New 2017 KTM enduros are real thrill rides

The vastly experienced MARTIN CRAVEN has ridden and ragged everything worth riding off-road over recent years and the enthusiastic FatCat operator got to grab his passport and toothbrush, zip off to Barcelona and sling the first British leg over the exciting 2017 portfolio of enduro offerings from Team Orange...

125/150 XC-W

THE all new 125/150 XC-W two-strokes are probably the market leaders in ready-to-race Enduro bikes right now.

With the amazing agility of the ultra lightweights sharing the all-new 2017 chassis and enough muscle to fight the 250 EXC-F, this pair really punch above their weight.

Absolutely everything is all-new, from the WP Xplor suspension to the newly designed lightweight ChroMol steel frame.

Handling wise, hardly surprisingly, they are very similar.

The going at the test was very stony and hard packed, so there was no issue with any potential bogging down and definitely no worrying about not getting up anything.

The 125 initially felt sharper and more responsive than its slightly bigger brother and it was only when things got a little tougher when the 150 started to show its true colours.

Both bikes for 2017 have a newly-developed power valve unit which help provide what feels like a massive power increase right through the rev range.

And this really showed on the big, shaley climbs with the 150 just feeling a bit more comfortable with it.

But to be honest both bikes felt so light that no terrain seemed impossible on both featherweights.

250 EXC

ON to my favourite bike of the bunch.

Yes I may be slightly biased... seeing as a 250 two-stroke is the current weapon of choice for me.

It used to be 300s but in recent years they have got a bit unruly - although for 2017 this has drastically changed. Damn, this bike rips.

Not only is it super light and nimble and perfect for extreme going but also in between and on special tests this bike is just so fast.

The power delivery straight off the bat is simply awesome.

But the second you stand on the equally awesome Brembo brakes which incidentally sport a 10mm longer rear brake pedal and come with lighter discs the ability to coast over large rocks on not much more than tickover is incredible.

On the flip side, Id have to describe the motor as pipey with a slightly soft mid-range and a tendency to get into the power much sooner. As a result I could still lug the bike low down but you need to do it in a higher gear.

The overall feel to the all-new engine is that it is really fast and loves to be on the pipe, making it a real fun package on the high speed sections.

I knew going into the tests that the suspension from stock was sprung towards lighter guys, and this created a slightly squatty feel.

Saying that, the suspension on both ends had great initial feel and performance, one benefit of the plush set up is that it soaked up all the initial golf ball sized rocks perfectly.

You could barely feel the repeated hits.

This was great, although this soft set-up definitely sacrificed its ability on the big steps. Sprung correctly for my weight though, the new WP Xplor suspension front and rear looks like a great package.

300 EXC

THE 300 two-stroke is, in my opinion, probably the teachers pet out of all the classes, and for good reason. Its won a hatful of Erzberg-rodeos the hardest

single-day event on earth and many, many other similar type of events.

For me, though, the 250 EXC has gradually risen to the top over the last couple of years, simply because I (and Im certainly not alone) thought that the 300 was becoming just too fast and too aggressive, to a point where you werent actually riding it, just hanging onto the thing.

So to my immense pleasure, when I set off into the lions den for what I thought would be a scary, blurry lap of pain and sheer finger-nail hanging on I quickly discovered that it was in fact a super mellowed-out, completely manageable 300 Super two-stroke.

At last KTM have taken what was the finest two-stroke off-road machin on the market a couple of years ago - and turned it back into what was quite simply one of the best bikes Ive ever ridden.

One of the biggest changes to the 300 is, of course, the all-new engine which features a new counter-balancer shaft to eradicate vibration. And you can tell instantly, there really is next to no vibration on this wonderful machine.

On the tight, technical sections the 300 EXC performed best in a taller gear compared to the 250, giving it a much wider option on different obstacles a considerable advantage.

I was so impressed with how the 300 pulled through the power band and more importantly was very predictable.

Just like the 250, this bike feels incredibly light and again this is such an advantage over its rivals, especially in tough conditions, where you need all the help you can get at the end of a race.

Make no mistake, the 300 two-stroke is back.

250/350 EXC-F

IN Enduro circles theres a lot of debate over which bike is better, the 250 EXC-F or the 350 EXC-F. And with the introduction of all-new 250/350 double overhead camshaft engines with balance shafts the debate just got a whole lot hotter.

The 250 is comfortable on the throttle and has the performance fully capable of competing in a national Enduro straight out the box.

The 350F is one of few bikes that I would feel confident racing motocross on the Saturday then riding it in a hare and hound on Sunday.

Both have strengths in their class and they are truly outstanding bikes that have proven to be perfect for their target riders.

But which is better?

On the dry, dusty trails the 250F actually lost just a touch of response down low compared to the 350F, there was a slight feeling of hesitation just off idle.

But what the 250F lost here it quickly gained in the mid-range where you could be a bit more slap happy with the throttle, whereas on the 350F when up to speed you were very wary of its power difference.

The 350F definitely felt a bit more motocrossy but without sacrificing the overall enduro performance as the delivery was still clean throughout. On the bigger hits, the 250F took a little more clutch to stay in the rpm, which wasnt a problem and I had no trouble singing the 250F down the rocky sections.

Interestingly enough the throatier 350F will, I think, suit the more novice to intermediate rider better, with its superb linear power delivery.

Single-track riding will never be a problem for the 350 but even high up on the real steep sections the motor would just pull and pull.

The 350 still retained a somewhat mellow attitude yet it also achieved more zip all through the range. Despite the 350 not having a vicious hit, which enables it to find immense traction and usability, the added torque for 2017 allowed me to leave the bike in higher gears in certain sections, where on the 250F I would need to select the right gear to be spot on.

To help complement the new-found power, WP has listed the new Xplor suspension front and rear for better performance at higher speeds, while also working to retain plushness.

I found it worked great straight from stock.

For your info, on each bike I went down four on compression and up six on rebound.

That is purely personal as is all suspension set-up and it worked for me.

Both bikes feel very well balanced front to back.

As to the question of which is the best there is no answer.

Both bikes do the same job, just in a slightly different way.

450/500 EXC-F

ON to the big guns now. The no-nonsense, self-harming, Im the boss, 450-F/ 500-F.

One of the first things to hit me on these bikes (apart from the awesome power) was the high degree of overall chassis flex introduced to the bikes for 2017.

The frame has a certain amount of give that is transmitted to the rider in a soft and comfortable feel and most obvious with the more powerful machines.

And it was highly appreciated on the flowing single track.

One of the benefits of the increased power from the two heavyweights is the initial zip straight off the pipe, which allowed me to feel as if I could change direction more quickly. Using the throttle to pivot me out of a turn was much easier done with the big bore capacity bikes.

Handling wise, both the 450 and 500 were fantastic on the loose tracks at high speed. The added grunt on the 500F amazingly made it seem lighter overall than the 450.

However, the front end tended to push a bit in corners but fortunately the 500 slid very well.

And with just an ounce of throttle movement both bikes were outstanding for flat-tracking around turns as well as navigating tricky rocky sections.

Yet again KTM have virtually removed nearly all of the vibration from the bikes with superbly designed single overhead cam engines.

The end result was a smooth, comfortable ride that Im sure could be enjoyed for very long and exciting races.