Because of the changes in the economy, Austrian based KTM has had to readjust their sales forecasts for the X-Bow track car/go-kart on steroids, resulting in KTM halting current production of the X-Bow until 2010.
Here in the United States, it’s hard to find a KTM RC8, it’s difficult to get your hands on a KTM RC8 R, and it will be down right impossible to land a KTM RC8 R McWilliams Limited Edition without making a flight to Deutschland…but well worth the trip.
KTM is producing only 100 of these limited edition bikes to commemorate the timely announcement that Jeremy McWilliams will be joining the factory KTM team in the German IDM racing series (the German equivalent of AMA Superbike, minus “the show“) as its third factory rider.
While not exactly “street bike” news, we thought the A&R readership would find this latest press release from KTM interesting nonetheless.
KTM owners of current SX, XC, XC-W, and EXC model dirt bikes can now have their motorcycles tuned by KTM factory technicians to the exact same specifications as the KTM factory supported race bikes.
Lambretta scooters may not be as well known as Vespa is here in the United States, but one quick look at their design, and you will instantly conjure up visions of speeding around Italian streets and sipping coffee. Mild mannered, there isn’t anything too assuming about the Lambretta. That is, unless it has a 2-stroke 250cc KTM motor attached to it.
Thursday, the organizers (ASO) of the Dakar Rally announced that the event will only allow 450cc motorcycls in the professional class. Taking the news a bit hard, KTM has now claimed that the new class regulations are specifically “designed to end the dominance of KTM” in the historic and difficult race.
Unable to field and prep 450cc rally bikes, the Austrian company has announced that it will cut the race completely out of its schedule and budget, leaving nearly 50 riders SOL for bikes and/or sponsorships.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), KTM North America is voluntarily recalling about 550 model year 2009 off-road motorcycles for possible front fork failure. While this recall specifically affects the orange/black 125SX, 150SX, 250XC-W, 300XC-W dirt bikes, this is the second time in the past few months that . As in the earlier case, the front fork inner tube can crack and separate from the fork axle, posing a risk of injury or death to the operator. No incidents or injuries, however, have been reported.
Source: PowerSports Business
Ktm is recalling 237 2009 690 Duke and SMC motorcycles in the United States. The cause of the recall is that during use, the front forks could develop cracks, resulting in the possibility of the front fork inner tube separating from the axle clamp. This is due to an improper heat treatment of the front fork inner tubes from the factory. If untreated, this defect could lead to a loss of control and possibly a crash, which could cause injury or death to the rider or others.
Afflicted owners can take their bikes to their local KTM dealership where dealers will inspect and replace the front fork tubes free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during april 2009. Owners may contact KTM customer relations at 440-985-3553. Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration’s vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236, or go to .
Source: NHTSA
About half of KTM’s 1,500 full-time employees will be shifting to part-time positions between May and August of this year says the . KTM said the measure would apply to all categories of employees, including white-collar employees as well as manual laborers. The move effectively eliminates two months of production, but retains the company’s workforce and manufacturing capacity in hopes of an economic rebound next year.
The move comes after KTM’s announcement a few months ago in January, which said the Austrian company would lay off 150 workers in its leasing division, and 150 core employees by April this year. KTM chief Stefan Pierer added that the company was planning to decrease production by 25 %, but said he expected business to get slightly better next year. On the positive side of the news, Pierer also claimed the motorcycle industry was in better shape to survive the recession than the car industry since more people would opt for motorcycles during a recession.
Source: Austrian Time via Hell for Leather
KTM has put the Venom naked superbike project on hold to focus solely on bringing the RC8 to market successfully. In 2004, the Venom concept was shown as a variant to the RC8 Superbike that would debut one year after the RC8 (which would have been this year). Clearly that is not the case, and KTM’s Thomas Kuttruf explained to MCN the reason for the delay:
Harald Bartol, who heads the KTM 125cc & 250cc GP teams, has revealed that the Austrian company was the first to use a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) on Tommy Koyama’s racebike last year. KERS was first fitted to Koyama’s bike during the 125cc GP in Valencia last year, and KTM is looking to explore how KERS could be applied in other racing applications and production motorcycles.
In our opinion, KTM leads the pack when it comes to TV spot ads. With superb photograph and quick edits, KTM creates ads that are just as edgy as the lines on the RC8, and promotes the hooligan within all of us. Unfortunately the way product liability works in the United States prevents many of these ads from actually airing in the US market. So, we thought we’d bring them to you so you can see how KTM envisions you using their bikes on the street and track. Continue reading for the videos.