KTM EXC 350F Six Day – The perfect enduro bike?
KTM EXC 350F Six Day - The perfect enduro bike?
- Julian
- August 29, 2019
- 9:42 am
- No Comments
A few years back, KTM decided that the ideal dirt bike would have the power characteristics of a 450 with the weight and agility of 250. The resultant 350 cc machine was a truly revolutionary motorcycle and in the extremely capable of Antonio Cairoli, it was unbeaten in every year it was used in the world motocross championships. KTM might have gone a bit cold on the idea in recent years – years in which it has lost it’s stranglehold on the top of MXGP, but the 350 platform remains an extremely capable option, and in an enduro bike, it’s one of the best you can buy. So we thought it’s high time we tested one. Is the KTM EXC350F the perfect enduro bike?
THE TEST BIKE
So for this test we’d managed to prise a box fresh 2019 MY Six Day 350 from the slightly unwilling fingers of a riding colleague from the Bristol TRF. The new owner had only collected the bike a few days earlier from the KTM dealership, having managed to add on a fair smattering of Hard parts into the package to further pimp the already well specced Six Day model and provide suitable replacement for the outgoing 2013 KTM EXC300.
If that weren’t enough, the bike had also been fitted with some additional protection and upgrade parts thanks to Ian at Classic Enduro. and the suspension had been lowered just a tad by Mitch at Technical Solutions to cope with the owners undersize legs!
There’s a section at the end of the blog to list the upgrades in case you want to invest in any of the kit – and you will want to!
But despite dripping with aftermarket goodness, the essentials of the bike are the same as a stock 350F Six day and we wanted to see how it performed out on the trails
THE 2019 MY EXC RANGE
While each KTM model year brings on changes to the previous incarnation, 2019 was not one of the ground breaking years in the development cycle, as that had happened for the 2018 bikes. You can often tell these ‘ treading water’ years with the Austrian brand as they commonly change the colour of the frame, and this is precisely what happened for 2019, the Henry Ford black being upgraded to Jaffa orange. While there were some tweaks to the rest of the range, it was the 125 and 150 models that got the big changes with smaller slimmer engines with uprated clutches.
THE MOTOR
At the heart of the EXC 350 F is the sweet little motor that shares most of it’s components with it’s younger sibling the EXC250 F. Fitted with the larger cylinder to give the additional capacity and range, the DOHC motor is packed with KTM’s race winning technology, from DLC coated valve finger followers and titanium valves to optimised and flowed porting to assist that box-type 88mm piston on it’s way. Fuelling is delivered through a faultless Keihin EFI system and a suitably large 42mm throttle body, and the bike has a map switch on the left-hand bar to toggle between two preset maps and turn on or off the traction control.
Down below there’s a six speed gearbox with wide gear ratios and a low friction coating on the shift mechanism to ensure seamless changes up or down. The clutch is KTM’s Double Diaphragm System – DDS , that replaces the conventional springs with two diaphragms to offer super-smooth clutch action, increased traction and durability in the parts, And we can testify to that having had the same clutch plates in our faithful EXC 250 since 2013! The master cylinder is a Brembo unit.
Starting on the 350 is through a Mitsuba starter motor and an all new lithium ion battery, but if you get all twisted about not having a kickstart, KTM will sell you a retro-fit mechanism and starter.
THE CHASSIS
The chassis on the 350 reflects the continuing theme that KTM have followed for years, with a chromoly steel frame with an aluminium swingarm and subframe to give the unique combination of stiffness and flex that has bought them so much success in almost every off-road competition.
At the rear there’s a WP shock with piggyback reservoir that is adjustable for rebound and compression damping and activated by the ultra-reliable and maintenance free PDS linkless system. For the 2019 bike, the shock had a reworked piston and improved settings to make the ride more comfortable and planted – not that the 2018 model was exactly skittish!
At the front of the bike, the 350 has 48mm WP Xplor forks which were tweaked to prevent bottoming out on the big hits and also to maintain ground contact on the way back up. The stock bike gets the cast triple clamps, whereas the Six Day version gets the rather beautiful milled aluminium triple clamps for more precise control and of course – factory kudos!
Elsewhere on the chassis we’ve got the usual KTM staples – slim ergos with plastic panels, Neken bars and of course a rock hard seat!. The Six Day gets a special edition seat complete with a little Chilean flag but don’t think its going to be like a sofa up there, it’s still pretty firm.
