There’s no denying the success of KTM over the past decade, winning seven 125cc/MX2 titles since 2000 and it’s something we’ve become accustomed to in a way similar to the days when the might of HRC dominated the 500cc category through the ‘80s and early ‘90s. And with Marvin Musquin staying on in MX2 in 2010 it was almost a dead cert that the MX2 championship would remain in the hands of the Austrian Team. Of course, we all know now that Marvin was simply marvellous, wrapping up the championship with a round to go. For Musquin, the championship was a tale of two halves; the first half of the season the results show he was almost invincible, winning thirteen out of the first eighteen moto’s, taking seven overall GP victories in the process. His younger team-mate Jeffrey Herlings took three race wins and one overall GP victory during that same period, so both the riders’ and manufacturers championship were looking pretty good. However, over the next twelve moto’s, the defending champion would only take a single race win and one overall GP victory, the pressure of defending the title he won in 2009 a possible contributing factor, according to some.
In MX1, KTM had their bases well and truly covered, with runner up in 2009 Max Nagl riding the 450SX-F and defending champion Tony Cairoli campaigning the all-new 350SX-F. All the factory riders would be using the new chassis, with the new linkage system finally moving away from the successful PDS. Of course, it was a mouth-watering prospect for the journalists, as they debated the pro’s and cons of the 350 versus the 450.
Off to a flyerAt the pre-season international at Mantova, Italy in early February, the new 350 SX-F was unveiled to the press to the usual ooh’s and aah’s, and when the bike took to the track on Sunday morning and brought home the first moto win there was both amazement and disbelief; disbelief from those who thought the bike was a 450SX-F in a new chassis. But if the doubters had looked closer, they would have clearly seen the differences, externally at least, between the 450 motor and that of the 350, the size being the most significant. With a win and a third in the following two moto’s this was enough to give Tony Cairoli, KTM and their new bike a well-deserved debut victory, although this was only a pre-season warmer. Things would be different in the GPs, wouldn’t they?
Perhaps the only surprise at the opening GP in Bulgaria was that it was the SX-F450 of Max Nagl that took the overall victory with a 1-2 score, while Cairoli came home second making it a one-two for KTM, but more importantly doing so with a win in the second moto. After a 2-1 at his home GP in Italy one week later,there was never any doubting that Cairoli could take the 350SX-F to his second MX1 World championship, and as the season progressed, he would claim fifteen race wins and eight overall victories, claiming the championship with two GPs remaining.
The new chassis that incorporates the new linkage system was two years in the making. When the project was being discussed in its infancy stages the technicians initially tried using the original PDS chassis and adapting a linkage to suit what they had. Eventually it was clear that this was not going to work and so they set about designing a complete new chassis, a move that not only brings them inline with every other bike on the grid, but also eliminates any excuses in terms of handling and stability. For years there had been arguments for and against regarding the PDS system and now that the change had been implemented, it had to work. And it’s not just the 350SX-F that benefitted in 2010; all the factory riders got to use it, although the catalyst was almost certainly the 350SX-F. After all, if you’re going to create a new bike you may as well go radical, right?
350SX-FTony CairoliMy first impression was that it was smaller than the 250SX-F of Marvin Musquin, but that would be mostly down to the way Cairoli has it all set up – his YZ was similar last year – you definitely feel that you are sat in the bike as opposed to on it, and as a result the bike felt awesome through the corners. I even felt that I could turn it better than Marvin’s bike for instance – but then again my first impression of Marvin’s 2010 bike was not that great (more of that later!).
The forks felt much more plush than the 250SX-F and this was confirmed by the WP tech when he said Cairoli uses 4.2 springs as opposed to the 4.4 of Musquin. It was so stable coming into the turns and the combination of the chassis, maybe the linkage – I say maybe because up until this year there has been no other 350 to compare it against and the Factory switched from the PDS system to the linkage for this year – either way the suspension on TCs bike was well and truly dialled in. But you do need to really attack the track with all of the KTMs to feel any forgiveness in the suspension, particularly the front end. And going back to the comments from the WP tech regarding the differences between stock and Factory suspension, stock being much softer, you can understand why the GP riders run much harder settings. The problem comes though when the rider has an off day or maybe has a problem mid-race and cannot push as hard as he would like, and just by backing off the pace a fraction you suddenly feel how hard these things are set up, and it aint pretty. The kind of reaction you would get if your local guy were to be given the opportunity to ride a Factory bike. They would say ‘Yes’ to the power all day long, maybe, but they would question how it’s at all possible to race a bike with such hard suspension. And that’s what sets those guys from us guys. They push these bikes to the absolute maximum and by doing so get the very best out of them.
