KTM’s new Freeride 350 has
finally arrived in Oz.
RTRA President Steve Pretzel,
had the opportunity of a 3 day
test ride.
Here’s his report card.
Game
Changer
Is
it cheating to ride a Freeride when all your mates are on full size
bikes?
Does it say something about your manhood that you’re riding a bike that has
a de-tuned engine, a low seat height, trials tyres instead of knobbies, and
that weighs less than a hundred kilos?
Should you feel somehow inferior because you’re on a ‘fun’ bike when all
your mates are on ‘serious’ enduro weapons?
Or do all those thoughts evaporate when your mates arrive, puffing and
panting, at the end of a long technical single trail and you’re already there,
helmet off and half way through the crossword puzzle?
Beginner’s bike?
Girl’s bike?
Play bike?
Practice bike?
Or Single-trail weapon
of choice?
The Freeride will have you
questioning the meaning of life.
... well trail riding, anyway.
The Freeride will have you questioning the meaning of life well, the meaning of trail riding anyway. It’s an absolute game
changer and I will go on record now to say that within three
years KTM could be selling 1500 units annually, placing this as
the top selling registerable off-road motorcycle in Australia.
It’s that good.
I spent the best part of three days riding the Freeride in and
around the Blackwood Valley in the South West of Western
Australia. The terrain is some of the best in the country,
covering hillside single-trail through pine plantations, fast and
flowing sandy trails, rocky sections and the infamous pea-gravel
fire trails.
The Freeride was an absolute hoot in all conditions. I expected
it to be quick through the single-trail and to make challenging
terrain easier, but the real surprise was how stable it felt being
flung around the more open and faster trails and how much
lateral grip the high profile Dunlop trials tyres provided.
Basically KTM has created a bike that feels a lot smaller than
it actually is. The best way of understanding what this means
on the trail is to imagine how you would ride your current bike
if you were two feet taller and 50% stronger. You can fling the
Freeride around with minimal effort and place it with pinpoint
precision. Picking a line up a rutted hill is basically just a case
of deciding where you want to be.
This phenomenon is probably not news to riders who have
chosen small bore two strokes like the EXC200. Light weight
makes a huge difference when the going gets tough, but the
Freeride delivers this - and more - for those of us who prefer the
feel of a four stroke engine.
It’s not just the low weight - the Freeride is actually heavier than
the EXC200 - it’s the combination of light weight, low centre of
gravity and narrowness that makes the Freeride so much fun to
ride.
Comparing it to the EXC250-F, the Freeride has a ground
clearance just 20mm lower, but a seat height that is 75mm
lower. Part of the reason for this is the 5.5 litre fuel tank which
enables the Freeride to be generally more compact. The
Freeride can get by with a smaller fuel tank because the detuned 350 engine is restricted in the air that it can breathe and
therefore the fuel it needs (we estimate a fuel range of 80100k).
But the light weight means that even with the de-tuned engine
the bike has plenty of poke, and the linear power is well suited
to the traction characteristics of the trials tyres. And speaking
of trials ability, the steeper 670 steering head angle (63.50 on the
200EXC and 250EXC-F) is a major contributor to the Freeride’s
nimble feel.
It’s very much the principle behind, say, the Lotus Elise
sports car. Keep it small and light and you can get brilliant
performance without massive horsepower.
1. Plastic cartridge pulls out to access small foam filter.
2. Exhaust tucks neatly between engine and bash plate
3.
...and stays out of the way until the split rear exit
4. After over 300km the super-soft Dunlops showed little sign
of wear.
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By now you are probably appreciating what a clever job the
KTM designers and engineers have done with this bike. But the
broad appeal that this bike will have comes from more than just
the fun in riding it.
Innovations like the ‘Dyson-esque’ cartridge system for the
air filter. Pop the seat like a car bonnet, pull out the plastic
cartridge from its rubber sealing boot and voila! Or the exhaust
that is tucked safely under the engine and exits via two small
aluminium silencers. Or the riding position that seems to have
you naturally in the right fore-aft position.
