KTM - marque/manufacturer information
List of all KTM cars
KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle manufacturer.
History
The company was founded in 1934 by engineer Hans Trunkenpolz in Mattighofen. It started out as a metalworking shop and was named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. It wasn't until 1953 that KTM began production of motorcycles. With just 20 employees, motorcycles were built at the rate of three per day. In 1955, a businessman Ernst Kronreif became shareholder of the company, on acquiring a sizable portion of the company. It was then renamed Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. Trunkenpolz died unexpectedly in 1989. During these early years of motocycle production at KTM, almost all components for the motorcycles were built in-house by KTM.
Throughout KTM's history, they have been on the leading edge of motorcycle technology. They were the first manufacturer to produce a liquid-cooled four-stroke motorcycle engine for an off road motorcycle, a design which has since been replicated by all other manufacturers (KTM even supplied radiators to Suzuki in their early water-cooling days). In 1986 KTM became the first motorcycle manufacturer to include both front and rear disc brakes on an off road motorcycle. In 1998, they offered a linkless rear suspension, dramatically reducing the un-sprung weight of the bike (KTM was the first major manufacturer to do so, although ATK, a small market, niche brand did so as early as 1987). They were also the first to offer hydraulic clutch mechanisms on all models of motorcycles, and were the first to offer a competition-ready supermoto bike.
Financial structure
In 1992 the company became insolvent and was divided into three companies:
- KTM Sportmotorcycles GmbH, was renamed 1994 to KTM Sportmotocycles AG
- KTM Fahrrad GmbH (Bicycles)
- KTM Kühler GmbH (Radiators)
In the fiscal or business year ending in 2005, KTM Sportmotocycles AG delivered 80,000 motorcycles worldwide and began a partnership with Polaris Industries. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will help one another to extend their brands into the other's home market, KTM extending their reach into North America, and Polaris extending into Europe. This partnership is a two year trial arrangement, at the end of which both parties are giving the option of merging the two companies into one. In 2006 KTM announced that the partnership with Polaris had been ended early, and would instead only supply their 525cc RFS engines to the ATV manufacturer. KTM also announced their intention to enter the ATV market with either a late 2007 or 2008 model-year release.
In November 2007, Indian two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto Ltd. acquired 14.5% stake in KTM Power Sports AG (holding company of KTM Sportmotocycles AG). The two companies have signed a cooperation deal, by which KTM will provide the know-how for joint development of the water-cooled 4 stroke 125 and 250 cc engines, and Bajaj will take over the distribution of KTM products in India and some other Southeast Asian nations.
The Swedish motorcycle company Husaberg AB and Dutch WP Suspension are now subsidiaries of the KTM Group.
Racing sponsorship
KTM began in motorsports with Motocross Racing. In the last few years KTM has gained more success in motorsports by dominating events such as the Paris-Dakar Rally and the Atlas-Rally. In 2003, KTM started sponsoring and supporting Road racing in various capacities, with the most successful results stemming from their SuperMotard or Supermoto efforts. KTM's new road racing focus will soon grow to include Superbike competition with the help of their newly developed V-Twin engine dubbed the LC8 as employed in the 950 Adventure dual-sport motorcycle, and more specifically the 2005/2006 990 Super Duke followed by the superbike contender known as the 1190 RC8. The Super Duke will have a higher output, second generation version of the LC8 engine, geared for high rpm peak power as required in road racing and superstreet applications while the RC8 will sport a 1190cc version of the LC8 for more midrange.
KTM offers a range of different engines for its larger motorcycles, all liquid-cooled.
KTM's official company/team colours are Orange, Black and Silver. To create a strong brand identity, all competition-ready KTMs come from the factory with bright orange plastic with "KTM" emblazoned on the side of the radiator shrouds. Some official KTM teams use different colors for their bikes, most noticeably in the Paris-Dakar Rally.
Off-road motorcycles
The term off-road refers to a driving surface that is not conventionally paved. This is a rough surface, often created naturally, such as sand, gravel, a river, mud or snow. This type of terrain can sometimes only be travelled on with vehicles designed for off-road driving (such as SUVs, ATVs, snowmobiles or mountain bicycles) or vehicles that have off-road equipment. The KTM is well equipped for these environments and is popular among many off-road riders. The design of this motorcycle is well suited to this sport and the weight of the motorcycle is another advantage. The suspension of the KTM is softer than the XC line, 125cc size airbox, hydraulic clutch, WP 48mm front suspension and fully adjustable WP rear shock. The KTM has won every Dakar rally since 2001.