As far as the 350 motor, third gear was unbelievable, so much so that I decided I would turn a couple of laps ‘stuck’ in third gear, to replicate the Glen Helen scenario where Tony was unfortunate enough to suffer the same fate (still managed to win the moto as well) and while we don’t have anywhere near the length of straight at Mantova compared to Glen Helen it would not be a stretch to go the whole moto stuck in 3rd. There wasn’t really much call for second gear, but in the slower turns, if you needed it, it was there, but it was a short shift back to 3rd only. And that’s another thing with this bike, you don’t really have to bust the rev limiter to get the best out of it, it’s a very low end, torquey motor, with two very long and strong gears with an amazing 3rd/4th combination. I actually felt more comfortable going fast on Cairoli’s bike than Musquin’s, and was able to attack the last wave section prior to the finish much more clinically than on the 250 – which was strange as the chassis are the same, so it comes down to overall set up.
I tried pulling a start against another test rider, Jeff – me on the 350 and he on 450 of Nagl, but I got left behind slightly, although Jeff did say he might have gone slightly before me, both of us started in second – in this situation you can see then where it’s possible to make up ground, as this 350 in particular, the way it’s all set up allows you to race into the turns and throw it into them like a lites bike. It was the same as Cairoli’s Yamaha last year; at no time then or now did I feel I was ever fighting the bike. It’s like Hannah Montana – you get the best of both worlds, good straight line speed and great agility through the turns. I suppose it goes without saying really, but this is probably one of the most interesting bikes I have ever had the pleasure of riding. This is almost the perfect bike for MX1. You don’t need anything else, but try telling the Japanese that!
450SX-FMax Nagl
For some reason, mention ‘450’ to someone and their first thought would be that ‘it’s a big bike, too big for me, not for me, thanks but no thanks!’ but strangely the 450SX-F didn’t feel as big as I thought it would, mostly because Max was not riding the PDS system of 2009 and therefore the older chassis, but the new chassis equipped with the linkage, but it would have been interesting to see the difference between the ‘09 and 2010 450’s.
He also has his sleeved down seat, which enables him to get into the bike a little bit more, especially through the turns.
Overall the riding position was pretty good – as is the case with all the new bikes - just the personalised handlebars and levers, but generally not too dissimilar to the 350 or the 250. In MX1 terms both the 350 and 450 come equipped with electric start.
After the first couple of sighting laps, I felt ready to put this thing to good use, except there was one tiny problem! I found it difficult to get out of second gear. And I’m not talking about a stiff lever, or difficult to shift through the gears in any way, but second gear around Mantova was plenty good enough. Sure I could, and did shift into third, but then I ‘d be back into second again almost immediately. The reason is that the power on this 450 is brutal, and Max, well fair play to him for even trying to ride this animal. Now, bearing in mind at the start of the season, maybe back end of 2009, Max had tested and had the choice between 350 and 450, he opted for the latter probably because he felt he needed the edge over his team mate and rival Cairoli, and I’m guessing that just for good measure he said to the engine department in Austria ‘I want more power’! No doubt, Tony Cairoli was saying the same and when the results started rolling in on the 350, I’m assuming that Max’s response was ‘I need more power’! But riding the two bikes back to back as I did, one bike is clearly easier to ride. Yes, you can go fast for a few laps on the 450, but over 45 minutes? Twice? That is a big ask, although Max did manage this on the difficult circuit of Sevlievo in Bulgaria, the opening GP which he won, and in moto’s in Portugal, Spain and the tough sand of Lierop in Holland, but this says more about his physical condition than it does the factory 450. When you look at the final championship classification, it will show that Cairoli won the title, and did so on a 350SX-F, and that Max finished 4th, but had he not suffered a collarbone injury at the French GP, whilst lying second in the championship, maybe he could have taken Cairoli all the way to the final round – and we know what happened there, don’t we? Our new world champion tweaked his knee and failed to score, his first DNFs of the season. So while we all got carried away in the success of the 350, winning in its debut season the reality is the championship should have been a lot closer.
