2016 KTMs – BEHIND THEIR DEVELOPMENT

Mike Sleeter has been involved with KTM’s future-model testing program for a decade now, so we sat down with the likeable American Pro rider at KTM’s recent media launch for the 2016 models in the USA to get a first-hand insight into the brand’s real-world testing and development process.

For a full ride impression on the overhauled SX and SX-F models, and details of the radical upgrades to their new bikes’ rolling chassis and engines, grab a copy of Transmoto’s July-August magazine (Issue #51), which is on sale now.

TM: How did you score the testing gig with KTM initially, Mike?
MS: In mid 2004, I was chasing the racing dream with support from Jeremy McGrath and American Honda. A friend of mine was working at KTM as an engineer, and he asked me to come help him test suspension on some two-strokes. My feedback must have been okay because he asked me to do some more a couple of months later. A couple of months after that, he told me he wanted me to test ‘a little bike that makes a lot of noise’. That ended up being the first 250SX-F. I joined Casey Lytle, who was racing and testing with KTM back then, and that formed the basis of KTM’s first North American testing group. That was the first time KTM started looking at specific settings for bikes they sent to the USA.

Tell us about the development process with these 2016 models.
Well, it started in 2011, and I’ve been riding these models for two years. Because we do so much testing – and because we need to find rough tracks – we actually do a lot of our future-model testing on public tracks in America. To keep it on the down-low, we mock-up the bikes with old plastics. So unless people are specifically looking for it, no one seems to notice. I mean, the media over here know what we’re up to, but they’re smart enough to play the game and respect our need for privacy. I’ll also travel over to Europe about four or five times a year to test for various projects, and the project leaders from Austria will spend time in the USA. So the process is much more involved than testers from the USA and Europe swapping notes every now and then.

So you’d already be testing, what, 2018 or 2019 models by now?
Well, the 2016 models are the best production KTMs ever, and by a long way. But, yes, I’m already developing bikes that are better again. That’s the thing; KTM never stops that process of evolution. The cool thing is that everyone at KTM is an enthusiast. Their personnel aren’t stuck behind a desk or punching numbers into a CAD machine. They love their riding, and much of their development comes from being immersed in the sport. They work hard and they play hard, and they all communicate frequently with KTM people in all their markets. I think the key to KTM’s success is that they surround themselves with industry leaders; relevant, credible people who understand the product. It’s very rewarding for me to come to media launches like this and see that people are recognising how far the brand has come, especially in recent years.

Fitting the WP 4CS fork last year for the American and Australian bikes was not that well received. What’s your take on that?
We thought WP’s twin-chamber fork was a good thing and still getting better, but it seemed the American market wanted a change as that fork had been used for so long. More specifically, the media over here wrote it off. As a group, we didn’t necessarily agree with that, so the change to the 4CS last year was initially more about pleasing the market. We’ve worked really hard on developing the 4CS fork and made some big steps forward, and I now believe we made the right decision in moving to the 4CS.

The 4CS fork across all models does feel noticeably softer this year.
Our feedback last year was that the 4CS fork’s mid-stroke was a little harsh and that it deflected too much in some situations. And the settings we’ve used this year definitely improve on that a lot. Our philosophy is that the faster guys are going to get their suspension re-valved anyway, but we wanted the average guy’s first experience with the bike to be a positive, comfortable one.

In your mind, where have the biggest advances been made for the 2016 MX models?
It’s across the board because the bikes are all that much lighter, more powerful, more agile and more comfortable to ride. But if I had to single a few things out? Okay, I think the bottom-end torque on the 250 and 350SX-F have come a long, long way. At lower revs, the 350 now almost feels like last year’s 450. The other big thing for me is the chassis stability. Even though the wheelbase is shorter and the whole bike is more nimble, the combination of the frame, linkage and shock changes make rear-end of the bike much more planted though big braking bumps.

Check out this helmet cam footage of Mike Sleeter pushing the all-new 2016 KTM 125SX around Ironman Raceway, the track KTM used for the media launch of it 2016 machines.