In the next few laps it went on like this. If I could see a guy in site and there was room on the left or right I could easily motor past him like he was riding the old 200X three-wheeler that I rode the last time I raced a GNCC.
I was having an absolute blast blitzing past riders. I felt like there was no one I couldn’t wiz by with this bad boy. All that momentum quickly turned on me however. During the second lap I charged too hard through the lower level water crossings and soaked my gloves. The clay-like mud combined with the water made my hands feel like I had dipped them in a vat of Vaseline. Thanks to the extra wide serrated foot pegs with angled outside edges, just like the expensive aftermarket units used by serious racers my feet weren’t slipping off the pegs like my hands were – otherwise I think I would have greased myself right off the machine. For the life of me I couldn’t keep my thumb on the gas and my hands on the bars. Before this point I felt like Adam McGill hammering through the pack. Now I could barely stay on the quad.
I should also mention that seeing where I was going was out of the question since my dumb ass smeared the Vaseline all over my goggles. “Please, please, just one more tear off,” I thought to myself. Who was I kidding? They were gone miles ago. There was no getting around it, I had to surrender my momentum, pull to the side of the track and try to get this Vaseline off my gloves and goggles before I ended up crashing this brand new quad into a tree. It was no use though, I couldn’t solve the problem on my own out on the track, as much as I didn’t want to do it, I needed to limp it to my pit area and hook up with some dry gloves and fresh goggles.
I made it into my pit area where my pit man, KTM’s Specialty Vehicle Manager, Chris Vogtman awaited. “Gloves, gloves,” I yelled as he swapped my goggles. No dice. We had planned for everything but extra gloves. Chris ran and got some paper towels and put them over my grips. “Dude, you’re doing awesome keep it up,” he yelled as I tore off.
Here I am limping my way to my pit spot. With smeard up goggles and extremely slippery gloves I had to pit early.
In my excitement for dry hands I forgot to drink some water. With no camel-back and two more laps to go, I knew not taking the extra ten seconds to drink water would play a factor in keeping the nice pace I had going.
Until the third lap, I was having a great run but sure enough a rider ahead of me got hung up in a deep rut. With nowhere to go, I tried a low percentage move to get around but ended up getting stuck myself. Thanks to KTM’s reverse gear, which is engaged with a one finger lever located under the clutch lever, I was able to get unstuck and on my way. I might add KTM’s reverse offers more grunt than any quad I’ve ever rode in reverse. I lost a few minutes, but it could have been much worse without reverse.
Mud collected and weighed down the machine, which makes it hard for me to properly review its typical handling characteristics. However, a few months ago I rode the KTM 450XC on the 30 mile Rumble on the Ridge course in Adena, Ohio. So I can confidently say the KTM handles just as well as the 525 can roost Millfield-mud. Rightfully so, KTM didn’t skimp when it came to suspension. I was enjoying three preload, compression and rebound adjustable premium Öhlins shocks that were dialed in perfectly. Up front: 10.1” of travel, and 10.4 inches in the rear. It’s hard to believe this was stock suspension.
Worth mentioning is KTM’s Chromoly steel A-arms. Like something you would see on a machine in pro row, the stock KTM is fitted with lower arms with a swept design for increased ground clearance. This was especially needed on this muddy day. Even though we left the stock Maxxis Razr 20” tires on, (21x7x10” front and 20x11x9” rear), versus running taller 22” mud tires, I was able to clip along and only got stuck once.
I'm not sure if Shane Hitt was playing a joke on me or what. To his recomondation we swapped out the stock rear brake spring with the beefier one he gave us. He said the stock spring is too soft and wears out the pads if your foot rests on the pedal. Call me a wimp but I didn't like how much pressure it took to apply the brakes. This was the only thing I didn't like about the 525.
Even with the extra weight of the sticky mud, which I would estimate at a whopping 70 additional pounds, the quad never bottomed or felt uncontrollable. Even with the many Chromoly steel components, the machine weighs in at only 357lbs wet. Its lighter-than-typical-stock-ATV-weight definitely helped me keep a good steady pace.
My lack of riding really caught up with me on lap four. And that drink of water that I left behind on lap two was haunting me. I probably should have avoided the temptation to stop since it would later cost me a few positions, but I could see Chris was dangling fresh goggles in his right hand and a bottle of water in his right that looked as beautiful as the many sharp girls I saw the night before around the OU campus. Needless to say, I sold myself on the package deal and pulled to a stop. I helped talk myself into the stop by thinking of the time we saved by not needing to mess around with adding any fuel since the KTM uses an oversized 3.5 gallon fuel tank. After downing the water and trying to eat the bottle for more, Chris hooked me up with two new paper towels on the grips. I held onto those paper towels for dear life until I got through the water crossing area.
It was while rounding out the last lap that I noticed just how comfortable I was on this machine. I was experiencing first hand KTM’s strong point – cross country racing. Other than three custom Powersport Grafx number plates, the only thing on the quad that didn’t come stock was a much appreciated Öhlins Steering Damper, which can be ordered out of the KTM Hard Parts Catalog. A steering damper should be the first thing you buy. After experiencing what the 525 is capable of I would say it’s about all you’ll need to buy. The KTM is that good right off the showroom floor.
I’ve had three surgeries on my clutch hand, (words of wisdom: don’t over jump the table top at Red Bud Track & Trail in Michigan). Despite my wimpy left hand my thumb and forefinger didn’t swell and ache like they usually do while clutching my way through a track. I could lug the big 525 through many sections of the eight mile course without even touching the clutch. When clutching was needed, the pro-level Magura hydraulic clutch system pulled nice and soft and never faded.
I must say, ergonomics felt perfect. The contoured tank, seat and peg location allowed plenty of room to move around and I felt no sign of sore knees or thighs like I sometimes do after a long ride on other quads. As for rider comfort, if I could pick one thing that I appreciated most on the final lap it would be the soft seat. There’s nothing worse than getting beat up by your own seat. All these comforts really helped me especially on the all-important last lap of battle.
If white doesn't do it for you, how about black?
After two hours of mud racing the KTM, I have to mention one last thing, -- the brakes. The KTM uses extremely powerful Magura brakes all around. Up front four piston fixed calipers are used on each wheel with 12mm vented discs that float on their mounts. I was able to control the front brakes effortlessly with just one finger with the Magura adjustable lever. A word of warning, the front brakes almost work too good – do not grab a handful of brake like I did on my first KTM ride – which resulted in a really cool looking stoppie. As for the rear brakes, Shane Hitt came by and suggested I use a beefier spring for the foot pedal. He said the stock spring is too easy to push. If the rider’s foot even rests on the pedal the soft spring ends up applying the brakes. He warned I might not have any pads left by the end of the race. This is one modification I wish we didn’t end up changing. I found the spring too stiff and don’t remember a problem with the stock spring on the KTM 450 I rode in the past. Rear braking required way too much effort, but when I did push hard enough the brakes worked well throughout the race.
