KTM Freeride 350 motorcycle test

Menus

• The magic potion of the off-road
• Introduction
• Discovery
• In the saddle
• On track"
• Concept limits
• Conclusion

The magic potion of the off-road

The KTM Freeride 350 is a surprising machine! By mixing elements from the world of trial and enduro, KTM gives birth to a new concept of TT machine (almost) capable of transforming a leek into a Superman. Explanations ….

Introduction

While KTM has always presented the Freeride 350 as a light and easy-to-access enduro machine, the reality is a bit more complex. The thinking heads at the Mattighofen plant began with the realization that a modern enduro, all brands combined, had become too radical for beginners: caricatured saddle height, stiff suspensions, overpowered but difficult to master engine, physical riding…. To introduce newcomers to the joys of off-roading, KTM has therefore looked to trial motorcycles (geometry, tire mounting) to develop its new Freeride, while adding a good dose of innovation..

Discovery

Almost everything on the Freeride 350 is brand new, like the frame, which combines chrome-molybdenum steel tubes at the front and a mix of high-resistance plastic and die-cast aluminum at the rear. The gasoline tank, with a capacity of 5.5 L (of which 1.5 L is reserve), as well as the air filter, are both housed under the hinged saddle. As for the electronics of the injection, it is carried over to the far rear, concealed in the black plastic portion of the rear buckle. For the wheels, KTM opted for ultra-light 21-inch front and 18-inch rear aluminum rim spoked rims, mounted on Dunlop D803s usually reserved for trial machines. The 43 mm diameter inverted fork is hydraulically adjustable. At the rear, the combined shock absorber spring, anchored directly to the swingarm, even has separate high and low speed compression settings. The two elements offer 250 and 260 mm of travel respectively. It’s less than a traditional enduro machine (around 300mm) but KTM had to make some sacrifices to offer a seat height of just 895mm against the usual nearly 1 meter! A lowering kit, reducing the height to 870 mm is also available as an option.

And if the 350cc single cylinder is borrowed from the EXC-F, here it is significantly reworked. Its power is reduced to 23 horsepower for the benefit of flexibility, progressiveness and low-end torque. As is customary with KTM, three different injection mappings can be selected via a dial attached to the handlebars. Taking into account its leisure vocation, the single-cylinder receives several modifications (titanium valves replaced by steel, final removal of the kickstarter….) In order to lighten it by more than a kilo and to space out the periods as much as possible. ‘maintenance: 20 hours of operation before the first “real” overhaul then a visit to the dealership every 60 hours.

And with a 5.5-liter tank and reduced fuel consumption, the announced range of the Freeride is over 120 km, or the equivalent of a solid day of driving. So, no need to plan a route passing in front of a gas pump…. For heads in the air, KTM has still provided a spare passage indicator, housed between the steering column and the top of the saddle..

On the scale, the KTM Freeride displays 99.5 kg dry which places it in the “light weight” category. For comparison, a 125 EXC weighs 95 kg and a 350 EXC 108.5 kg. As for the finish, it is up to KTM standards, that is to say excellent and "a cut above the competition" according to my colleagues who specialize in nipple machines..

In the saddle

For the presentation of Freeride, KTM invited us to Morocco, not far from Marrakech, on the edges of the Atlas Mountains with landscapes as varied as they are grandiose. But the Austrian firm invited us here more for the wide variety of terrain encountered than to detach our retina. The course, of around sixty kilometers, is advertised as “not too technical” and able to make us discover all the facets of the Freeride personality…. My fingers crossed, my rare enduro and cross country experiences date back to my teenage years, that was almost 20 years ago !

It’s time to step over the beast. My 65 kilos crush just enough of the suspensions to get me perched on tiptoe, not aided by ‘wooden’ boots which greatly limit ankle movement. If you are like me a low waist leek (1.70 m), the suspension lowering kit will not be a luxury…. The saddle, narrow and hard, is up to the standards of the genre but the riding position (sitting or standing, the position adopted most of the time) is natural with a handlebars perched higher than on a traditional enduro. If necessary, the position of the footrests can be moved back 8 mm with the tools provided in the original kit. The hydraulic clutch and brake controls are operated with a single finger and the small speedometer hidden behind the headlight plate is very complete if it cannot be read in direct sunlight. The single cylinder, not helped by the quality of the local gasoline, is a little capricious at start-up but ended up snorting in a very, very discreet growl.

