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PUMP IT UP: Kurt Nicoll's prototype KTM 525 2WD. The hydraulic pump that drives the front wheel can be clearly seen above the gearbox. |
Who'da thought! All-wheel drive - for a motorcycle!
August 27, 2004
Austrian off-road specialist KTM will become the first bikemaker to have an all-wheel drive motorcycle on its showroom floors worldwide by the middle of 2005.
That's unless Yamaha, which pioneered the 2-Trac system with suspension specialist Öhlins, pulls something out of its corporate bag in a hurry.
The 2WD system is a co-operative venture by KTM and Öhlins, a development of the 2-Trac set-up tested on a Yamaha YZ450F by French rider David Fretigne in the 2004 Dakar rally – with impressive results.
A works 525 EXC fitted with the system has been heavily tested and extensively raced during the current European enduro season by KTM sport director and former factory rider Kurt Nicoll.
The 525 was chosen because of its strong torque and power output as the best engine configuration for prototype testing.
The results have been so convincing that KTM will have a 525 EXC equipped with this system in production in 2005 and available through KTM Customer Racing.
KTM SA spokesman Marc Webb said the 525 EXC 2WD would be available in South Africa in mid-2005 for about R4 000 more than the standard version which currently sells for R76 900.
Yamaha's YZ450F 2-Trac is available only to the factory's favoured few and Yamaha SA's Mike de Vos has not been offered the model for sale in South Africa.
De Vos intimated, however, that Yamaha could spring a surprise at the Intermot motorcycle expo in Munich from September 15-19.
Watch this space.
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THIS IS HOW IT WORKS: Inside the front hub you can see a small hydraulic motor which is powered by hydraulic fluid pumped through the two heavy tubes running down the fork leg and partially covered by the black plastic moulding. |
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SELF CONTAINED: The drive to the front wheel doesn't affect the front suspension – other than by adding 3kg of unwanted unsprung weight. |
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