...KTM’s 150 XC-W
sparked my interest
as it still has all the
perks of the 125 but
with a tad more grunt,
which is useful in the
tighter stuff
or the last two years I’ve been riding
a Gas Gas EC125, which has been a
great first big bike. The EC has modest
power, good torque, and decent steering. So,
when I was looking to upgrade my bike and
the question of which new bike it would be,
everyone had their ten cents worth – some
thought a 250 two-stroke, others a 250 four-
stroke and some others offered the idea of a
125. Several people had also mentioned the
KTM 200, but its production finished in 2016
and only a handful of these made their way to
our Land of the Long White Cloud.
A 125 seemed my obvious gig as I’m still pretty
light (a little under 70kg fully rigged up). The
bonuses were they’re relatively cheap to work
on and might be beneficial to my riding, as a
smaller engine takes a bit more work to go
fast. This is where KTM’s 150 XC-W sparked my
interest as it still has all the perks of the 125 but
with a tad more grunt, which is useful in the
tighter stuff. So a KTM 150XC-W it was.
I have to say it... I think the 150XC-W is a pretty
classy looking dirt bike. For 2019 KTM has
gone heavy with the orange sauce; the frame,
frame guards and almost all the plastic are
orange, barring the front shrouds and sanction
guards which are mostly black. The seat is fairly
padded with nifty little orange gripper strips,
possibly more for aesthetics than practicality.
At the front the headlight isn’t going to keep
possums blinded for too long but it looks trick
and can be noticed in dense bush. The only
thing absent is a bash-plate which can be
picked up for around $160.
KIWI RIDER 69