350 freeride.

[mckinNY]

i was on KTMs website and came across the 350 freeride, it looks like a cross between trials and an off-road bike, looks very interesting..

[Cold Smoke]

The new frame looks interesting but at the end of the day it's still the same weight as a 250/300 2-stroke and only has a 5.5L tank. Less travel front and rear and less ground clearance too. KTM's marketing department is working overtime.

[BONESTOCK]

The new frame looks interesting but at the end of the day it's still the same weight as a 250/300 2-stroke and only has a 5.5L tank. Less travel front and rear and less ground clearance too. KTM's marketing department is working overtime.

Its called the KTM freeride for a reason.. It makes 24hp.. it isn't meant to go out and rail berms and single track at a GNCC pace and jump triples. KTM makes plenty of other models that do that VERY well.. This is more of a scorpa T ride or a beta trials bike with a long ride kit installed.. Just meant to go out and play on and have fun. It does weigh 220 pounds etc and on makes 24hp but at that power level 5.5 liters may last for a long bit out on the trail. I for one am hoping it actually comes to the US because I will be inline to buy one.

Rant over.. Continue on

[mckinNY]

i do think it is a trials trails, if that makes any sense, price will be the deciding factor for it.

[Lolley]

I have not found found many reviews of this bike even though it is available in Europe already. Maybe not many European riders on this forum? It is tough to release a new bike in a down turned economy. I wonder how it is doing in Europe so far. Looks like it could be a good fit for someone like me. Like said above, price is important, and KTM is typically expensive. It really has been a long time since I have been looking forward to see a new model, and I am looking forward to seeing this one.

[Ud_Luz]

Street legal would help.

[Wrfrk]

Ya they look pretty awesome but I'm not so sure about running a front trials tire...

[mxbundy2]

I have a wife and 2 daughters at home that would love to get there hands on one of these!!

[Persephone]

I have a wife and 2 daughters at home that would love to get there hands on one of these!!

That's going to be my angle....... "I love you so much that I bought US a new bike".......................

[Chris Hammer]

It looks like it will fall into selling to a limited niche of people. Although it could make a ton of grunt down low. peak horsepower numbers are decieving. There can be 40hp bikes that are actually faster than 45hp bikes because they make power sooner and better.

The biggest killer will be the tank. There is a video of them out riding I saw it a while back on youtube.

[ASEMA]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2eUucG4gwU

[fastlif306]

I wish they would bring it to the states. I'd buy it so fast.

Need more economical bikes. Not every rider needs a full on race spec bike to ride.

[G.P.]

Need more economical bikes. Not every rider needs a full on race spec bike to ride.

+1

If the price that I saw is correct, this bike in definately not what I would call "economical" though.

[brent j]

I test rode a demonstrator here in Australia and I'll be buying one.

I'm in my early 50's and I want a play bike. This is the one for ME. I love single track and hill climbing.

The steering on these is so accurate it is amazing. It is the only bike I can say that on single track it responds with no conscious physical input.

In these conditions it is fast, very fast.

As for being "only 220lbs" all I can say is it feels a lot lighter to ride.

They have enough power for what they are designed to do. As the test reports in Aust say "if you want more power you're buying the wrong bike.

The other bonus is that in Australia they are street legal/registerable.

Edited December 31, 2012 by brent j

[ASEMA]

I test rode a demonstrator here in Australia and I'll be buying one.

I'm in my early 50's and I want a play bike. This is the one FOR ME. I love single track and hill climbing.

The steering on these is so accurate it is amazing. It is the only bike I can say that on single trail it responds with no conscious physical input.

In these conditions it fast, very fast.

As for being "only 220lbs" all I can say is it feels a lot lighter to ride.

They have enough power for what they are designed to do. As the test reports in Aust say "if you want more power you're buying the wrong bike.

The other bonus is that in Australia they are street legal/registerable.

I´m really thinking on buying one, so based on your test, when you say that "power was enough " you mean that you can overcome any obstacle in single trails and tight trails? and does the bike feels like a kids bike or your feeling was more like a real bike?

