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- KTM’s fun bike
- How do they do that?
- Front brake an important factor
- Tight single cylinder, taut chassis and freedom of movement
- Very easy handling, little weight and a lot of ground clearance
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KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto.
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Archive pictures KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto and the test from MOTORRAD 24/2002
KTM’s fun bike
KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto: That means making a man on demand or standing upside down, on the earlobes around the corner and always asking the same question: How does she do it? The test from MOTORRAD 24/2002 and the most beautiful pictures of the KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto from the slide archive.
D.he emotional excitement of astonishment, which is relied on by discerned contemporaries into the world of childhood experience, is directly related to that of the "Being able to do it yourself". Whoever saw the lion number in the arena had defined his career aspirations. Ringmaster. To amaze the world once in a while!
In adulthood, career planning is then approached more rationally. All the more astonishing is the childlike excitement that afflicts even seasoned bikers in view of the performances of the supermoto cracks. Drifting around corners once, that’s it!
How do they do that?
But how do they do it? One thing seems clear: nothing works without suitable equipment. For years, KTM has stood out as the fulfillment of wishes with regard to this pubescent irrationality. KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto is the name of the current vehicle on the way to provoked unstable driving conditions, which should be even easier to achieve after the latest revision, because the Austrians poured out a cornucopia of modifications for the new year for 180 euros more.
First and foremost, performance is traditionally mentioned in this list, although the hopeful young drifter may not really care. "High flow" is the name of the new cylinder head with larger exhaust valves, derived from the Dakar machine, which, in combination with new control times, optimized ignition timing and a new manifold, should give the unit of the KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto a whopping 54 instead of the previous 49 hp. The fact that the test bench only shows 53 HP may be due to the low mileage of the test machine. Nevertheless, there is more power and torque almost over the entire rev range.
Front brake an important factor
However, completely different factors are more important for spectacular cross-stayers. The front brake, for example. "Brake in front so hard that the hindquarters become light but still have contact with the ground", Tip one is from Supermoto DM specialist Achim Trinkner. KTM took it to heart with the KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto. Instead of the previous double-piston caliper, a contemporary four-piston bit from Brembo is now used on the impressive 320 mm disc, which makes this balancing act much easier thanks to a more precise pressure point and the associated better controllability. "Brake at the back, beat down the gears and use the engine’s braking torque with sensitive use of the clutch", advises Trinkner.
KTM has taken this into account and equipped the KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto with a hydraulically operated clutch, the lever of which can be adjusted to the pilot’s sensitivities via a small hand wheel in terms of lever travel and engagement time. "Then, from the apex of the curve, the drifting is over. Then only traction counts", Achim finishes the little sideways lesson. KTM has the right recipe here too, donating the new Supermoto a new cast swing arm and the tried and tested Pirelli MT 60 RS instead of the previously 4.25-inch wide rim, a 5.00-inch version that increases the tire contact area.
Tight single cylinder, taut chassis and freedom of movement
And what if all this is not enough? When reason triumphs over the compulsion to display even with the smallest slide, when the youthful arrogance gives way to a sense of responsibility for family, dog and goldfish? When fear spreads? Then it’s time to let the daring men and their drifting boxes do the arena – and discover the qualities of the KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto that are less conducive to the spectacular external effect and more to inner freedom. Basically, the message is simple: a tight single cylinder in a tight chassis, little weight and a lot of freedom of movement – that’s all you need to be happy. At least not if the radius of action is mainly located in urban areas. On the contrary: KTM understands like no other how to take the mundane from everyday cycling. Whoever takes off the helmet in the office has already won.
At least those little races that do not satisfy the general public but satisfy your own ego. At every traffic light, around every traffic island, over every tram track – there is nothing that can hold a candle to a KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto. It steers in laser-sharp, always drives inwards and always forwards, brakes violently with a courageous pull on the lever, without the new, just as huge 48 (in words: forty-eight!) – upside-down fork twisting even in the slightest, not pressing huge, but easy to control forwards. If the attentive pilot doesn’t let the engine speed drop too far, which is not easy given the missing rev counter in the redesigned cockpit. Then the stew jumps along very uncomfortably, lets the chain whip and the previously radiant hero step into one, if not two gears down.
Very easy handling, little weight and a lot of ground clearance
A field of activity that he cannot avoid beyond the town signs. The KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto never gives the feeling of having more power than necessary anytime and anywhere. On the contrary: With its active seating position, it motivates every reasonably ambitious driver to iron out this deficiency through courageous effort. The fact that this is almost always possible despite the fork, which is dampened a little too tightly in the rebound stage, speaks in favor of the concept of child’s play of handling, low weight and a lot of ground clearance. That the omnipresent vibrations of the single are only noted on longer straight-ahead stages, for the driving fun that is also offered in the wild, which is only clouded by a slight pendulum at very high speeds (measured 170 km / h top speed instead of the specified 156).
And the fact that for all those who have become friends with the supermoto in this way, in addition to the little joys of everyday life, the circus number comes back to the fore, speaks for the not yet completely buried child in the man. Thanks to the latest modifications, the new KTM 640 LC4 Supermoto can be placed on the rear and front wheel more easily than ever before. And so, apart from daring drifts, the audience is amazed; How does he do it??
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