The KTM LC4 engine is a single-cylinder work of art, but it is not without its faults. One the more well-known issues with the 690cc thumper is its slave clutch design, which is prone to failure and leaks.
For anyone who has experienced the issue (including this author), it is a less-than-fun situation when the clutch system loses pressure and fails to disengage, but KTM has finally acknowledged the issue, and has begun a worldwide recall of KTM and Husqvarna motorcycle that feature the design.
Episode 43 of the Brap Talk motorcycle podcast is back with another weekly episode, for your two-wheeled listening pleasure. In this show, we sit down and talk about a few bikes in particular.
Make supermotos great again! That should be the election day mantra, and if that was the case, then KTM would be our candidate. It has been a long time since we saw an SMC model in the lineup, but the KTM 690 SMC R is coming back onto the scene for the 2019 model year.
Helping fuel this revival is obviously the fresh that came to the KTM 690 Enduro R, as the SMC variant basically switches out the 21″/18″ wheel combo for a set of 17″ hoops.
Maybe it’s because my supermoto season officially ended this weekend (without me, I should add), with our last scheduled sumo session at the go-kart track here in Portland passing by this weekend, or maybe it’s because we just want the Swedish brand to deliver the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto already…either way, consider our appetite whetted by this last video from Husky.
Finally giving us a showing of the 701 Supermoto on a proper race track — not that the ice course with spiked tires wasn’t cool (no pun intended) — we get to see the 701 at home in its natural element: hitting apexes, sliding tires, and crushing lean angles.
We imagine that the nearly as powerful, and considerably lighter Husqvarna FS 450 supermoto would be the better weapon on the track, but the 690cc power plant on the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto is certainly the better choice for a machine that will roll a tire on public roads…and that’s sorta the point of the machine.
We’ll be eager to see this Husqvarna hit showrooms in Europe this November, and thus being the long wait for it to come to the USA in February 2016. Could the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto be the ultimate city hooligan bike? Time will tell…we’re certainly eager to find out, though.
More work from our man Isaac Chavira, maker of the Ducati Monster 848R everyone was drooling over last week. This week Chavira turns his attention to Austria and its resident motorcycle maker KTM. Focusing on Team Orange’s supermoto offering, Chavira has dreamed up a KTM 690 SMC R concept bike, saying “I’d really love to see this bike come to reality and frankly speaking I don’t see why it cant become a reality. Heck any gear head worth his salt can build 95% of this bike from a KTM parts catalog.” That sounds to us like a challenge.