Christini Ktm 300
CHRISTINI KTM 300
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Two-wheel drive vs. Texas-again
RYAN DUDEK
IN A STUNNING MOVE THAT NO ONE expected, KTM equipped its two-stroke XC dirtbikes with electric starting for 2008. So much for the belief that two-strokes are dead.
If that wasn’t cool enough, Christini Technologies, the Pennsylvania company that has developed an all-wheel drive for motorcycles, fitted its latest AWD system onto an ’08 KTM 300 XC-W(e). The result is arguably the ultimate enduro/cross-country sled, a two-wheel-drive, 293cc two-stroke with electric starting.
Christini soon had several AWD 300 XCs built, slated for the third-annual Red Bull Last Man Standing extreme enduro in Texas this past December. I rode one, and observed trials star Geoff Aaron rode another. KTM dominated the event, though there were only two finishers.
Polish rider Taddy Blazusiak won it on a conventional KTM 250 XC, with Aaron coming in second on his AWD 300 XC-W(e).
In KTM-speak, “XC” stands for cross-country, “W” indicates a wide-ratio gearbox, and “(e)” is for electric start. In building the new 300, KTM didn’t merely add electric starting; the ’08 model has an all-new chassis claimed to help the bike weigh 2 pounds less than the previous model that had neither a battery nor a starter. Of course, all the components of a front-wheel-drive system put that weight right back on, and then some. But what you gain with that weight is another source of drive.
We’ve told you about the Christini system before. We sampled a prototype setup on a Honda CRF450X in 2004, and I rode a Christini-Honda CRF250X in last year’s Last Man Standing (CW, April, 2007). The system starts with a chain that runs upward from a secondary countershaft sprocket to a gearbox located on the frame. Power is then transferred to a driveshaft that runs beneath the fuel tank into a modified steering head. There, counter-rotating bevel gears transfer power to the lower triple-clamp, where a small chain-and-sprocket system drives two counter-rotating driveshafts that run to the front hub and turn the wheel.
If that sounds complicated, it is, but it works. The front wheel is geared with a ratio that is only 75 percent of that of the rear, and it’s equipped with a one-way clutch that allows power to be delivered to the front wheel only when the rear tire starts to slip; the rest of the time, the front freewheels.
Given that, you would think the Christini feels like a conventional motorcycle most of the time. Not so. When a dirtbike is ridden hard, the rear wheel loses traction more often than not; so on the Christini, the front wheel is always taking up the slack. And there is more weight on the front end that makes the bike a little harder to hold onto and steer. But overall, the pros of AWD outweigh the cons.
I’m not sure why I found myself competing in the grueling Last Man Standing on a Christini once again. I was still recovering from a foot injury and was in no shape to ride such a demanding course. The race was made even harder by Blazusiak, who set a faster pace than two-time winner David Knight, previously unbeatable at LMS. Still, I was determined to show my and the Christini KTM’s worth by torturing myself to finish within the allotted time.
I failed. But I had a convenient excuse: I ran out of gas.
The Christini XC’s fuel tank capacity is 2.6 gallons, .3 smaller than stock, because the driveshaft takes up some of the available room. Christini has a larger tank in the works to be sold as an option, but my bike didn’t have one. Besides,
I think I ran out of fuel because I got the bike upside-down quite a few times, allowing too much gas to run out of the tank. Aaron was on an identical bike and made the entire distance without any fuel problems.
So hard was the course that only three riders-Blazusiak, Knight and Aaron-made the cut-off for the second loop, the night portion of the race. I don’t think I would have made it, even without the fuel issue. In the end, Blazusiak was the last man standing, with Aaron finishing second 30 minutes later and Knight a DNF.
A finish at LMS is a testament to the Christini system, which has proven durable while offering the rider an advantage over rear-wheel-drive-only motorcycles. This doesn’t mean it is perfect; like AWD cars, these bikes also have some disadvantages. First is weight. Motorcycle manufacturers go to great lengths to shed grams off of their dirtbikes, so adding 18 pounds is a big deal. The Christini takes a lot more effort to steer and sometimes feels like the front tire is flat. That causes the bike to lose some of its agility in really tight situations. The system also takes a bit of the typical two-stroke snappiness away from the XC’s power delivery. Plus, there are lots more moving parts that have to be maintained and can possibly fail.
A quirk with the AWD system is that the front wheel will drive in the direction it is pointed, sometimes making the bike feel like it has a mind of its own. If the front wheel is off the ground and comes down when turned one way or the other under power, the bike will want to go in that direction, catching the rider off-balance. As long as you have the wheel pointed in the desired direction, everything is fine; if not, you have to be soft on the throttle.
But the benefits of the system outweigh the drawbacks. It provides amazing traction in soft sand or mud, and it is exceptional for side-hilling up a steep incline. In the latter situation on a conventional bike, the rear tends to slide downward fast under power; but with the front wheel pulling, the bike is less apt to slip down, making it easy to keep a consistent line all the way to the top of a hill. And if you get stuck on a soft, steep climb because the rear tire has dug in, you can simply get off the bike, give it a little power and it will walk itself up the hill.
CHRISTINI KTM 300
$6998
After finishing second, Aaron had nothing but good things to say about his Christini XC. “It worked really well when the course got extra slippery,” he said. “When I would only make it three-quarters of the way up a hill, the front wheel would help drag me the rest of the way over the top. It also worked good when it got rocky and tricky because I could take different lines through things and not worry as much about getting stuck. This especially helped in the beginning of the race when people were getting stuck and creating bottlenecks. I could take different lines and get around them, and part of that was because of the two-wheel drive.”
These impressive results in the LMS show that Steve Christini has been working hard since our last ride on his AWD Honda. The 300 XC-W(e) is an awesome enduro/ cross-country bike in its own right, with power that not only delivers fantastic acceleration, it also lets you lug the engine down to ultra-low rpm. The electric start is pretty much magic, even on a two-stroke, and the AWD system engages a lot more smoothly and seamlessly than the previous version.
No doubt, two-wheel-drive motorcycles are a great idea, and Christini’s use of KTMs as the latest basis for this system has proved successful. I’m not totally convinced AWD bikes are for everyone, but what motorcycle is? For tough technical riding and scaling soft, chewed-up hills, however, the Christini KTM offers a distinct advantage.
The biggest hurdle for Christini is price. The complete kit costs $4595, which is a huge premium over a standard $6998 300 XC-W(e). You’re talking about an $11,500 dirtbike, which puts it out of reach for the average off-road rider.
Christini’s ultimate goal is to negotiate a licensing agreement with an OEM. The bike could then be sold complete and, hopefully, at a significantly lower price. For now, Christini will continue producing kits to fit Honda and KTM motorcycles and working to further improve the system.
Hey, guys, if you want us to test a new-and-improyed version of your AWD system next year, do you think maybe you could find an easier venue?
