KTM 300 EXC TPI
The fuel-injected 300 TPI has been our
long term test bike since the end of last
summer. Over the course of the last
eight months or so it’s been raced, trail
ridden and used in the Husqvarna Hard
Enduro.
Through all of this the three hundy
hasn’t missed a beat. We’ve just kept
topping up the oil tank with Motorex 2T
and filling the tank with petrol. There’ve
been no problems at all with the electric
starter, it’s fired up every time.
In terms of mods, our TPI has been
left mostly stock, the only bits fitted to
this particular bike were a cooling fan
and a carbon fibre exhaust guard. We
wore through the standard tyres (which
weren’t a bad set of tyres) and replaced
them with a set of Mitas hoops. Everyone
else seemed to grab the 300 once it had
the new hoops, so I didn’t get to test
them when they were in their prime.
That said, they dug in well on the soft dirt
climbs on the FTE ride in Ohakuri.
During the Tussock Buster at the end
of last summer, the soft(ish) suspension
and grunty but easy power delivery made
a couple of 200km-plus days relatively
easy. Throughout the trail riding I’ve
done with it, the TPI has been getting
around 100km on a tank of fuel, which is
a fuel range that two-stroke riders could
only dream of a couple of years ago.
During the Tussock Buster it was only
needing to be refuelled at the same time
as the four-strokes, and could use fuel
from the same bowser because of the
separate oil tank – which is good for five
or so tanks of fuel.
The 300 has been a great bike to have
around at KR HQ because it can turn its
hand at pretty much anything. What does
EXC mean...? EXtra Capable?
That sounds about right.