First ride: KTM Freeride 350

“People are getting off this bike and telling us, ‘this bike makes me a better rider’.” This was a statement that definitely caught me by surprise. It’s nothing new for PR divisions to big their bikes up, tell you how much fun they are, or how their latest technological invention makes it the best thing since sliced bread, but to say that it is going to make me a better rider is surely taking the biscuit.

As I looked at this small, soft, detuned, slightly weird-looking 350 that KTM said was going to make me a better rider, I was definitely baffled. That’s because the bike’s purpose had me baffled: I didn’t understand who it was for, what KTM wanted it to be, or how it would fit into the real world.  Then they gave us a test ride…

UNIQUE FEATURES
The KTM 350 Freeride is unlike any other bike currently circulating in production. I suppose it comes under a similar bracket to that of the Scorpa T-Ride or the old Gas Gas Pampera.

From the ground up, KTM has built a new bike.  The frame is unlike anything from the Austrian factory, made up of a steel backbone and bolted to forged aluminium side spars as well as a plastic sub-frame that houses all of the electronics. The geometry is unique to the model, with a shorter wheelbase and a steeper steering head angle to give the bike higher agility.

The Freeride also features a single radiator with a fan, which is mounted inside the frame, so as to have the maximum steering lock possible. The suspension is specifically designed for the Freeride too; a 43mm 250mm travel, WP front fork and a 260mm PDS Shock suspend the bike.

The engine started out life as a standard 350 EXC that has undergone some serious modification. The engine has been choked up to take it down to a gentle 23hp, courtesy of some intake restriction and a new exhaust design. The bike is fuelled using a 42mm Keihin throttle body and EFI system as well as a closed loop Lambda control and two catalytic converters that keep those pesky emissions in check. The gear ratios have been redeveloped to fit the less powerful engine and help provide more torque, and are mated to a set of 11/48 sprockets. The engine cases are now diecast instead of sandcast, making the engine about 1.2 kg lighter than before.

The brake and clutch hydraulics are made by Italian mountain bike company Formula, famed for their lightweight brake systems. This also means that the brake and clutch lever are identical and interchangeable.

NATURAL RIDE
I was genuinely puzzled by KTM’s strategy with the Freeride 350. There were a number of points that really didn’t make any sense. KTM started with one of the best engines in its arsenal -- then it took all the power away, put it into a small chassis, with soft, short suspension. They threw on big mountain bike brakes, two catalytic converters, and an underslung exhaust. Then on top of its ‘half-baked’ enduro bike it put a real price tag on it and, to add insult to injury, then slapped some trials tyres on it.

The child in me was expecting the bike to be a giggle and a lot of fun, but I couldn’t see anyone but those with spare cash buying one, and I was surprised KTM thought it would sell enough to justify inviting 30 journalists to go and play in the Atlas mountains…

The first thing that struck me about the Freeride is just how far removed it is from KTM’s range. Swinging a leg over the bike for the first time, another thing that is instantly noticeable is its size. Somewhere between a big wheel 85 and a full-size bike, it’s a strange size. The seat is soft and plush and the suspension sinks down in the stroke.

As the bike fired into life, it sounded odd, restricted and very ‘trail bike’ esque. As we rolled off down the first track however things started to make a little more sense. Straight away the lightness and playful handling became apparent. The first little bump I came across became a little bunny hop and subsequently the first few kilometres of twisting donkey tracks started to breed a smile on my face.

There were a few little things that took some getting used to: the gear lever and rear brake are in a slightly different position from an enduro bike. Tucked away a little more inside the frame than normal, the gear lever required some thought to change gear and, more akin to trials bike than enduro, the rear brake is on instant demand.

As we reached the first photo point and stopped for some tea, it was a struggle to get my head around the bike. It is very different to everything else, from the large amount of steering lock, to the trials tyres. The bike feels very natural to ride, almost akin to a mountain bike in the way it rolls along the worn animal tracks, with its ease of hopping the back around tight flowing corners and how quickly it responds to input through the footpegs, but the only thing I was sure of was the grin slapped across my mug. After only 25 minutes, I was having as much fun as I have had on any bike in a long time.

The engine feels… well… exactly how you would expect a chocked-up 350 to feel. It has no bark or strength, and it feels a little weak. However at this point I can understand why KTM has gone about things this way. One thing that struck me is that the bike is still a small(ish) bore four-stroke; the engine doesn’t have the inertia to go pulling tall gears to get up difficult climbs and steps. Secondly, it feels unnatural to rev the bike hard and it has a lot of engine braking when revving in the upper areas of the engine.

Following a quick sit on a donkey, we began to climb into the mountains and start to really ‘freeride’. Slowly, I became more in touch with the bike and everything felt more natural, it started to flow better and I was enjoying the experience more and more. Some friendly words of advice on how to get the best out of the bike from the various members of the R&D team that were showing us the way saw me revving the bike harder and harder.

It still felt weird; there’s no two ways about it. It doesn’t feel as though it makes any extra power the more it revs, but it really works. The engine is so smooth that it’s very hard to break traction and the bike makes torque all the way through the rev range. We started riding increasingly difficult climbs and looser, shakier ground, but still the bike kept climbing.

The 350 slowly breeds more confidence into you, to try bigger and harder things, to wheelie everywhere and to throw little stoppies every time you pull up and the more you play, the bigger the smile gets.

