Ktm 495 Pro-Lever
KTM 495 PRO-LEVER
CYCLE WORLD TEST
The MOST Open Motocrosser You Can Buy
Did you ever daydream about building the ultimate dirt bike? Think of the possibilities; a custom-built chromemoly steel frame, maybe painted bright Chinese red, forks with 12 in. of
travel and 40mm stanchion tubes, Fox Twin-Clicker single shock, aluminum swing arm, giant-killer 495cc engine with eight-petal reed and five-speed transmission, Metzeler tires, chrome-moly bars, maybe use white plastic tank and fenders to show off the red frame, folding shift lever and Magura hand levers—all the good stuff. What a machine it would be.
Well, you don’t have to dream any longer, and you don’t have to spend four or fiv© thousand dollars and six months of nights and weekends building one either. This dVeam machine is a production KTM 495 motocrosser.
The KTM name isn’t exactly a household word. The brand was in fact better known under another name, back when the Penton family imported KTMs, modified them for U.S. conditions and sold them as Pentons.
KTM now does its own modifications, importing and distribution. Only 2000 KTMs come into the U.S. each year. Most of them are enduro models sold in northern and eastern states. The motocrossers do well in Europe, so KTM hopes to expand into other parts of the country while becoming more active in motocross.
The Penton tradition lives, you might say, in that KTM has studied U.S. conditions and the bikes they’ll be selling here have been changed to work here.
The 495 is naturally at the top of the list. The most visible change for the American market is the American-made rear shock.
It’s a beautifully made Fox TwinClicker. It has an aluminum body, large shaft, braided-steel reservoir hose, aluminum reservoir and externally adjustable compression and rebound damping. Compression damping is changed by simply turning a knob on top of the reservoir to one of eight positions. Rebound damping is just as easy but the knob is on the bottom of the shock and 30 positions are provided. Spring preload is via two large
nuts that ride on the threaded shock body. These adjusters actually adjust and it should be possible to tune this shock to any racer’s preference and any track condition.
KTM’s Pro-Lever single shock system is similar to Honda’s single shock set-up. The shock rides vertically behind the engine. The top mounts to the rear of the frame’s backbone, the lower to a rocker hooked to the frame at the front and to the swing arm at rear, via two short struts. The aluminum swing arm is a sturdy extruded part that looks like the arm KTM used on its dual-shock motocrossers. The similarity makes sense once you compare last year’s bike with an ’82: the swing arm legs are the same extrusions but the legs on the ’82 are turned over. Cross-bracing at the front of the arm, under and around the lower shock mount, is best described as massive. Don’t be surprised if you never see one of these arms bent or broken. The swing arm pivots in needle bearings; the shock linkage moves in heim-type round joints. Disassembly is required for greasing but it’s not necessary until you can hear the joints squeaking, according to KTM's excellent owner’s manual.
Front suspension is nearly as impressive. Marzocchi forks have 11.8 in. of travel and 40mm stanchion tubes. Triple clamps with double pinch clamps ride on tapered steering head bearings. Lower legs have the axle mount out front and fork sealsscrapers are flush-fit. Our bike was delivered with modified internals. KTM’s Jack Lehto explained that Marzocchi is delivering American bikes with damping specified by Europeans. Their tracks are generally rougher than ours and European riders like stiffer damping than we normally prefer. So KTM’s American branch offers a kit for modifying the Marzocchis. The kit contains two stronger seal retainer clips and instructions for softening the fork’s action. The fix is simple: disassemble the forks and remove the damper rods. Clean everything and drill a 10mm hole through the lower part of each stanchion tube. The hole should be 60mm from the bottom of the stanchion tube and both walls drilled. After drilling, deburr the holes and reassemble the forks, using 5w fork oil. All harshness is removed and the forks are some of the best wejve used.
KTMs have always had neat frames.
Welds are nicely done, gusseting plentiful and cross-bracing generous. The ’82s are much the same as past models as far as quality goes but completely new from a design standpoint. The new models have less gusseting than past designs and the gussets aren’t drilled full of holes. The steering head is still heavily braced and boxed. The main backbone is a large tube that ends about the front of the seat. The front downtube splits into a wishbone to clear the exhaust pipe before turning under the engine and continuing back up, ending about the middle of the main backbone tube. A short tube runs from just ahead of the shock’s top to a point just above the swing arm pivot bolt. The area below the swing arm mount is crossbraced and a large tube ties the area below the bottom of the steering stem to the rear of the backbone tube. Thus, the main frame structure is loaded with triangulated members. We say main structure because the frame is composed of two bolt-together members. The rear structure is made of smaller tubes because it doesn’t have to support anything except the rear fender, seat and rider. It bolts to the main frame just in front of the top shock mount at top, behind the swing arm bolt at the bottom. Why? It makes working on the rear shock quick and simple. Remove the top and lower bolts, loosen the air cleaner clamp and unbolt the silencer, then lift the whole rear section out of the way. It almost takes less time to do than describe. Factory Hondas and some of the other works racers have the same type frame. But this is the first production dirt bike frame to have a bolton rear section since the ’67 and ’68 Husky motocrossers and they, naturally didn’t have single shock rear suspension.