Back to the bikes though, with Cairoli’s machine I somehow always felt in control, the power delivery was nice and smooth but with a broad powerband, had great agility through the turns, more like a really fast 250. The 450 on the other hand was more aggressive, too hot to handle, a bit of an animal, difficult to hang onto – a real mans bike, but with the 350 I was able to ride more confidently, I knew exactly what the bike was going to do, everything about it was progressive, easy, uncomplicated.
I’m not saying that the 450 is a bad bike, far from it, but these two bikes could not be more different. And that’s it. They are just different. In road race terms, the 450 is like an old school 500cc GP bike the likes of Sheene and Roberts used to ride; the 350 is the Moto GP bike of today, with all the aides to make it easier to ride. And when you have a bike that is so easy to ride you feel like you want to go faster and faster, you’re confidence grows with every lap and before you know it, the title is in the bag, signed, sealed, delivered.
The bottom line is, while both bikes handled very well in all aspects, one bike stood out as being an easier bike to ride, and that bike was the 350SX-F. Which leaves just one thing to be decided; will Max tone it down and wheel out the 350SX-F or will he remain unmoved and stay with the 450SX-F? Personally, I think he will tone it down and that can only be good for KTM.
250SX-FMarvin – Take 1My first impression of this bike was that it had a really strong engine, but compared to his 2009 bike his handlebar position / bend felt a little different, although it could have been me as riders rarely change their handlebar bend. Also his lever position didn’t quite feel as comfortable as the 09 bike, thus putting me slightly on the back foot before I’d really got to ride it.
You need to be comfortable on a bike, and obviously Marvin is at one with his own set up, but when you ride someone else’s bike you want to be able to adapt your own lever/bar position to feel settled, and this being a factory test, we leave everything as it is; we ride it how they ride it.
The upshot was I needed a few laps to get into it, never really feeling that comfortable on it and as a result, wasn’t pushing like I wanted to and the consequence was that the feeling from the forks was very harsh, almost like riding a mountain bike without front forks … solid is a word I would prefer to use actually, thus resulting with a bit of the dreaded arm pump!! And if you’ve ever felt like Popeye then you also know that every aspect of trying to do things to the max on a motocross bike then go out of the window, and it takes more than a can of spinach to sort that out, that’s for sure!
Actually if I recall, on the hard pack track where we did the test in 09 Marvin’s bike felt more harsh than Nagl’s set up, but I thought that as we were now on a slightly softer terrain, the solid feeling would have mellowed off. Certainly Max bike tracked better than the 250, seemed much more planted and less nervous. As for cornering, again due to not being able to push, and feeling like I was wrestling with the bike, I then found my next problem came in the turns; couldn’t attack the braking bumps, couldn’t chuck it in crack open the throttle and go! I would have had an easier time in the ring on WWF night or whatever it’s called now. Certainly the 350 by comparison was much more forgiving, enabling me to do all of the above with relative ease.
As for the power though, in a straight line again, that critical gearing ratio came into play, and third and fourth gears were just sublime. It’s not hard hitting but you really feel its immense pulling power to the point that you feel that everyone is almost at an unfair advantage.
Marvin Take 2
So, you can probably gather that my first impression of Marvin’s title winning 250SX-F was not exactly glowing, but later on in the day I got another chance to test his trusted steed and my reaction was much better. The thing is, Marvin’s bike was the first bike I rode, I had to re-familiarise myself with the track having not been there for over a year, we have a limited time on the bike and we’re trying to get images for the feature also. So, after a lap or two I started to push, except I wasn’t quite ready to do so, tried to go too fast too soon, and on a bike that you’re not familiar with … well, you already know what happened.
I was pleased to get a second ride, because now I was warmed up, knew the circuit and had completed more than a few laps. Had I felt like I did after the first session I would have been more than a little disappointed. All I can say is I’m thankful for that second ride, because with the way this bike is set up with the hard front end, you need to attack, you have to, it’s a must in order to get the best out of it in terms of realising its full handling potential. If you can do that, and push it, suddenly you feel you’re riding a completely different bike altogether, no more was there a harsh feeling, but instead a bike that was able to soak up all the difficult, choppy braking bumps that awaited on the approach to the turns. The other big gain here was that I was now approaching the turn faster, was able to use the extremely sharp Brembo front brake in a way I wasn’t able to before AND I was able to hit the turn, crank it over, get on the gas and get outta there. And here’s another thing; my corner speed was higher which meant that in some cases I didn’t need to drop down to second gear in the turn, I could now carry third and what a huge difference this made because now I didn’t even have to shift mid-turn, I was already there, and going away. And this is why this bike is SO good. And if I could find this much of a gain from a second ride, imagine how hard and fast the guys that are riding theses bike are going and how much better their bikes work for them?
