KTM has delivered a
light-weight, fast and
very capable machine
that works well in New
Zealand conditions
TM has had the 300cc two-stroke
market sewn up for many years now,
primarily because it was the main
manufacturer making them. Sure, Spanish
firm GasGas has made decent 300s too,
but not in the same kind of numbers as
KTM, and not with such a broad and loyal
following. The Japanese have never made
them.
This is not to say they’re not a great bike,
quite to the contrary – many great riders
believe they’re the ultimate two-stroke
engine size for general off-road work. Just
why the Japanese manufacturers have never
made a 300 isn’t completely clear, but I think
it’s likely to be because of no specific race
class for that engine capacity, and politics.
KTM clearly thought there was additional
potential in the 300cc two-stroke market
just based on its sales of the excellent 300
EXC model alone. So a few years back KTM
introduced a 300cc cross-country machine,
66 KIWI RIDER
the 300XC. Basically, the Austrian team
removed the lights and odometer from the
EXC, swapped the rear suspension from PDS
to a rising-rate linkage system and gave it
a power delivery that was a little sharper
and harder, more motocross-like. Yes, there
are a few other subtle changes to the XC,
like a mildly slower steering head angle and
5mm longer forks, but with that done, KTM
delivered a light-weight, fun, fast and very
capable machine that works well in New
Zealand conditions.
For 2019 the KTM 300XC is only subtly
tweaked compared to last year; focusing on
mass centralisation with revised radiator
positioning, and body work changes that
leave the XC with a lighter feel, if not much
of an actual reduction in weight. The cooling
system has also been improved. Where
the enduro-specific 300EXC gained fuel
injection last year – KTM’s Transfer Port
Injection system – the XC model still retains