The Austrian bike isn't known to be a cornering machine, but with proper body English, it gets the job done.

One of the negatives that we noticed about the four-stroke motor, is the aggressive engine breaking. We had just finished testing the Honda CRF450, where engine breaking is nearly obsolete. As soon as the throttle is chopped on the KTM, the bike is going to slow slightly; but like anything else, you'll become accustomed to it and actually use it to your advantage.

The other negative is the somewhat top-heavy feel. Once the engine shuts down, be prepared to feel the weight of the tall motor wanting to pull you to the ground (I found this out when thrown off guard by a sudden stop of our trail ride; the bike died on an awkward off-camber, sending me diving for the ground!).

The skyscraper 400cc power plant.

What about top speed? To really find out what the 400 can accomplish at peak speed, a long field or desert straight will be needed; getting all the way to sixth gear isn't easy. The KTM needs to be revved out in almost every gear to successfully pull the top gear. That being said, the KTM is a fast, top speed machine, but you just better have a lot of room to tap its potential (of course if you disagree, go for the 520).

Trail ride testing was done with a couple KTM 200 EXCs. We did a drag race across a long stretch of open ground; unbelievably, the 400 didn't really pull the 200 until it reached 6th gear. At that point, the 400 was gone. The flat-out ground speed test wasn't truly equal due to different riders of unequal size, but you get the idea. Also, the test bike was fitted with a 13 tooth countershaft sprocket to accommodate the tighter, wooded terrain of Illinois.

Oh, and what about starting the KTM 4-stroke? Actually, after writing this entire article, I noticed that I completely forgot to even touch on the starting factor. Why? With electric start, this bike starts at an instant, regardless of any environmental condition. Starting is just not an issue. If the electric start unit somehow fails, don't worry. We purposely used the kickstarter numerous times with no problems at all. The orange and black machines have an automatic decompression system that takes the "4-stroke start method" and throws it out the window. Just kick the bike and go.

Yes, it even has a functional kick stand that doesn't get in the way.

Suspension is always an important factor when choosing the right bike for your personal needs. To hit our destination, we had to blast through a few fields (remember, this is Illinois), in order to get to the utopia of trails. As soon as we came upon the first rough field, my initial reaction was to tighten my grip on the tank with my knees. A sudden feeling of comfort came over me. The KTM soaked up every bump at a 4th to 5th gear cruising speed, much my surprise.

But what about high-speed tree-dodging and log crossing? The back end had a tendency to kick slightly over logs; but honestly we're not sure if it is truly possible to tune suspension to accommodate for the awkwardness of logs. The 43mm WP fork has all the typical tuning increments to dial them in to your specifications (26 clicks for rebound and 26 for compression). The shock allows for the typical rebound and compression adjustments (if you want the trick suspension with high and low speed compression dampening, you'll have to buy any of the SX models). Overall, the KTM's suspension worked quite well, with minimal testing time. The forks allowed for an aggressive attack through rutted, fast woods, along with the cumbersome sections of log and branch-littered terrain (just hold on with your knees, and let the bike float).

The 400 works best in more open, GP style courses, where it can keep a high speed rhythm.

Remember to always dial in the shock's preload to your weight. This makes all the difference in an enjoyable ride or a bucking-bronco type of trail ride. The typical magic number is 95mm of rear sag.

Questions? Comments? Let us know!