[G.P.]

Lots of good videos and reports of the Freeride coming out on Youtube in the past couple of weeks. Just search "KTM Freeride".

Funny, it reminds me of the XR200's and XR250's that I rode as a kid when I keep hearing how easy it is to ride. Enough power to do anything, but does it easily. Those old XR's would go up and over anything, even if you sucked as a rider. Honda would be in a good spot if they had of kept up the development on the old XR line instead of keeping it so stagnant.

Edited December 27, 2012 by G.P.

[G.P.]

[Hans Schmid]

I would love one for trail clearing......

[fastlif306]

I love this bike. I just think the usa always wants big cc's.

I wish ktm would hear this and relize there is a market here for smaller bore bikes. Honda has started to see the light. Now trying to save their sales after years of raised prices.

[brent j]

I´m really thinking on buying one, so based on your test, when you say that "power was enough " you mean that you can overcome any obstacle in single trails and tight trails? and does the bike feels like a kids bike or your feeling was more like a real bike?

I wrote this for a friend who is looking at buying a Freeride but works remotely at a minesite.

I collected the bike from the local dealer and they had made some changes to it.

The bike had been fitted with a Michelin S12 front tire and a mid-soft Michelin knobby on the rear, why I don’t know

I was riding in an area of loose rocky climbs and rain forest not far from home

The intake restrictor had been removed and the final baffles from the mufflers, again why?

It had more power than standard but it wasn’t really needed plus I wanted to know what the standard power was like

I didn’t even have a chance to check what tire pressures it had and I had no tools with me so had to put up with levers that were far too high and 1/8 turn of slack in the throttle.

Power wise it was quite harsh at really low revs (compared to my KTonda, XR200 powered KTM) and quite easy to stall. Where the Honda will quite happily pull down to less than idle revs these newer short stroke motors won’t. I would expect (hope!) the harshness to be less with the original restrictors in place. Power through the mid range is quite impressive and it seems to rev out quite well, at least as far I was going to push a brand new motor.

It’s quite flexible and I suppose you could describe it as a “willing motor” It climbs well enough but didn’t seem to like really low revs when doing slow trials type climbs.

Some of this may be the lack of restrictions but a mostly it is me being used to older type motors.

On a flat hard dirt road at 40/50 km/h the vibration from the motor is quite noticeable.

The steering is razor sharp, on tight single trail in the trees it goes where you think about going with no conscious input.

It is light but also feels very light. Sitting was good but once I stood it was just so much easier and faster. I got to the stage where I backed off as I was simply going too fast. I was reaching my limits, not the bikes. Talk about raise your confidence.

I was the first person to ride this bike so the suspension was a bit stiff. I had it for a couple of hours and after that time it was noticeably softer.

Given a bit more time I expect it would soften up more. For a new, straight out of the crate bike it was very good.

I’ve read comments about the lack of suspension travel (2” less) but I can’t see this being an issue once the bike is set up.The bike is slim and easy to move about on, even across the radiator it is narrow. I didn’t think of it at the time but nothing got in the way or caught my boots or clothes. I also found that after a couple of hour’s ride I didn’t feel knocked around like I usually do.

Would I by one? Well I am so that answers that question.

For me the stand out of the bike is the light weight and the handling, it’s just so sharp and accurate

The negative is the harshness of the motor at low revs (which is where I ride mostly!)

I'm sure others will find it smooth but compared to what I built to suit me, I find it harsh. Maybe I'm just getting old eh?

The handling more than makes up for the complaints I have about the motor and it won’t take long at all to adapt to it

The bike is smaller than most modern enduro bikes. About 100mm lower at the seat but I didn’t feel too cramped while sitting. Keep in mind I have knees that don’t like to bend too far for long periods.

The tests I’ve read say the motor is happiest at mid revs, I’m used to older long stroke type motors with heavier flywheels so I will need to adapt my riding style a little.

The other thing the test mentioned was that if you are looking at putting on knobby tires or getting more power out of the motor you’re probably moving away from the bikes designed usage.

Edited December 31, 2012 by brent j