of any security features, no key is required to start the machine. Competition bred machine or not, in my book that is just not good enough.

This really is a KTM suitable for all skill and experience levels and not the narrow focused race machine I had been expecting. I have never enjoyed being proved so wrong before.