Climbs that should be difficult, where grip should be an issue, no longer are, and the less you mess with the bike the easier it becomes to ride. Sticking it in first gear and letting it do the mountain goat thing works a treat and apart from one lacklustre, half-hearted attempt at a rock step that saw me rather embarrassingly break a clutch perch, I was quickly falling in love with the quirky, odd little bike.

A rather timely lunch break saw a substantial shower come and go, leaving the ground sodden and grip levels up in the air. The trials tyres performed admirably throughout, their ability to get grip on rock (wet and dry) was of no surprise. But in all the conditions we came across, from freshly watered sun-baked dirt (the kind that becomes super slippery) to horrid little off-camber goat tracks across the side of the mountains, they held better than you would have expected, almost better than they had a right too. I felt like this bike was beginning to make a mockery of off-road riding --  all the years of trial and error, making mistakes and learning to ride seemed to have been wasted. But come the end of the first day, and as much as I wanted to rant and rave about the pointlessness of the bike, I couldn’t. After some six hours riding, someone had stapled the smile on my mug and for the life of me I couldn’t get the staples out.

The second morning on the bikes saw us cruising up ever more difficult trails, riding more extreme donkey tracks, paths that on enduro bikes would have seen some very tentative riding, with turns too tight and tracks too narrow to leave you comfortable with the fact that you are on the edge of a 100-metre drop.

But it was not until the very final climb back to the hotel that the true potential of the bike became apparent. I felt like I had turned a page in my understanding of this bike’s potential. Until that moment in time, in my mind, extreme enduros had been the reserve of the determined and foolhardy, or trials riders, but no more.

As we turned up one last, uncharted donkey track and began to climb, we lost the way and stopped on a shaley outcrop. From there we all pulled away, without a problem and despite some paddling and a few errors along the way the bikes continued to climb, to find grip where there was none and to carve their own lines up the mountain side. The bike took us way beyond the point an enduro bike and our talent levels ran out, stopped on a near vertical rock face, looked back while giving the finger, before riding off into the sun.

INGENUITY AT ITS FINEST
The 350 has a number of thoughtful modifications that prove to be very clever. Firstly the exhaust; it runs under the engine between the frame rails and underneath the sump guard. It’s well protected and is going to be hard to damage and, given its position and design, allows KTM to gain maximum torque from the engine.

The Freeride features an airbox that puts the air intake at the bottom edge of the seat. Deep water is no longer an enemy of yours. The small air filter is housed in a clever, easily changeable cartridge that looks more like something out of a vacuum cleaner than a dirt bike.

Rotatable footpeg mounts are a new thing for KTM, which has turned them 180 degrees and sat them further back, giving the bike a more trials style riding position.

Sporting twin exhausts is another strange addition. It helps to keep the silencers small, and the DB’s low, as well as being home to two catalytic converters to keep the green fingered among us happy.

The restriction of the engine has also seen the recommended service intervals increase dramatically, to the extent that KTM is recommending an oil change roughly every 40 hours.

COMPLETE WORK
The bike is definitely designed for the trail rider in mind. It’s something I really liked and am glad that KTM has put so much thought into. Designed to be stood- up on most of the time, the 350 is surprisingly roomy for a smaller bike. On top of this, the moveable footpeg mounts not only open out the cockpit for those of us that are taller, but also make the bike more suited to climbing. It’s not something I liked more one way or the other, but it certainly changed the feel of the bike.

Light, quiet, small and unintimidating, the 350 Freeride could possibly be the best thing to happen to trail riding in a very long time. For those smaller in stature, KTM will have a both a smaller seat as well as a lowering kit that drops the seat height a further 25mm from the already low 895mm.

As you have come to expect from KTM, the controls are all fantastic, the brakes strong, the clutch light, foot pegs grippy and oddly the seat is comfortable. The bike is not a chore on fire roads and will happily cruise along at 80km/h. The suspension is very good too; it works very well for its intended purpose, sticks to the ground well and is generally confidence inspiring. It doesn’t take big hits all that well and a few times bottomed out hard, but it isn’t designed to take big jumps and drops.

The only potential sticking point I can see for some people is the small fuel tank. At only 5.5 litres it sounds incredibly small, but KTM claim it’s got a similar range to a 250 two-stroke and, in all honesty, we rode a long way before ever needing fuel.

There are two negative points against the bike, both nit-picky in nature. The clutch and brake perches are fragile. They look light, weak and I broke one relatively easily. Oh, and the grips are awful, hard, horrid things.

A lot of thought has gone into the 350 Freeride and it shows; it is a very complete bike that will suit people way beyond its mountain goat presentation. It’s the thing that I like the most about the bike and it’s a bike that I think everyone will like, whether they want to go clambering up hills, or gain an unfair advantage in extreme enduros, or even if you just want to cruise along green lanes.

If you are a little nervous of the height of a full size dirt bike or intimidated by the power of real enduro bikes then this is the best bike you could buy. The steeper steering angle doesn’t stop the bike being stable in any way. The gearbox is plenty wide enough and the rideabilty and playfulness means that the bike won’t get boring, whether you are a hobby rider or riding world enduro. For almost every rider who doesn’t race in earnest and for those who are purely racing to enjoy riding, there is not a better bike available.

And the good news is that's it's coming to Australia, and will go on sale in July, 2012, fully road-registerable. Price is still to be announced. Contact your local KTM dealer for more information.

<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/bikesales/id433070395?mt=8" target="_blank"><br></a>