At the EICMA Motorcycle Fair next month KTM will present the Freeride 350, an Enduro that has only one simple message: Maximal offroad pleasure. <!-- main text -->KTM, the world market leader for Enduro motorcycles unveils the Freeride 350. This is a motorcycle that has all the same genes as every KTM competition Enduro bike but is still quite different. The aim was to create a bike on offroad wheels that could master the same challenges as a KTM EXC, but with significantly less effort and energy. So the Freeride 350 is a playful and feather light Enduro to really enjoy and no extreme competition machine. At merely 99 kg, the Freeride 350, available in Spring 2012, is an invitation to all those who have until now had no contact with this fascinating sport. Never has it been easier to get into riding an Enduro. This 24 hp strong, 350 cc high single cylinder with fuel injection always delivers enough but never too much power. Thanks to its homologation and a slim and noise reducing double pipe exhaust system this light fun machine can be used in normal traffic any time. A new composite frame design has also been achieved to further enhance the advantages of the lightweight concept. High quality and proven WP suspension components ensure that the Freeride 350 meets the expectations of a genuine KTM even during a hard ride on tough terrain.
Darn it MUd quit finding all these cool bikes! Don't you dare get one I already am following your lead with the Husaberg and now the Monty 4rt coming this week. I can't afford anymore and my husband is waaaaay past the tolerant stage
Everything old is "new" again. My club is full of KTM's with Dunlop trials tires on the back. The Sherco looks more interesting. The two things I would want are a low seat height and light weight. http://www.trial-club.com/webzine-trial/actualites/2011/sherco-x-ride/
I agree. It is too heavy and too tall to be en "easier to ride enduro". The lower HP will turn many people off after they get bored playing trials rider. They should have used the 200cc 2 stroke engine to get the weight under 200 lbs. I like the sherco better for trail riding and playing around.
Its got a 1"shorter seat height and 1"shorter suspension than an xr 400 weighs 30lbs less has fuel injection 5 less hp, same wheelbase,and comes with lights, and has the magic button and you don't think it will be a good trail bike?
I think if it comes to the U.S. you will be surprised at how well it does. It looks like a fun bike for the tight stuff, climbing, and other technical riding. ------------------------------------------------------------ Luke 2009 Husky WR250
I think the Japanese have missed the boat by not selling decent dirt bikes that are street legal. AFAIK, the KTM and Husky dealers locally are doing pretty well with their road-going dirt machines. Let's ask NM Trailboss on this one -- he works for a multi-line, multi-shop dealer and would know if street papers help. The main advantage I see here in the US is that trail mileage is being lost on public lands, and if your bike is street-legal it makes it easier to string together a good trail ride. If KTM brings this Freeride here with road-going papers, I don't think they'll languish in the showrooms.
They sell well enough for boutique brands. That is not well enough for Honda, Yam, etc. The argument I always hear is that people want the performance of a KTM race bike, with the maintenance intervals of an air-cooled jap bike for the price of a 10 year old KLR. Plus 12 inches of travel at both ends and someone 5' 3" should be able to flat foot. Ugh.
No question that a street title makes any off road bike more desireable and much easier to sell, especially in the western states. Many people do not want to deal with the restrictions installed in the street legal models (uncorking, etc.) but that is part of the game. The Jap companies have a much harder and more strict time dealing with the EPA on street legal models than do the euro manufacturers, so not likely to see much from the big 4 that is a serious street legal off road machine in the near future (IMO). I'd love to see the 350 Freeride come to the states and I agree it would have decent success if brought in with street legal papers depending on what KTM decides to price it at.
I'll buy part of what your sayin but not all. I think a bike like the freeride with a plate and at say 55-6,000.00 price would probably sell well. Would everyone like it to have a foot of travel, sure but the dimentions on the freeride are practial and ergonomicly correct so it would feel right. look at all the kdx's, its,xr's that have been sold thru the years and this is along those lines, we have to face the fact that ktm upped the anty with the race bikes they sell now which in my mind are the poor mans works bikes! This is also why folks get tired of the upkeep of such a high strung machine, and many of these people would like to have a lower maintainance machine, they need a good trail bike not a racer. This brings us back to the freeride!
and there is the rub. I do not see a street legal 4t selling for less than a 200 2t. Right now, our local dealer has 2011 350 XC-F for $8199. Is it even possible for them to sell a 2012 of the same displacement for $2,000+ less????? If it is, I will be the 1st in line for a heaping plate of crow. My bet is that it will be in the $7,500 to $8,000 range, which prices it out of anyone loyal to any Asian brand.
and the same group of people will bitch and moan about how Suzuki does not update their DR or why Yam does not offer a street-legal wr450. This will be a case of put up or shut up. If the Freeride is a sales success, expect imitations. If they sit unsold in showrooms, expect the Asians to point and say, "See, what's the point."