Plastic parts on the 495 are what we’ve come to expect from KTM: excellent. Fenders are wide and long and flexible. The tank is narrow so the rider can climb on top of it for really tight corners. The KTM logo won’t fall off the first time the bike is washed, either. It’s an aluminum badge that screws to the tank, not a decal. Other bits and pieces are just as impressive. It has modern short-style dogleg Magura levers, straight-pull Magura throttle, folding shift lever, claw-top brake pedal and left-side kick start lever designed so the starter’s foot clears the peg. A lot of attention has been paid to small details as well; the chain is routed
through two of the neatest-looking guides we’ve seen. One is under the swing arm just ahead of the rear sprocket, the other is on top of the arm just behind the counter-shaft sprocket. Both have aluminum sides and plastic rub blocks.
Wheels and hubs are about the least changed parts on the ’82 KTM 495. Magnesium hubs are strong and good looking, spokes are large and don’t break, wheel rims are made by Sun and generally considered the best in the world. Tires are Metzelers.
All these things are important but don’t mean much if the package doesn’t have a good engine. The KTM does. In fact the engine is probably the MOST open-class engine available. It’s a large bore (92.25mm), short stroke (74mm), eight-petal reed engine that’ll whip all other motocrossers in a drag race. A 40mm Bing carb feeds the huge piston and a five-speed transmission ensures you’ll have a gear for any situation. Ignition is via an external flywheel Motoplat. Some of the early arrivals had internal flywheels but many riders had trouble controlling the quick power. All 495s in second shipment are fitted with the outside flywheels that slow the revs, and put the power to the ground better.
The 495 head has many fins and two spark plugs, one at the front of the head, one at the rear. The big bore requires two plugs for complete combustion. The front plug, the one closest to the hot exhaust port, is a range colder than the rear. The double plug set-up also makes starting easier and quicker.
The secret to quick starts on the 495 is throttle position; completely closed whether hot or cold. It’s especially true
when cold. Open the throttle when the bike has sat all night and you might wear out a couple of people before the engine fires. Keep the throttle closed and the engine will probably be running in a few kicks. Warm, throttle position isn’t quite as important but it still works best closed. One kick will usually do it. Even done incorrectly, the bike won’t kick back, it just doesn’t start or even pop.
Unless you’re ready to buy a new open motocrosser, don’t ride your buddy’s 495. You’ll be unhappy with whatever you’re riding now. Horsepower, more horsepower than you’ve ever experienced in a production dirt bike, is only a twist of the grip away. And the application of that power is totally controllable and usable. Sure, the rear wheel will spin and the front end will come up if you grab a quick handful of throttle. Even so, the bike stays controllable. The chassis doesn’t have the faintest hint of flex and the bike stays straight under full throttle, even on bumpy ground. Grabbing the next gear starts blurring your vision and the next pushes your jersey against your chest. Woooo. What an engine. Shifting is as smooth and easy and precise as the best Maico and the gear ratios are perfect.
The front wheel stays on the ground under hard acceleration unless the rider wants it up. then it’s up. It comes up at a controlled speed and has no tendency to loop or fall over sideways, much the way a properly set-up Maico handles.
Steering precision is incredible. The bike goes where pointed, exactly where pointed, without any undue effort from the rider. It’s hard to believe this bike weighs as much as the scales say. Weight, it has. At 259 lb. with a half tank of premix it’s the heavyweight of the open class. That’s a whopping 21 lb. more than a Honda CR480, 14 lb. more than a YZ490 and 17 lb. more than an RM465.
But it doesn’t feel like it when the bike is underway. Picking it up after a crash or hefting it onto a box for service tells the truth, it’s heavy. The steep 27° head angle and controllable power in any gear, at any rpm, completely mask the weight. You say you like to play TT on fire roads? This is the bike to do it on. Full-lock slides under complete control are easy, even by riders who aren’t normally good at fireroading.
Bumps, jumps and drop-offs are handled equally well. The super adjustable rear shock can be set to perform exactly the way the rider wants. If the course gets rougher between motos, it’s easy to reach down and dial in a little more compression damping. Adding a couple psi will stiffen the forks for the rougher second moto or the track with a lot of drop offs and jumps. And the modified forks soak up the terrain as well as the rear of the bike. Braking hard on chatter bumps and rough downhills doesn’t cause concern when riding the 495. The bike doesn’t change attitude much even when braking hard on a steep downhill. The forks hardly dive with full front brake, partly because the front forks work so well, partly because the front brake isn’t as strong as many other open motocrossers.
