given the extreme instruction we ’ d had we were picking tougher trails – that little instruction offering a better understanding , allowing us to keep cooler heads to tackle the challenges . Except Frank who stuck to his guns – more throttle everywhere ! So is there a secret to extreme ? Well , yes there are some secrets , those top boys are not going to tell all for want of retaining their hard-won position . But for us mortals both Jonny and Taddy were united in their advice . “ You must get the basics right , first and foremost . Practice throttle and clutch control , braking too . You have to refine your feel and control of those before doing anything tricky . We see lots of guys who turn up at schools just wanting to launch themselves over a fallen tree or up rock steps – but you can ’ t do any of that stuff until you ’ ve got the basic controls sorted .” Indeed , there ’ s plenty the extreme enduro riders can teach us about control , a little of what they do will make us better riders . We should learn from them . But as for competing in hard enduros – no , not for me . They have my respect but , you know , I know my limitations …
continued from page 51
for easy trail manners . I ’ m always testing its low end pull as I ’ ll ascend technical climbs at a snail pace in second with revs just above stall – the 300 will do this all day . It ’ s an accommodating bike , even more so now that there ’ s no jetting to fiddle with . And with the much-improved fuel consumption that TPI brings you can take it for longer trail rides , matching the four-strokes . I tried a 300EXC equipped with the upmarket WP Cone Valve forks and Trax shock , too . That ’ s quality suspension , but I could tell it was tuned to suit a faster , better rider than I . It ’ s designed to work optimally at speed – only speeds I rarely attain . I ’ d say if you were a clubman level rider , riding trail more than racing , then the set-up would have limited value . KTM ’ s off-road product manager Jochi Sauer was in agreement . “ For sure the Cone Valve and Trax equipment is there to help the racer and it works so well for them . But we tune the standard suspension to work optimally for the hobby rider , which is the majority of our customers , so it works best at the speeds and on the kind of terrain they ’ ll enjoy . Even for me now ( Jochi is a former European enduro champion ), I prefer the standard suspension .” Equally while the word is racers are looking for a snappier map on the fuel injection , for the vast majority the existing map , which seems to allow for a decidedly linear rev from bottom to mid , suits just fine . Jochi Sauer : “ We are working on a new alternative map and it will be a more aggressive one which will , for sure , suit the racers , but again I think for me the one we have now will remain my pick for my riding and I think this will be the case for most people . “ It ’ s still early days with the TPI bikes , so we are still building knowledge . And even among our test riders in the R & D department its not easy to get a consensus , no two riders like the same setting !” There ’ s an interesting phenomenon with the KTM EXC two-strokes . I ’ ve been riding them since the late 1990s and the 300 in particular has always felt the same , year-in year-out . I can compare my experiences riding an extreme event in NZ back in 1999 ( where only 150 from 500 finished ( I can count myself as one of the 150 only on account the 300EXC was so brilliant ) with those of riding with Jonny and Taddy on this day . The basic formula has remained the same . But we know the latest bikes are better and for sure I appreciate the benefits of the fuel injection – the greater fuel range , the direct oil injection ( so no more fussing with premix ) and no more need to re-jet according to conditions . I also appreciate that the EXCs can get me to places few other enduros can – or at least for a lot less stress . It was an exceptional bike then and – thanks to TPI overcoming the latest emission regulations – it ’ s an exceptional bike now , and into the future …
62 KIWI RIDER