n 2018 when KTM switched the fuelling on
its 300 EXC from a carburettor to its new
fuel injection system, transfer port injection
or TPI, I must admit I was sceptical about
whether it was a good thing, or not. I felt the
move had been forced on KTM based on their
two-strokes having to pass ever stricter emission
standards year on year, rather than a move
based on improving the bike’s performance.
Last year I got to test ride editor Ben’s 2018
300 TPI, and I must admit... that I preferred my
carburettor model. The engines felt poles apart,
with the carburetted bike feeling more grunty
in the bottom end, just right for my style of
riding. But in typical KTM fashion nothing is left
unimproved for long – so the 2019 TPI version
has been refined and improved for its second
year in production.
ENGINE
If you’ve ridden one of KTM’s previous 300 two-
strokes, then you’re going to have adjust your
view of what it should be. I’ve found that when
you first hop on one of these new generation
two-strokes, you’re going to need to forget
what 300 two-strokes have felt like in the past,
and think of them as completely new bikes.
Otherwise, I think you’re going to be left feeling a
bit disappointed. This is because when you first
accelerate, your arms aren’t stretched like on a
carb’d 300 thanks to its huge amount of bottom
end grunt. Instead, the new machine feels
like you’re riding a smaller capacity bike. This,
however, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Let me
explain... I think this reduction in the very bottom
end grunt helps the bike get better traction,
purely because the power is a lot less abrupt.
Less is more in this case. Also the TPI can pull
away at such low revs cleanly that any other bike
would probably stall – this thing will almost crawl
up anything.
The power from the bottom to the top end is
smooth but it’s by no means linear. From the soft
get-go off the bottom it really picks up through
the mid before flattening off a bit as it gets to
the top-end. There are a couple of spots in the
rev range that have a slight burble but they’re
nothing compared to the old carby model. This
thing is so smooth thanks to the fuel injection.
KIWI RIDER 41