In fact, the front brake is about the only thing our riders complained about. It got better as the miles rolled by but it really isn’t strong enough for a bike with such a potent engine. The large 7 in. diameter rear brake works fine. Braking power is adequate and the full-length static arm keeps rear wheel lock-up and chatter to a minimum.
Any turn will make the rider feel like a pro. The bike is one of the nicest in turns we’ve tested. Use the berm if you want, use the inside line or any place in between. The 495 doesn’t have a preference. It goes where the rider wants with no forcing or muscle power from the rider. Bumpy, smooth or whooped turns are handled smoothly. The bike never swaps going into or leaving a turn, no matter how rough or smooth. The rocksolid feel of the bike’s frame and swing arm has to be experienced to be fully appreciated. Charging into, or out of, cupped and rutted corners doesn’t affect the rider’s control. The bike doesn’t twist or flex the least bit, meaning the rider doesn’t have to constantly correct the bike’s direction with the bars and body English.
We rode the 495 Pro-Lever at a couple of motocross tracks and on a 350 mi. loop through Baja. It performed well everyplace. The five-speed transmission allows hold-your-breath top speeds in 5th and straight-up trials climbs in first.
First is actually quite low and probably won’t be needed in most motocross races, but it sure is nice to have if you decide to race a grand prix or go trail riding. And the 495 could be used to ride an occa>
sional enduro if you live in the wide-open West. KTM has full-on enduro models that still have dual shock rear suspension systems but they also sell kits to convert the Pro-Levers to enduro bikes. We got a kit for our test bike. The parts are available separately so you can tailor the bike to your needs. The optional pieces and prices are:
3.4 gal. tank taller seat speedometer kit KTM light kit Preston Petty light kit VDO 24 mph timer Quite a bit of riding was done with the optional 3.4 gal. tank installed. It’s a nicely shaped unit that bolts onto the 495 chassis with no modification. Installation time is about 10 min. The enduro tank is slightly wider and taller than the motocross tank, but the larger shape doesn’t interfere with rider movement. And the width eliminates one complaint about the stock tank, the pipe protruding from under it. The optional tank keeps the rider’s leg away from the pipe.
$26 (exchange) $17 (exchange) $68 $88 $54 $39
The 495 makes a fine off-road bike with the 3.4 gal. tank installed. Ranges of 60 to 70 mi. are no problem, even with an expert at the helm. We installed a 15-tooth front sprocket as well. Top speed was increased dramatically. The taller gearing kept engine buzz down on fast straights and had a slight taming effect on the engine, both better for cross-country use. The 495 is best appreciated when ridden in open country; the tremendous horsepower and stump-pulling torque can be more fully used when the bike has room to stretch its legs. The controllable power, good ground clearance and high placement of the footpegs make crossing rock fields a snap. And hills ... we couldn’t find one steep enough to stop the 495.
Most testers complained initially about the narrow, hard seat. But most liked it after several hours in the saddle. So much for the garage tests. On the trail the hardness makes moving around easy and by the time the testing was over, many riders decided the hard seat approach was the correct one. The only other complaint was the way the gas tank vibrated. It mounts solidly at both ends and engine vibration is transferred to the tank. In fact, the tank noticeably shakes if the rider holds it tight with his legs. Very little vibration is noticed anyplace else. Engine balance is exceptional for any open-class engine.
Sounds almost too good to be real, doesn’t it? Well, there are several points we haven’t talked about that need saying: First, a European anything costs a lot of money. At the recommended price of $2831 the 495 sells for almost $500 more than an open motocross bike from Japan. Comparing the price with other European motocrossers shrinks the difference; a 490 Maico goes for about $75 less, a
KTM 495 PRO-LEVER
CR430 Husqvarna is $3 cheaper. The next points are parts pricing and availability; parts are priced about the same as other non-Japanese parts. Availability will vary with your locale and how race oriented your dealer is. Generally parts and dealers are more common in the East. KTM reps say they are working on improving the dealer network in the West, so things may change in the future.
A word of caution may be in order as well. Open motocrossers, regardless of brand, are serious racing bikes. They aren’t intended as beginner’s bikes. They have too much power, too much weight, and too much of almost everything else.
That aside, the KTM495 Pro-Link may be the best at what it was designed to do—win motocross races. It’s also very good as a cross country mount, grand prix racer, or play bike for those with the required abilities. Maybe that’s why we know three guys who are bidding for the test bike.
What else can we say? S
