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Driving report rally KTM by Fabrizio Meoni
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This was what the world had been waiting for. After many unsuccessful attempts, KTM finally took its first victory at the Paris-Dakar Rally. MOTORRAD drove the machine from winner Fabrizio Meoni.
Here it is. As if the engine were still crackling cool from the last stage on the beach, as if the splashes from the Magnum champagne bottle were still damp on the tank. Even the road book still points the way to the podium at Lac Rose, where everyone who has made the 10,739 kilometers from Paris to the finish line in Dakar is celebrated like a hero. And how they were celebrated, Fabrizio and the KTM. Understandable, after all, they had fulfilled a dream: victory in the Dakar. The very first. For both.
Only the chain, which has already rusted from the salt water, reveals that the applause has long since subsided. Because the winner is now on northern Italian gravel instead of Sahara sand. Almost modest, slim, in a subtle silver-orange. Perhaps she is a little shy because she was hiding something a few weeks ago when MOTORRAD presented her in issue 1/2001. Instead of 660 cm3 like the commercially available desert runners, the so-called “factory replicas”, the hearts of the eight factory machines beat thanks to a three millimeter larger bore with a displacement of almost 700 cm3. The competition shouldn’t know everything beforehand. Well, be forgiven. But she can now be ridden.
The swing in the saddle. With most rally equipment, the ascent is like a quick free climbing course. Not so with the KTM with a very moderate seat height. A height of six feet is enough to feel the ground with both feet. And they stay down when you start. There is no more kicking in the rally business. With the KTM not even in an emergency, the kick starter was saved for reasons of space. A jumper cable permanently attached to the motorcycle is the only precaution against any electrical problems.
During the test drive, however, all you need to do is press the button and the single shoots out of the two stainless steel silencers. Now let the clutch come and … smack. Out. The hydraulically operated clutch grabs miserably. 5000 kilometers in steppe and desert sand that have been due since the obligatory engine change at halfway point of the Dakar have left their mark on the surfaces. Never mind, just testifies to real rally life. Another push of the button, a little more gas, and it moves.
And how it moves. No trace of the dreaded colossus of the desert. Slim and slim ?? the genes of the Enduro are unmistakable. Neither the front tank halves, each with a capacity of twelve liters, nor the two rear tanks, also with a volume of twelve liters, interfere with the knee or legroom. A constellation that creates trust straight away. Trust to step on the gas right away in the spacious area. The engine surprises. Quite cultivated and without the unpleasant chopping of the large-displacement single-cylinder, the mighty single pushes from low speeds. Around 75 hp tug on the chain. One likes to believe. Because the LC4 unit pushes the total weight of 155 kilograms plus rider forward in the purest sports manner. No slow revving up typical of big singles. Gas on, and the stew cheers in the highest tones.
Like the driver. Because even bad jogging slopes lose their horror on Fabrizio’s work equipment. Despite its size, the orange-silver speedster has surprisingly comfortable suspension. The White Power factory fork, equipped with titanium-nitrite-coated sliding tubes, and the shock absorber from the same company swallow a lot. That everything has its limits can only be guessed at on deeper bumps. With only a few liters of fuel in the bunker and a moderate pace, Meoni’s Dakar racer still remains in a very bearable range. But the set-up, which so far seemed so comfortable, turns into sporty hardness in the last third of the suspension travel. Which also makes sense. For example, when the machine crashes into a deep depression with full tanks and a lot of speed. There is nothing worse than a suspension that is working to the limit and has no more reserves.
Without a critical supply of fuel, the LC4 jumps over the oversized washboard as lightly as an agile crosser. And not just there. Even full-grown jumping hills leave the racer cold. The front-heavy rally cars with head landing on announcement are forgotten. Even on twenty-meter flights, the KTM sails through the air in a completely neutral manner. Not to mention the clean, cushioned point landing. There is only one thing she doesn’t like, like all machines of the desert guild, by the way: sharp edges. A step twenty centimeters high is enough and the stern quickly kicks half a meter high into the air ?? at 50 km / h. A little more speed or a slightly higher threshold means a safe rollover. It is no coincidence that broken collarbones, arms and wrists were by far the most common injuries at the last Dakar.
At least the desert ship from Austria finds it easy to find a quick way out. And for a good reason. Because the water pump, battery and fuel pump all moved down to the sides of the motor housing. The steamer can be angled as quickly as possible and circled around the problem areas. And that in the literal sense. In contrast to most steppe riders, the KTM also remembers its endurance origins when it comes to handling. Instead of driving the very demanding and often risky rear wheel drift, the brisk Alpine country can be steered very well, conventionally and surprisingly precisely over the front wheel.
S.o simply that the limits of one’s own ability and above all of reason are exceeded all too quickly. Fabrizio Meoni and four of his factory driver colleagues have apparently meticulously respected the limits this winter. You reached the finish in Dakar in positions one to five ?? truly a fantastic result.
Technical data – KTM LC4 690 Rallye
Water-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke engine, one overhead camshaft, four valves, bore x stroke 105 x 80 mm, displacement 692 cm3, Keihin flat slide carburetor, Ø 41 mm, output 55 kW (75 hp) at 8400 rpm, electric starter, five-speed gearbox Tubular steel frame with split beams, bolted frame rear made of rectangular steel tubes, upside-down fork from White Power, sliding tube diameter 48 mm, central spring strut from White Power operated via deflection, spring travel front / rear 290/310 mm, Brembo disc brakes with floating double-piston caliper, Ø front 300 mm, Ø rear 220 mm Other enlarged water cooler, additional flanged fuel pump, water pump moved downwards, two-part front tank with twelve liters each, two rear tanks with twelve liters each, total dry weight 155 kg
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