If you want to buy a no-compromise dual sport out of the box, with farkles pre-installed and top-shelf suspension, then KTM wants to have a word with you. The Austrian factory has just announced the KTM 350 EXC-F Factory Edition, which takes their existing 350 model (which is already pretty competent in its own right) and adds updated suspension and protection.

The Factory Edition name hints at sporting intentions, and that means you get “proven professional-level WP XACT air fork technology lifted directly from KTM Factory Racing Motocross machines, and then tuned on the feedback of the world’s most talented enduro racers.” KTM factory rider Josep Garcia just won the International Six Days Enduro on a machine that was set up very similar to this bike, and KTM benefits from suspension design advice from riders like him.

The XACT forks have clickers on top, with 30-way adjustability. In the rear, KTM went with an XPLOR shock, with progressive damping capability, eliminating the need for suspension linkage. Front suspension has 300 mm of travel, and the rear has 310 mm of travel.

Dry weight is 104.3 kilograms. Brembo supplies brake calipers and a hydraulic clutch.

The new 350 also gets a skid plate, front brake disc guard and radiator guard. The engine is basically the same as the standard 350 model (350 cc, DOHC, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder, EFI, six-speed gearbox, about 45 horsepower). There’s a rad fan included as factory equipment, though, and optional handlebar-mounted map selector switch, allowing the rider to choose between different engine output profiles. KTM says the rider can also engage or disengage traction control with this switch. There’s also a billet orange oil plug, but that obviously adds nothing to the machine’s performance.

KTM also puts a Supersprox Stealth rear sprocket on this Factory Edition bike, and lots of flashy graphics. What they haven’t put on it yet, at least as far as we’ve seen, is an MSRP for North American customers, although we’re sure that’s coming soon. Expect the limited availability and high-end upgrades to boost the price considerably over the standard 350 model, though.

Vezi sursa