out, with a stock KTM muffler, the
weight should hover around 218
pounds.
( 4) The simple setting. The recommended air pressure in the 2016-
1/2 KTM 250SXF Factory Edition is
153. 7 psi. Initially, MXA tried to run
this pressure, and we had
minor success with turning the
compression out 30 or more clicks
to get it to work. But, ultimately it
was a lost cause. The simple solution is to lower the air pressure. For
average riders—not supermen—we
ended up in the 140s. You might
need 140, 145 or 148, but only the
terminally fast are going to need
153 psi.
( 5) The trick. How did we arrive
at our psi setting? We put a zip-tie
on the right fork leg and sent test
riders out to ride. When they came
back, we looked at the zip-tie. If it
was 4 inches short of bottoming,
we lessened the air pressure, moved
the zip-tie back up the fork leg and
sent them out again. We kept doing
this until the zip-tie got within 1-1/2
inches of bottoming. From there we
worked with the compression clicker
to get the feel that the test rider
wanted. And, every test rider felt
that he needed to go out from the
stock 15 clicks of compression and
in on the rebound clickers. The best
clicker numbers for a Vet Novice
were 20 clicks out on compression
and 12 clicks out on rebound.
( 6) All was not rosy. The MXA
wrecking crew was happy with the
WP AER air fork. Then, on the night
before a race, our AER forks went
flat (while sitting in the garage). The
problem was that the quad-ring sealing ring on the piston cartridge had
torn and air pressure leaked to the
negative side of the chamber. This
pulled the forks down. Although
technically not flat, the forks were
not usable until a new quad-ring
was installed. Paradoxically, MXA’s
fork failure, at 15 hours, might be
the best thing to occur for the 2017
KTMs because it brings the problem
to light before the 2017’s roll down
the assembly line. We expect WP to
find a cure for our failure. ❏
FACTORY EDITION TRIALS & TRIBS
The engine in the 2016-1/2 Factory Edition is the same engine
that comes in the showroom stock 2016 KTM 250SXF.
For some unknown reason KTM went from the stock 13/50
gearing to the equivalent of 13/47. That is very tall.
The FMF muffler attaches to the stock KTM head pipe, but in
back-to-back tests the stock KTM muffler ran better.
90
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