KTM have also worked on sensible little things like easy change air filters, clog free footrests and gear changes – things that regular riders notice and appreciate! Good work guys.,
THE SIX DAY ADDITIONS
So what do you get on a Six Day model that you don’t get on a stack EXC? Here’s the list
- Silencers with Six Days logo
- Skid plate
- Carbon heat shield for 2-stroke engines
- Front axle puller
- Supersprox Stealth 2-component rear sprocket
- Radiator fan for all 4-stroke engines
- Handlebar with Six Days logo
- Solid rear brake disc
- Orange, anodized, CNC milled triple clamp
- Floating front brake disc
- Exclusive Six Days graphics
- Orange chain guide
- Six Days seat
ON THE TRAILS
We got to try the KTM EXC 350F out on the lanes and trails to the south of Bath and we’ were immediately impressed with just how good the bike feels. KTM gave the four stroke motors a major redesign in 2018 and if you’ve only ridden the previous version, then you are in for a pleasant surprise.
The motor spins up so quickly and easily, it’s almost hard to believe it’s a four stroke – it’s so removed from the lumpy and noisy thumpers from back in the day. As soon as you drop the buttery smooth clutch and get on the pegs the bike feels immediately really natural and superbly balanced. Whether you are trickling up the rocky climbs or blasting along in top, the Katoosh is just effortlessly confidence inspiring. The bike pulls strongly from a stand still, and although we couldn’t exactly bounce a mate’s brand new motor off the rev limiter, you can feel that power isn’t far off that of the 450, but with the liveliness of the 250F – and in case you’re not sure, that’s a good thing.
POWER AND CONTROL
On the suspension side of things, we’ve tried the new Xplor forks on both the KTM 690 Enduro R and 790 Adventure R, and in the decidedly smaller 350 they are just as good, giving great feel in the upper part of the stroke and holding as line like a fat lad with a chocolate eclair. And when you decide to turn up the wick and push the limits, the forks and WP shock will smooth out even the biggest of hits without a murmur. This suspension is truly next level kit – factory motocross didn’t have this level of sophistication back in the day and now it’s available to weekend trail riders!
So what else do you need to know? The brakes are both progressive and super strong at both ends giving you the flexibility you need to vary between gentle control and heavy braking. And with the addition of the two riding modes and traction control, this is a very accomplished off-road bike.
Equipment wise, the KTM EXC350F has all you’d need but little else. You do get the indicators in a box and the dealership will fit them if you want, but few owners bother. The bike comes with enduro tyres in the UK but our bike was fitted with a Maxxis Trial hybrid rear. Standard handguards are the lever mounted MX style option, but again our bike had been upgraded to wraparounds.
But all this is just background noise because the central point to take from this review is just how good the 350 really is. In every off-road situation the bike will do exactly what you want and do it well. From weekend trails to full-on enduro racing the bike just gets on with the job leaving you to enjoy the ride.
APPEARANCE
DURABILITY
So the stock bike looks great, and the Six day for 2019 looks even better, provided you don’t have some political objection to Chile. KTM have defined enduro bikes for 20 years, and this one is no exception.
OK so we’re not going for full stars here as the four strokes need more attention to keep reliable than a two stroke. But if you keep up with the maintenance at reasonable intervals, this bike will last well
COMFORT
VALUE
So if you are looking for an enduro bike to be comfortable, then you are missing the point. It’s a competition based machine first and foremost, so the seat is firm and the ergos are designed for a lot of standing.
Again we can’t give the KTM full stars here as in the UK the price of enduro bikes is getting uncomfortably high. Part of it may be exchange rates, but we suspect it’s just because they can. Nearly £10k for the 2020 version!!
RIDE EXPEDITIONS VERDICT - KTM EXC350F SIX DAY VERDICT
As you might have gathered from our blogs, we’re big fans of KTM enduro bikes and the 350F marks yet another excellent off-road bike from the Austrian brand. While the other European manufacturers manufacturers such as Beta or Sherco are making dents into the market as indeed are KTM’s internal competitor Husqvarna, KTM remain at the top of off-road competition and recreational use across the globe. And there’s a very good reason for that – they do exactly what they are intended for, and they do that from the crate with no more faff needed. Yamaha might have gone down this route for a few years with the WRF250 and WRF450 but now have returned to the ‘non-homolgated for road’ route once more. And Honda are not much different.
If you want an enduro bike that will bring you pleasure on every ride, then the 350F is that bike.
We’d still go for the 250 two stroke though …
THE EXTRA EXTRAS
Aside from the Six Day goodies, the owner had fitted quite a few more parts for protection and control. Some of these, like the swingarm guards and disc guard were included by the dealer, and some were bought from Classic Enduro.
The list includes
- KTM disc guard
- KTM Swingarm protectors
- Acerbis X Power Case covers on both sides
- Pro Carbon pipe guard
- Maxxis Trial Maxx rear tyre
- Barkbusters wraparound handguards
- Rekluse had rear brake kit
- Mousses for both tyres
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