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By: ATV Source
Video By: ATV Source
Photos By: ATV Source & Kinny Jones
2009 KTM 450 and 505
SX, Two Stellar "Ready To Race" ATVs
Proving Grounds
We’ll come right out
and say it! It typically doesn’t take much to
get the performance-hungry crew from ATVSource
excited. So you could imagine our reaction when
KTM invited us to Red Bud for the tenth round of
the ATVA MX Nationals to cover their 450 and 505
performance ATV launch.
We arrived at
Buchanan, MI Friday, July 25, and didn’t plan to
leave until Sunday evening with the chance to
not only test the quads, but to actually race
them right there on the National track in the
Industry class.
With butterflies a
fluttering in our test rider’s midsection, we
gathered the scoop on these two new scoots.
Let’s make one thing perfectly clear from the
get-go. While the impressive 450 and 525XC
models left us feeling like KTM covered their
bases in the cross-country and woods racing
department, the new 450 and 505SX have been
designed specifically for the rigors of
motocross/supercross racing. Knowing the
Austrian company’s attention to detail and
competition orientation, we felt like you simply
couldn’t ask for better proving grounds than Red
Bud.
KTM Innovates
Let’s begin
by taking a look at some of the innovations the
“boys in orange” have brought to the table with
the two new SX models. It was quite easy to
become overwhelmed by the information overload
presented by the factory technicians on hand;
but of the hard facts presented, we came away
quite impressed with the forward thinking and
innovative designs KTM embodied. The KTM Brand
philosophy of race-ready OE equipment is now
embodied in two unique ATV lines: the XC and SX
(each with two separate engine classes). For the
2009 model year the 450 SX and 505 SX aim to be
the closest production-ready ATV to date for the
motocross enthusiast. KTM, no stranger to
motocross, accomplishes the unique requirements
of the sport through enormously powerful
engines, coupled to low overall weight and a low
center of gravity.
We hear claims of quads
being close to race-ready off the showroom floor
all the time but even we, in our skepticism,
came away impressed with some of the details KTM
includes to make this concept a reality. Among
these: Wide axle and A-arms, and special WP
suspension elements, DWT wheels with rear bead
lock, Razr MX tires,
tapered Magura bars, Nerf
bars, and even the
tether cable/ kill switch!
Not bad for a bone stock machine, not bad at
all!
The machines’ spec sheets are nearly
identical, save for the usual bore and stroke
differentials indicated by the differences in
overall engine displacement:
Chase Cunningham |
The 450 SX
offers up a
449cc DOHC 4-Valve liquid cooled
single. Bore 97 mm, stroke 60.8 mm, compression
Ratio 12.5:1 while the 505 SX cradles a 477cc
DOHC 4-Valve liquid cooled single with a bore of
100 mm, identical stroke at 60.8 mm and
compression ratio of 12.5:1.
Both models
feature redesigned engine cases with modified
engine ventilation systems to accommodate a deep
oil sump, which allows better engine performance
and increased oil capacity (1.8L). Both
come equipped with an industry standard close
ratio 5-speed transmission (no reverse) and,
like their two-wheeled cousins, are electric
start only.
The
cylinder head specs
read like a technological wonder checklist with
dual overhead camshafts and DLC-coated finger
followers that drive four Titanium Valves.
Additionally, the crank was designed to
maximize centrifugal mass while simultaneously
ensuring optimum power output.
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