On track"

Freeride is very easy to understand and I end up finding my marks after a few kilometers. And what strikes you first of all is how easy it is to drive this surprising trial-enduro hybrid. The featherweight, the smoothness of the suspensions, the refined ergonomics, the flexibility and the progressiveness of the engine, all combine to erase the difficulties that arise in front of my front wheel. And difficulties, it was only that on our journey.

Flanked by an opener transformed into a private teacher so as not to slow down the group of “pros”, here I am launched to the assault of ruts, of single track (a path on the mountainside barely wider than the tire!) , stone fields, dirt roads strewn with ravines, trialising passages on rocks looking like razor blades, descents as slippery as they are vertiginous ….

Anyway, to be honest, I shit a bit! Summary of the day: 5 falls, a broken hand guard, two badly scratched forearms and a hematoma on the most tender part of my anatomy. But, because there is always a but, I would probably have abandoned the machine at the edge of the track and asked for a helicopter repatriation if I had not been on the freeride. There where I saw myself picking up the KTM every 20 meters, I passed like a flower. And with the enlightened advice of my teacher, I realized -in my eyes- the impossible.

Freeride follows the gaze, smooths out bumps, flattens the landscape and almost always leaves the neophyte with room for improvisation in tricky passages. Even at the end of the course, ground and exhausted, the worst trialising passages, “impossible zig-zag climb with stones everywhere” style, are quietly swallowed first, sitting on the saddle, “pedaling” with the supporting legs. downforce while taking advantage of the exceptional traction offered by the trial tires. The only passages which have shown the limits of the cycle part are the successions of large bumps where the fork, very flexible, has come to a stop. A colleague of mine, also a neophyte, summed up the qualities of Freeride in one sentence: "with this KTM, you do things that you would never have dared to do with another machine …. and it goes! ".

Concept limits

So, perfect this KTM? Not quite. The 23 horses of the Freeride, coupled to a short-pulling transmission, are hard pressed as soon as one ventures on very fast tracks. It is difficult to hang on to 80 km / h in sixth gear and the reminders at the end of the turn give the impression of being on the handlebars of a 125 scooter. Rodolphe, my “teacher”, makes me test the maps in intermediate mode and “full power” (with the key 4 additional horses). Freeride regains a little of its splendor by offering much more straightforward revivals and even gains a few kilometers hours at cruising speed. But it is then the hybrid geometry of the Freeride and its trial tire assembly that shows their limits with a blurry front and a slight general tendency to sway, whether on gravel or on asphalt. Nothing dangerous but this KTM lets you know that it is clearly not made for that ….

Conclusion

For beginners in off-roading, the KTM Freeride 350 is THE ideal machine, easy to handle, balanced, homogeneous. Admittedly, it is confined to a leisure use and is not at ease in the rolling portions, but as soon as the difficulties point their nose, it is able to go back to a pure and hard enduro thanks to its surprising potential in the trialising zones. You will therefore have to choose your playground carefully before making your choice, the paths open to this kind of machine are becoming increasingly rare in France. There remains the question of price. Low sales volumes oblige, off-road machines are expensive. Very expensive even, if we compare them to our road machines. But if your budget allows it, Freeride is almost a bargain…. At 7,190 €, the orange hybrid costs 200 € more than the Scorpa T-Ride 250 F, its only direct rival currently available on the market, but the Austrian is much better finished and equipped with a level of equipment superior. As for a classic enduro, it costs on average 1000 € additional. An electric version of the Freeride will also be marketed by 2013, at an as yet undefined price ….

Strong points

• incredible ease of driving
• motor flexibility
• finishing and equipment
• revision spacing

Weak points

• lack of power in the rolling portions
• front fork that heels on big shocks

Competitors: Scorpa T-Ride 250 F, Sherco X Ride

The Freeride 350 technical sheet

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