Ktm Looks Ahead

KTM LOOKS AHEAD

Jon F. Thompson

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE is part of any business. So it is that KTM America, an affiliate of KTM Sportmotorcycle of Austria, commissioned the artists at Next World Design, in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, to take a look at what dirtbikes of the future might look like.

Designer Glen Laivins based the resulting machine, which he calls the Rim Rider, upon the Sbarro hubless wheel (see Cycle World, May, 1990), which employs an unusual rim design for both drive and braking.

Said Laivin, “KTM wanted to see what sort of technology could be applied to the motorcycle, especially in light of environmental issues.” The result, he says, is a smoother look. “It’s the Ford Taurus of dual-sport. Some people are intimidated by the look of a dirtbike, so this is styled to look like a cross between a Taurus and a Honda Cub. It has a more sophisticated look.”

In addition to the hubless wheels, the Rim Rider uses shocks that consist of airand-oil bladders, hydraulic steering, ABS and a singlesided front swingarm.

As one of a number of concessions to environmental concerns, Laivin has specified soft, earthy blues, greens and silvers for the

bike. And though Laivin says some people see “environmental” as a synonym for “slow,” that wouldn’t be the case with this machine, which is built around a KTM 250cc motocross engine. Indeed, one of the machine’s most interesting features concerns the engine’s exhaust system, which uses electronic noise canceling, instead of a traditional muffler system. A final nod to environmental concerns involves the bike’s use of non-knobby tires.

Laivin stresses that the bike isn’t a runner, and says, “It’s just a concept, a direction KTM could follow.”