250SX-FSteffi Laier
Unfortunately Steffi Laier was at the back of the queue when it came to the process of handing out the factory goodies, and as a result was left with the 2009 chassis with PDS, which to her would have been what she was used to anyway. There is a different ignition, and heavier fly wheel because she has the bike fitted with electric start so the power is not as strong as the full factory MX2 bikes, and notably so. With Steffi’s bike the power seemed softer and you felt that you had to work a bit harder to get the most out of it. Also, she was still running the old PDS chassis, so no linkage and again the differences were subtle, maybe not as stable coming into the turns at the rear end, but she also ran a slightly softer rear shock setting so you were pushing the shock through the stroke much quicker, although not bottoming but the ride height was certainly affected as a result – but she is a little lighter than me no doubt and let’s not forget the bike is set up for her.
Like all of the bikes Steffi’s came equipped with a good strong front brake, but with a bit more forgiveness than the factory guys have been using this year and the front end seemed to track pretty good coming into the turns. The lack of punch from the motor due to the electric start meant attacking the final rhythm section before the finish line in the same way as I was able to on Marv’s bike, was a big no-no and as a result lost time through that particular section. But it’s amazing how much different Steffi’s bike feels now compared to Marvin’s. In 2009 she still ran electric start and so would have had a less responsive engine, but this year the gains on the Factory bike seem to have increased ten fold particularly the motor. And the overall feeling of the chassis has changed for the better with the new linkage, thus leaving Steffi’s bike feeling a bit dated by comparison, so expect the double WMX World Champ to be chasing a third title with the updated linkage version in 2011.
Interestingly, the MX2 team had the option to run electric start but decided after doing so that it was not for them – and rightly so, and when it comes down to weighing up the options, the pro’s and cons if you like, if you have to tone down a very good, strong engine to make way for an easier starting option as in the electric start then you’re probably going to go with keeping the power advantage all day long, because on this test you could really feel the loss in response and overall the feeling was more of a lazy engine – but hey, compared to the rest of the bikes on the WMX grid, Steffi’s bike was still the strongest, was still a factory bike and it got the job done. So it’s not all bad!
Tech Spec 250SX-FHandlebars Renthal 997 Taper without cross barRenthal 50/50 gripsBrakes Brembo Twin piston calliper (last year was Radial Brake with four pistons)Braking pump (front) changed from 9mm to 10mm – more power even when wound in at adjuster to weakest point, is still strongRear brake single pistonFront Disc MotoMaster 260mmRear Disc Motomaster 220mmBrake pads SBSExhaust system AkrapovicLubricants MotorexTyres Pirelli MT32 SandcrossForks WP Factory 52mmRear Shock Factory WP Monoshock with KTM Pro Lever LinkageFactory yokes to fit 52mm fork legPlastics StandardAthena products – Tony last year used cylinder and GET ignitionKTM normally in house, factory but Athena provide MX1 team with partsMX2 use Pankl Racing Systems – make products in F1 also really hi-tech company – provide internals Different shapes of cams, the tuning is made in this wayValves and valve springs are special for high rpm around 15,000rpm and the ignition is made in the factory and also the CDi.Excel Rims A60 (the premium model, as you can also have A40 for instance)Talon hubs Aluminium and carbonSprockets RenthalGearing 13/50 mostly – might change for muddy conditions otherwise no need.Carburettor Kehin 41mm (standard is 39mm) on MX2Fuel Injection System Kehin EMS with 42mm throttle body MX1Clutch HinsonChain ReginaSeat Standard foam plus varying height and compound options from Selle Della Valle Seat Cover Selle Della ValleRadiators StandardChassis Standard***BOX OUT***WP technical informationWilfred Van MilWPWhat were the main changes from 2009 to 2010?The main difference between 2009 and 2010 is the use of big bore tubes on the front fork in order to give more stability. We already ran 52mm last year, a complete aluminium fork only the spring is steel; the inner tube and everything else is aluminium – the outer tube we make a different shape to give more stability for 2010 and for the shock of course there was a complete new shock, the linkage shock.Was it difficult to create something then for KTM in terms of their new linkage?No, it was not difficult, quite easy in fact. Did the riders prefer to go in this direction?They prefer not only that we change the linkage, it was also the whole frame around it that makes the whole concept working better, and the riders just prefer