2008 KTM 450 XC Woods Racer
Over the past few years we impatiently waited in suspense as rumors of a new sport quad being developed by KTM circulated within the ATV community. Earlier this year the gossip was silenced when KTM announced the release of not one but two race-ready ATVs. Race-ready? This isn't the first time we've heard this claim, and with the Austrian company having no prior experience in the development of ATVs, I have to admit that we had our doubts about these two. The media intro event would be our first encounter with the two XCs, and after a day in the saddle, our initial impression was that KTM had lived up to the remarkable reputation it has earned in the two-wheeled market. We reported our review, but with no competition available at the intro, ranking of this new machine had to wait until June for our 450 shootout. Our regular readers are familiar with the results of this challenge, but for those just joining us, you'll be astonished to learn that the 450 XC was unanimously voted King of the Hill against six other 450s in its class. This is an amazing feat for a manufacturer to accomplish with its first production ATV, but the question that's on everyone's mind has yet to be answered. Is it really race-ready?
The answer to this question greatly depends on your idea of race-ready. If you're looking for a machine that can outperform a low to midlevel skilled rider, many of the 450s on the market meet your criterion. What separates the KTM from the competition is the fact that it has the ability to perform at a professional level with only minor modifications and adjustments. This makes the KTM an ideal choice for the serious racer on a privateer budget. Follow along as we set out to determine exactly what it takes to transform this stock XC into a cross-country monster.
If you plan to be competitive in any discipline of racing, you must first get to know your suspension. This system is certainly not made up of bolt-on components that come preset from the factory and ready to attack the track. There are factors such as rider weight, skill level and terrain that greatly effect fluid transfer in the shocks. Factoring out this equation can be tricky, so we enlisted the help of suspension guru Norris Quinn from Quinn Motorsports. After a few laps around the track under his watchful eye, he had our suspension off the quad and disassembled on the workbench (don't try this at home). At this time, the internal valving was subjected to changes to extract the best possible performance for our rider. This is a must if you plan to run at the front of the pack after the flag drops. Once the revalving was completed, Norris hooked us up with a dual-rate rear spring setup that yielded phenomenal results. He then set our ride height, adjusted preload and got our compression and rebound dialed in. After a couple of hours in his shop we had completed our first and most important stage of this extreme XC transformation. If you happen to make your way out to Quinn's shop, be sure to stick to the subject of ATVs and don't mention hunting unless you plan on hanging around to watch the sunset.