Motocross SX line includes 65, 85, 105(discontinued), 125, 144, 200(discontinued), 250 and 380(discontinued) two-stroke liquid-cooled models, and 250, 400, 450 and 505 four-stroke models. In 2005 KTM released the new 250SX-F to the general public. For the 2007 model-year, all of KTM's four-stroke SX motors were re-designed similarly to the 250 SX-F, in a dual-overhead cam 4-valve line dubbed the "RC4". The SX-F's are KTM's new racing motocross range introduced in 2007.
The KTM SX125 is very well-known to be the fastest and most powerful 125cc MX Bike. It has been the fastest and most powerful bike from when KTM re-designed the motor in 1998-2008. KTM now produce a 144 which is aimed to race alongside the 250F machines and remain competitive. KTM and TM are the only manufacturers to produce a 144 as yet.
Cross-Country XC line includes 200, 250 and 300 cc models in two-stroke varieties, and 450 and 525 cc four-stroke models. The XC line updates and replaces their old MXC bikes. They feature a close-ratio gearbox, stiffer suspensions, and the four-strokes have a shorter-stroke design, mimicking their SX line. In 2007, they introduced the 250XCF which is based on the 2006 SX model.
Enduro EXC and XC-W lines. XC-W two-strokes are available in 125, 200, 250, 300, (discontinued 360 and 380) models. EXC four-stokes are offered in 250, 400, 450 and 525 models. The XC-W replaced their old EXC two-strokes, a move the company made in order to comply with EPA restrictions in the United States. Two-strokes are still designated as EXCs in Europe markets. The EXC line has been a long-time favourite for Enduro market, and outsell other larger-volume brands to Enduro racers. These bikes feature wide-ratio transmissions, slightly softer suspension than the XC line, and long-stroke engines. The 250 and 300 EXC-W(E) are 2-strokes which come equipped with an electric start (thus the E in the model designation) this is a unique feature for competition 2-stroke machines.
Supermoto SMR bikes are offered in 450 and 560 cc displacements. There are also three, less racing specific, models based on the older LC4 engine architecture: SMC 625/660 and SM 640. A 50 cc Mini Supermoto is available in European markets. KTM was the first manufacturer to offer a competition-ready Supermoto bike to the public, and their sponsored racers currently sit atop the US Supermoto racing circuit. The new LC8 SuperMoto 950 has received rave reviews from all the bike magazines and newspapers in the United Kingdom.
Dual-sport Adventure bikes offered with both the LC4 Engine (Adventure 640, 640R) and the LC8 Engine (Adventure 950, 950S, 990), the 640R is the base of the Rally 660 which has won many Dakar Rallies.
KTM 2 Stroke Development
Since the major rule changes in Motocross to make 4 stroke bikes more competitive in motocross and being given a 125cc 2 stroke to 250cc four stroke advantage the cheaper, simpler and faster 2 stroke bikes have being dying out.
Since other manufacturers have decided to discontinue their 2 stroke models, KTM has continued with creating and improving their 2 stroke models and taking up a very high proportion of the 2 stroke bike market.
KTM has also created a new 2 stroke MX bike with 144cc to comply with the 2008 AMA motocross class changes. This change has been made to bring back the 2 stroke bikes to encourage more entry to the market as the 2 stroke bikes are cheaper to maintain and repair than the expensive 4 stroke bikes.
Environmental agencies have tried to remove 2 stroke machines because they produce more pollution than 4 strokes. However with newer advances in technology 2 strokes have began to burn cleaner and pass green sticker standards.
In recent interviews KTM has revealed that they will continue to produce and improve 2 stroke bikes and have already began looking at EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection). EFI will benefit the 2 stroke bikes because they will become more fuel efficient and will also produce less waste.
New directions
Beginning in 2006, KTM has begun the development with a lightweight track car known as the X-Bow . It will use an Audi engine and a Dallara sourced chassis, and have a weight of less than 1400 lbs. On the 8th of January, 2008 Bajaj announced that it would jointly develop two new 125cc and 250cc bikes for Europe and the Far East. The bikes would be badged 'KTM'.
X-Bow
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- estimated start of production 2008
- weight: under 700 kg
- length: approximately 3,6 m
- engine: 1984 cm³, 220 hp, 300 NM (Audi 2.0 TFSI); Topversion 300 hp
- 6-speed gearbox or DSG
- price: about 40.000 Euro
List of all KTM cars
Source: Wikipedia
