Words: Guy Streeter

MotoOnline.com.au recently got a phone call and we were asked to get on a plane and set off to the other side of the world to ride the 2017 KTM EXC and EXC-F range in Les Comes, Spain, just outside of Barcelona. So like any sane person, we accepted and headed over to see what KTM has done with a completely new generation of off-road machines.

There is something about the sound of a two-stroke, no matter where you are, motocross track or bush single track. It always draws attention, regardless of how old you are, whenever you make a motorbike noise it’s always a two-stroke and movies usually ‘dub’ the two-stroke bike sound over a four-stroke.

KTM has continued to develop the their two-stroke, redefining their class leading machines. And it’s not just by making the bike lighter, KTM has produced a new chassis, new XPlor suspension from WP and a new motor.

After getting acquainted to our Spanish surrounds by a quick trip around the city, we headed to the venue to a private 12km rocky trail loop and special test to ride the all-new KTMs. Now 2.1kgs lighter, it is difficult to find a place to start to describe what stands out on the new machines, so let’s just start with the controls and ergos.

For 2017, KTM has refined the plastics and the overall look of the bike, most notably for 2017 is the orange surround on the light fitting, which can now be removed from the bike without the use of tools.

KTM has also added rigidity to the front guard to help with mud and dirt build up and have also revised the rear fender with an integrated grab handle. The handle will help prevent grabbing a handful of dirt when your trying to move the back of the bike around logs and rocks on technical trails.

The seat has been reshaped slightly to improve comfort and provide a flatter area to move back and forwards on the bike, the seat has also had up to 10mm shaved off in some areas.

Once you’re sitting on the bike you will wrap your hands around some new ODI lock-on grips and place your feet on some new ‘No Dirt’ footpegs and a similar shifter. Both aren’t really improving performance, rather smarter options included to make your overall ride hassle-free.

I don’t really enjoy messing around with glue and grip wire, so these ODI grips make it real easy when swapping out grips. The footpegs have been redesigned by KTM to prevent dirt building up, it’s not every ride that you are going to think about this, but if you’re in the middle of some difficult snotty trails, its one less thing you have to worry about slowing your ride down.

The 9.5-litre tank is again white/opaque giving you no excuses for not knowing how much fuel you have left. This might make the excuse you give to the missus of running out of fuel on the trail a little null and void as well.

The tank is one litre larger on the two-stroke EXC than the four-stroke with a new fuel line connector, which will help prevent any tree branches snagging on your fuel line.

KTM has also redesigned the airbox with a smarter multi directional air filter cage, making it harder to mount the cage incorrectly and preventing dirt being sucked into the carb from the filter being installed incorrectly.

The MY17 EXC range comes standard with Brembo brakes and hydraulic clutch. This is something that really finishes off the controls well and gives the bike great stopping power and light consistent clutch feel.

Brembo’s worked with KTM and changed the rear brake caliper, making the pedal length longer by 10mm and reducing the caliper piston to give a better feel in the rear brake, more just fine tuning the rear brake and making the brake more precise.

Probably the biggest change in the 2017 KTM range starts with the new lightweight chrome-moly steel chassis, which allows a more compact engine and centralisation of the mass of the bike.

Overall the frame has been made stiffer from side to side to give a better feel, more precise cornering and rider feedback, while being made slightly more flexible front to back helping prevent rider fatigue and allow the frame to work slightly better with the new suspension.

The swingarm mount for the WP PDS suspension has been shifted inboard allowing a better, more symmetrical feel for the bike and giving better performance to the rear shock. WP have developed new XPlor 48mm, 300mm travel forks and new XPlor PDS shock for the new 250 EXC.

With weight being shed to the spring forks and user friendly ‘on the fly’ adjusters on the top of each fork tube, the shock also receives new internals to prevent bottoming.

The forks have compression adjustment on left and rebound adjustment on the right. Easy to adjust clickers are on the top of each fork tube, with an aftermarket pre-load adjuster available which gives you three different settings.

The ability to adjust 30 clicks of compression of rebound out on the trail without the need for a flat head screwdriver is impressive and will really benefit you when riding new trails or switching from grass track to single trail or even a little motocross.

The PDS shock, which KTM is well-known for, has been further developed with new internals. A second piston is forced into a ‘cup’ giving a better control over bottoming.

Weight has also been saved on the shock, the width and length of the shock piston from 50mm diameter to 46mm and reduced the length by 2.5mm as well as the shock stroke by 4mm. With the new chassis the PDS shock is mounted closer to the centre of the bike giving better overall performance of the shock.

The engine has been regarded as being the strongest and most powerful in its class, 250cc of the punchiest oil burning power any trail rider is going to be stoked on. Everything from the engine casings inward has been redesigned to make the class leading motor more impressive than before.

The addition of a counter-balance shaft has been installed on the MY17 250 EXC engine to really improve rider fatigue by reducing vibration in the entire bike by a massive 50 percent.

This is apparent from the time you start the engine and get moving, its a little unsettling to start with until you work out why the fillings in your teeth aren’t rattling like they did on the previous years’ two-stroke.

KTM has changed from the Keihin carburetor to the new 38mm Mikuni TMX carburettor, The flatslide design of the Mikuni unit allows the power to be delivered far smoother and in a more controllable way (but we are talking about a two-stroke, that is half the fun).

However this will also help with the two-stroke problems of jetting for altitude and temperature differences. Putting the power to the rear wheel, KTM has incorporated a six-speed transmission with the same ratios as its predecessor. Why mess with something that was spot on in the first place?

The 2017 250 EXC is either kicked into life with the conventional kick-starter or via the electric leg, which now has a smaller more compact lithium-ion battery, which is far more reliable than in years past.

If you’re a fan of two-strokes then I won’t have to convince you that much, but the MY17 KTM 250 EXC will make your weekend! The ability to work on a bike that is a little less intimidating compared to a four-stroke is appealing to many.

The overall weight is down by 2.1kgs, the bike is light, really light – it begs the question, where will they be able to reduce weight from in the future? I am sure they will find ways.

The power of the 250 EXC is probably the most exciting part of the bike as with any 250cc two-stroke, but the way the power is delivered with the 2017 makes riding the bike that much easier, smoother and much more usable.

But the biggest improvement comes with the severe lack of vibration of the new two-stroke engine due to the counter-balance shaft being introduced. This helps with having positive feeling in the bike, and for me, how quick I got pins and needles over a longer ride.

The suspension is plush over the small sharper bumps while remaining forgiving and stable over the larger hits on the rocky terrain. The ease of changing the clickers for compression and rebound on the trail on the fly is great.

I am not really one to chase the perfect set up on every part of the trail, but I know a few people that will loose their minds at the fact they can now change it that much easier, or they will need a trip to the psychologist because they keep changing their set-up every 1.5kms.

The overall feel of the bike is comfortable and the components that KTM have worked on to make the bike less prone to any problems on the trail make the bike that much more enjoyable to ride.

One thing you may pick up on is the footpegs are slightly higher than the SX range, only 6mm, but that may put you off a little if you’re a taller rider.

You can easily swap this out if it is a problem with the SX pegs, KTM have done this for better ground clearance and I am guessing for the average rider this is something you will either not notice at all or just get used to it.

The 2017 KTM 250 EXC will be hitting Australian shores at the end of July/early August this year with a price tag to be announced. Further information on KTM’s complete range and specifications can be found on its official website at www.ktm.com.au.