the bike handling wise is more easy. I wouldn’t say it is only the linkage, its’ the whole frame around it. The first test we did we took the PDS bike and put the linkage on but it wasn’t working as good so we have to develop again, I think two years on the frame and with the linkage together to finally arrive with this concept.What spring rates do the riders use?As for spring rates, depends on which rider. Marvin is using a pretty stiff front fork 4.4 springs. Max on the 450 is also using the 4.4 springs. Cairoli is on 4.2 springs For the rear shock we use softer than stock springs from KTM, but we use more damping to get rid of the movement of the bike, stock suspension is built more for comfort for hobby riders, and they like a lot of movement, they feel that as comfort, but the GP riders they have a different meaning of comfort (you really have to attack to get the best out of the suspension otherwise it’s all a bit too harsh). Stock stuff is usually quite soft, falls through the stroke easily and GP riders feel that they cannot trust this, mostly due to the speed at which they attack and arrive at braking bumps for instance, they need something that will hold up under extreme loads.The MX2 guys are using a little bit softer spring than the MX1 of Max and Cairoli – MX2 on 49kilo spring, 350 is on 51kilo and 450 is on 52kilo spring.Did you make many changes during the season?All year the riders pretty much stay the same setting, only Lommel (Belgium) and Lierop (Netherlands) did they go for something different.All the bikes have the track system on, it gives you more traction like if you hit a bump normally the wheel is coming up, depends on the bump of course, the wheel is coming half a metre later on the ground, and with the track system the principal is if the wheel is off the ground it’s opening a valve and allows the wheel to drop back on the ground sooner – so if it takes half metre before the wheel returns to the ground it’s now only 25cm so you have more traction (by virtue of wheel being able to drive sooner). As soon as the wheel is off the ground the valve will open.(Even better is that you can actually buy this system, even the exact same shock that the factory guy is using – all for the affordable cost of around €1,000.The front fork will cost around €2,000 but this will be for 48mm outer tubes as opposed to the 52mm, although the internals would be the same as what the factory riders use).***BOX OUT***MX2 Technical informationBernhard SpitzerThe bikes underwent their final test sessions in February and the settings and other important information from then pretty much remained in place for the duration of the season in both MX1 and MX2. But in MX2 Shaun Simpson for instance ran a different cam and carburettor, and therefore had different settings. Jeffrey Herlings and Marvin Musquin’s setting were exactly the same, exactly the same engines the whole time, although Herlings could choose what he wanted, and had the opportunity to test different engines and carburettors – there were three/four different engines – we change them all the time, and also with pipes and stuff like that and we did like this all the year.And then normally we find the basic setting and then we don’t change it all the year, because it makes things more complicated and (the gain) it doesn’t change so much actually.Marvin and Jeffrey use exactly the same engine and almost the same suspension also.The main things from the bike, also from the engine, there are many standard parts, okay, the main important things like con rod and valves and piston, okay, you need to have special parts, but you see we also use standard frames – the suspension is different but the main chassis, and sub frame and swingarm is a standard part – this says a lot for the standard bike that a factory rider can use this as standard. Okay, you have to tune it up to be competitive but, for me it’s really good, because when you buy a standard bike you have the same frame, same swingarm, the same sub frame and the same linkage actually with all the same measurements.(How was the linkage for the guys this year? Obviously a big step forward?)It was a big step forward, was not on the PSP, I think was not so much different but I think if the riders go really to the limit then the link can bring much. The riders could also go really fast on the PDS, lasts years the PDS was working really good, what I could see was perfect, especially on the small bike was really good.SuspensionSpecial spring, as opposed to standard made from different material.This is the first year of the link bike and of course it’s all special stuff, all new.Tyres Pirelli MT32 Sandcross with option to switch between 110 and 120 tyre different mousses with different weight.Footpeg not standard, titanium cast made in USA, all levers standard shape, but reservoir/pump on clutch is standardTalon hubs with aluminium and carbon, saves weight.
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