2015 KTM 250 SX-F

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Fit and Finish

This bike is AWESOME, it has an electric start, hydraulic clutch, Brembo brakes, and black Excel rims! The plastics don't interfere at all when I was riding and the seat actually seemed a tad soft, which to me is odd since most people I've heard complain about the firmness. The on-the-fly fork rebound and compression adjustments make it WAY easier to dial in the bike, instead of getting off your bike and finding a flat head on the track to adjust suspension clickers.

Engine

The KTM's engine was killer from 3/4 to full throttle, while the mid-range on with a nice buildup before the top-end kicked in hard. The bottom-end on this bike was somewhat non-existent and reminded me off riding a 125. AS a comparison, I've ridden the 2015 YZ250F which has a much more 450 feel, while the KTM really doesn't come alive until upper range. On the track, this was somewhat of an inconvenience since the tracks I was riding were very technical, with lots of switchbacks and tight corners that featured jumps immediately after the exits. I just had to use the clutch a bit more to keep the bike up in the revs, which was fine in my books considering the pull on the hydraulic clutch was so plush and smooth.

I'm going to play around with sprocket sizes since I'm running a 49t right now on the rear, and I think I should be using a 51/52t for this type of riding. One last thing I noticed was that second gear would seem to run out fairly quick, while third seemed to run a little long. Which meant I was shifting quite a bit, especially since I was coming off a CRF450.

Suspension/Handling

What I love about the KTM is how light and agile it is in the corners, especially since the tracks I've been riding were very rutted and the bike was easy to change direction with and keep planted in the long ruts. The overall length of the 250 SX-F feels quite a bit shorter than the bikes I've been on in the past, and I found myself getting up to and past the perfect manual balance point through a roller section which I couldn't do with my previous CRF. I actually like the short feel, because it makes the bike feel more playful and lighter.

Alright, so the 4CS forks are a bit interesting to me. I just came off the PSF 1 forks from the 13' CRF450, and there are some major differences between the bikes (obviously). I started with the clickers set at stock and played around by turning them a few clicks in both directions. The fork seemed to go through the stroke too fast and quickly end with bottoming feeling but then the front wheel would almost push a bit out of the corner. Not too sure how to address this, but I'm assuming they'll need re-valved to begin with to take out the blow-through and keep the bike more balanced through the corners. Overall, the bike's handling is point and shoot, very smooth in and out of corners. It's also a little bit light on the front end in higher speed sections and exiting of corners, but that's most likely due to my user setup error.

Jumping

I'm always super excited to see how a bike jumps, simply because I like jumping! Since the KTM is so short feeling, this translates to a pretty snappy feel off the lip when you want to whip or scrub. The bike felt well balanced (aside from the suspension being a bit soft and a tad bouncy to me) and one word I would sum up the KTM's jump feel would be "Playful." The 250SX-F puts a smile on my face and I felt like I could move the bike around in the air pretty easily. Landing was a bit bouncy/rough because of my current suspension setup, but I'm hoping to address that soon.

So all-in-all, I'm very stoked on the bike and am really excited to get this thing situated for my speed and weight these coming weeks/months!

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

Main track: Northern California/ 408 MX

Shelby Paget- is a ginger that has been rockin' two wheels since he was three years old. Growing up riding singletrack and trails in the hills of NorCal with his brother and Dad until he got his first taste of the Motocross Racing scene at 14. He's been hooked ever since! Whether he's working on looking better than he really is for the camera or doing cartwheels down the straights, he's always looking forward to getting back on two wheels whenever he gets the chance. This 5'11", 150 pound ginger will be riding as long as he has a wrist to twist!