Tentative: 2010 KTM 350SX-F

[MattR]

Interesting first look at the tentative 2010 KTM 350SX-F...
EFI and rear shock linkage.

Here is an article discussing the highlights:
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/666/50...irst-Look.aspx

[gasgasman]

Can Am is back.

[Skidad]

It's freaking awesome IMO. Notice it also has an available spot for a kick start kit which is nice.

If they had a woods version available now lines would be forming. To bad it may take up to 2 years to get it out. Who knows if it will be PDS or linkage at that point. Will KTM go back to linkage or keep both versions going. Kind of a cross roads for them now that they have this thing coming (and it is coming).

Here is a very high resolution pic of the bike

http://www.ktm.com/uploads/pics/ktm_...persp_srgb.jpg

[GMP]

Very nice, it would be the perfect displacement as long as the package was not a sleeved down 450. Essentially they are admitting defeat as far as PDS is concerned if this comes to production.

How about a 350 Husaberg, new 60 deg motor, scaled down a bit with linkage?

[Skidad]

KTM finally has PDS working really good now (yes it took 10 years). Defeat...I don't think so but MX market share may drive this more than anything...and Stefan Everetts. KTM won a couple MX championships in Europe this year I think so PDS does work and is more accepted in other countries than the US. Even MX Action loved the PDS suspension on the 2010 450SXF, the whole bike in fact. It is allot more sensitive to setup and there in lies the biggest problem. Personally I would buy that 350 either way

I think they will continue the off road bikes with PDS and MX will move to linkage. It would be kind of silly to offer a bike both ways but they kind of are opening a big can of worms with the linkage bike. Next few years will be interesting to see what happens.

The 350 is an entirely new motor BTW but strongly based off the 250 motor NOT the 400/450 motor.

[Cruiser]

The big issue with the pds is they work great if set up right,, but they work great for a smaller window of conditions than a linkage system.. The 97 PDS that was on the 200exc JP edition/early release of the pds 200cc bikes worked better than most generations of the WP pds.. If they stayed with ohlins who knows how the pds would have been by now..

[Cruiser]

In the hi-res pic of the 350 does the casting of the cyl look odd to anybody else? kinda reminds me of the casting process saturn used on the dohc 4 cyl engines they had in the early cars.. looked like aluminium styrofoam..

[gasgasman]

Originally Posted by Cruiser

looked like aluminium styrofoam..

That casting process is called "lost foam casting".
The parts are made from styrofoam which are covered with a ceramic forming mold. The hot molten metal is poured into the forming mold, which vaporizes the styrofoam, forming the parts.

Gas Gas uses sand casting. The parts are made from moist putty like sand. The sand parts are then covered with a hard ceramic forming mold. When the sand drys, it is then removed from the ceramic forming mold. The void is then filled with molten aluminum, creating the final parts.

FYI. Freeze plugs on car engines are actually ports to remove the casting sand from the engine block.

[GMP]

KTM screwed Ohlins. They had Ohlins develop the PDS, with the intent of a production order. They then bought WP and cut Ohlins loose. Nice guys. They could not use the Ohlins design however. The Ohlins PDS used two pistons of different diameters, the smaller of which engaged a stepped down bore at the end of the stroke. This is what I had on my Cannondale, and I can say for sure that it worked better than any KTM I have ever ridden. No needle BS and flow problems.

[AZRickD]

Linkless is the way to go for the rough and tumble Enduro Cross circuit. Destry Abbot broke his swing-arm components trying to slam over a concrete barrier.