The under-stressed engine has a 20 hour service interval and
the purchase price of under ten grand is also attractive.
So what are the compromises? Well the main one is the ride
quality. To compensate for travel of just 250mm front and
260mm rear (compared with the 250EXC-F’s 300 / 335mm)
the suspension on the Freeride is quite harsh. The firm seat
exacerbates this, although I found the standing position to
be quite comfortable. I didn’t have the chance to ride long
distances in a single trip, so the jury is out as to whether the
harsh suspension would make the bike a tiring proposition on
a long trip or whether the light weight would actually leave you
less tired. I suspect the latter, but it would obviously depend on
how much technical terrain was involved in the trip.
Fuel capacity may also be a limiting factor, although your mate
on the two-stroke is likely to be reaching for the spare fuel
before the Freeride does.
I didn’t have the opportunity to test the Freeride in muddy
conditions, so can’t comment on how the trials tyres would
cope, and didn’t ride the type of whooped out soft sand that
is so prevalent in the coastal areas of Perth. What you often
forget when riding the Freeride is that despite its small feel it
actually does have full size wheels, so its light weight would
presumably be an advantage in sand.
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3
The low gearing will be noticed by riders used to large capacity
bikes, although 250 four-stroke riders probably won’t notice
much difference. The Freeride seemed most happy in the 8090 kph range but can be pushed up past 110 kph if needed.
So if this is, as I predict, going to be a huge winner for KTM
who’s going to be buying it? Here’s a rundown on some of the
segments that I reckon the Freeride will appeal to.
Breaking new ground, breaking less ground
Quiet exhaust, light weight, moderate power and less
aggressive tyres all add up to eco-friendly trail riding. That
means less damage to trails and less reasons for the
neighbours or other trails users to complain.
The growing number of riders who are aware that how we treat
the environment will impact on how long we can keep riding will
be the first to appreciate these qualities.
Tow it behind your Prius to complete the picture!
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1. Light weight, good power + mega traction made light work
of hills
Add another ten years to your riding
2. So who wants the next ride?
We all know some hard core veterans - the guys in their late
sixties and more who can still ride the pants off people half their
age. But we also know people who have given up riding much
earlier than that (or have not been inclined to take up riding
later in life) because the available bikes are too heavy and /
or aggressive. When a full size bike becomes too much of a
handful there is now a way of continuing the fun on something
smaller and lighter.
3. Untidy wiring about the only gripe.
4. Still not quite low enough for Val!
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Beginners paradise
Put a beginner or novice rider on a Freeride then get them to
try Yamaha’s ‘beginners’ bike, the TTR-230. Or Honda’s roadregisterable CRF230L. Ask them which one was more fun and
inspired the most confidence. There is nothing out there that
even comes close to the Freeride for ease of riding.
Help for the vertically challenged
2
With a seat height of 895mm the Freeride is not the lowest bike
around, but there are options for lowering it further, and the light
weight makes it easier to balance and maneuver.
The evener-upper
If you’ve ever been led by people who are better riders you’ll
know that feeling of being way out of your comfort zone. You’re
knackered after that first gnarly single-trail with slippery, rutted,
rocky hills - and it all goes downhill from there. You would love
to be able to ride that stuff more confidently but you need a
secret weapon to even things up a little. Now you’ve got one.
The spare ‘play bike’
You buy it for your wife. You ride it on ‘fun’ days and leave the
450 in the garage. It will be really interesting to see just how
often the 450 stays home...
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Which brings us back to the original philosophical question.
What is trail riding if it isn’t about having fun? Is ‘serious trail
riding’ an oxymoron? Isn’t the best bike to have the one that
puts the biggest smile on your face?
If that’s the case then the KTM Freeride is much more than a
novelty.
They can accuse me of cheating for riding a nimble, lightweight
bike. But they’ll have to catch me first.
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Recreational Trailbike Riders’ Assocation
www.rtra.asn.au
Freeride supplied by: