2022 KTM 250SX Two Stroke TESTED - Motocross Action Magazine

[Music] um [Applause] [Music] what's up guys i'm josh moseman from motocross action magazine and in this mxa tested video we have the 2022 ktm 250 sx two-stroke [Music] i personally love riding two strokes i know a lot of people on our youtube channel love watching videos about two strokes so we're really excited about this one for the new model season ktm did make one update really not really in an update the graphics are updated the frame is orange which is by and far better than black in my opinion this bike did receive a few updates last year in 2021 and we actually didn't get a 2021 ktm 252 stroke because the ktm was low on stock last year so we got a husky tc 252 stroke last year but didn't get to ride this model so some of the updates for last year on this bike they got the wp exact air forks they got the major updates that all of the 2021 models got with increased air and oil bypass slots that allow the forks to move a lot better last year in 2021 the two strokes and the cross country bikes got a new float setting at the mid valve it's an extra little spring in there that helps the shims close and if you know anything about forks and suspension in general you know that oil is flowing through the shim stack it looks like a christmas tree a little metal disks and those are what creates the valving in your suspension so if you have really stiff metal discs in your mid valve it's going to make the oil harder to go through and that's going to create a stiffer suspension setting where if the metal shims are a lot softer and more flexible maybe they're thinner that's going to make the oil go through faster through the valve and that's going to make a softer setting so this float valve setting basically closes off the valve easier and what that does is it allows wp technicians and r d guys over there to make the forks soft enough to be comfortable on a two-stroke and a cross-country bike and it's definitely a big update and something that we really like about this 252 stroke another update this bike got last year is the gunner gasser style roller actuated throttle body it's supposed to help durability and just make a smoother throttle pull so now the throttle cable is goes over a little bit of a roller it's a gunner gasser style it's something that came out a long time ago and it's similar to that as for the rest of it we got skf seals in the linkage last year to make that move a little bit smoother overall this bike hasn't changed a ton besides those suspension updates [Music] wow [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] it's always a big topic comparing the ktm 252 stroke with the yamaha yz252 stroke so right off the bat i can tell you if you're looking for a bike that's comfortable that's easy to ride and you're not as worried about weight or horsepower the yz250 has always been a little bit easier to ride the mxa wrecking crew like the bottom end power of the yz-252 stroke from yamaha and we've have a little more of a tough time riding the ktm 252 stroke it definitely takes a rider that's more aggressive you have to shift it a lot more but it is lighter it is faster and it's it's definitely better for a pro level rider or anybody who's looking to race to get the whole shot and win the moto so for 2022 yamaha has announced that they're finally updating their yz-252 show for the first time in over 16 years they're also making big updates to their yamaha yz-125 two-show so we are very excited to ride those and i'm looking forward to comparing this model to the updated one i haven't been able to do that yet so i can only talk about past experiences on the yz250 yz250s have been a little bit easier to ride they have a little more torque on the bottom which makes it easier to come out of the corners or the ktm 252 shock you have to rev it up a little bit more sometimes play with gearing play with the power valve as well to get it coming out of corners easier so this model does come with the wp exact air forks just like the rest of the ktm husqvarna gas gas models and they're a lot lighter than the standard coil spring forks three pounds lighter to be exact so that brings this bike way down compared to the rest of the ktm models and compared to some of the other brands this bike weighs in on the scale at 210 pounds it's pretty light for a full-size motocross bike in comparison ktm 450 weighs in at 223 pounds so that's 13 pounds heavier for a 450 four-stroke other models like a honda 454 stroke 233 pounds so that's 23 pounds heavier than this ktm 252 stroke so immediately for me once i got onto the track i could feel how light the bike was it was so much fun to get back on this model after not riding it for a while i've been riding a lot of force jokes lately testing 2022 models getting onto the track first things that stuck out to me this thing is super fast it hits hard once you get into the power it's super light super easy to move around the suspension is great i really like these air forks and i like the updates that they got in 2021 and the brakes the brembo brakes are super strong and it just makes them even stronger when you have a bike that's this light so imagine riding a mountain bike that's super heavy with brakes and you get on the brakes and it's harder to slow down imagine riding a bike that's 10 pounds lighter it's a lot easier to slow down same thing in motocross people debate weight doesn't matter you're on a dirt bike it's got an engine now i'm here to say that weight does matter and that's why we pointed out in every single one of our bike tests another reason why the brembo brakes are so good is they have the steel braided brake lines so basically what that means is that the hydraulic fluid that's used to compress the brakes and slow your bike down it isn't affected by heat and isn't you know expanding a rubber tube so that does help make a lot more precise feel at the front and rear brakes so talking about suspension settings as for the mxa wrecking crew today me a pro level rider weighing in about 170 175 on a bad day i ran the forks at 10 bar which is 145 psi it's recommended to run 10.4 bar on the 252 stroke which is 152 psi a lot stiffer than they recommend for ktm 125 two-stroke which is all the way down at 8.4 bar so a full two bars down which makes it quite a bit softer for a 125 reason being the ktm 252 stroke is heavier than the 125 t-shock so it's putting more weight on the suspension components also the engine is a lot stronger than a 125 so that puts more weight on the rear end when you're on the gas and it also puts a little more weight on the front end when you're breaking this bike as well so those are some things you have to factor in when you're looking at the air pressure that's recommended for this bike i tried stock air pressure for me today the track was rough i went down a little bit from 10.4 down to 10. i tried going even lower but then it got too soft for me so that was something that's really nice about these forks you pump a little bit of air in there and you're able to to find the correct setting for you as a rule of thumb we always try to get our zip ties within one and a half inches from the bottom and that's kind of our sweet spot these bikes do come with little rubber grommets on the fork legs and you think that you can trust them to see exactly how much your forks are compressing but you really can't trust them they fall down super easily so we still put a zip tie on the fork legs the old-fashioned way just to measure how much they're compressing [Applause] i also ran the sag today at 105. it's kind of a standard for ktm models even for the two strokes for mxa and as for the forks i went in four clicks to close off that mid valve bleed hole that i talked to you about earlier that made it a little bit harder for the oil to flow through the mid valve and created a little bit of a stiffer setting so i dropped the air pressure down from what stock recommended and then i went in four clicks which got us to eight clicks out on compression as for the shock i left it as for the rebound on the forks left it talking a little bit more about the engine on the 250 sx from ktm as mentioned you have to ride it pretty aggressively to get it into the meat of the power more aggressive than you have to do on the yz252 stroke couple things that help this bike out a lot if you want a little more over rev we recommend running a pro circuit silencer on this bike pro circuit definitely helps up the over rev power on this bike something you should also know is that the stock hype from ktm is pretty good so we've seen a lot of riders and we've personally done it ourselves where we run the stock pipe but then run a pro circuit silencer also as a rule of thumb when it comes to ktm two-strokes pro circuit helps get a little more over rev and top-end power out of these bikes where fmf helps getting a little more bottom-end power so i go back and forth between different bike builds and different races on this model just depending on how i want to uh move the power around those are kind of the two options you have with fmf and pro circuit i also should note that the stock mikuni tmx carburetor worked great for us today pretty close to 100 degrees i bet today with very low humidity as we have here in southern california the stock jetting worked great for us we also ran the ventilated air box cover just to get more air coming into the engine the combustion engines they use spark fuel and air to make them go faster so we always try to get more air into the engine to help out overall throttle response and power a couple things to keep your eye on if you buy a ktm 250 sx two-stroke always check the spokes on all ktm models this is something we've complained about for years now the spokes always get loose when you first buy the bike on any motorcycle you buy from the dealer you should always check the spokes you know really each day that you ride but especially right after you buy it new wheels and new rims definitely come loose early on as in the break-in process ktms unfortunately they come loose easier than they would on a yamaha honda kawasaki or another brand also check out the sprocket bolts same same issue with ktm also if you have the air forks one thing that people complain about and i even a little bit bummed about is that you always have to check the air pressure in the forks and you have to bleed those little extra air bleed slots on both fork legs so something you really need to keep an eye on is those air forks yes you get three pounds weight reduction yes you get you know to adjust your spring rate on the fly by putting more or less air in there so you get a lot of benefits um and i think they work great at mxa wrecking crew we love these forks however you do have to keep an eye on your air pressure so set it in the morning sometimes i could go a whole day and feel pretty good with the forks other times if it's hotter or if i'm leaving my bike sitting out in the sun or if i'm riding longer motors and it's getting a lot a lot of heat built up that definitely expands the air and makes the air pressure in the forks a little more harsh and so you have to keep your eye on your air fork so people complain about air forks people are hesitant about them but as long as you keep your eyes on the air pressure and keep checking it once or twice throughout the day after setting it in the morning you're gonna probably love your air forks and these are just some things that you need to know before buying a ktm off the showroom floor as for the price this bike retails for eight thousand four hundred and ninety nine dollars for 2022. it also comes in white and red so gas gas is making a 2022 252 stroke for the first time this year they didn't have one last year in 2021 they also didn't have a 354 show four-stroke clasher so they're introducing both of those models into their lineup the gas gas is very similar to this bike the air box cover is a lot more closed off so that does affect power in our experience the gas gas always has softer suspension so that definitely changes how the bike handles and they have the cast aluminum triple clamps that flex a lot more and provide a different feel on the track as well so there are differences when you go from ktm to gas gas and when you get the husqvarna that bike is lowered it's a lot lower at the seat creates a lot different of a handling character as well it's got the carbon composite plastic subframe on the husky so that changes it too and it also has a more closed off air box so there's a few different differences between the ktm gas gas and husky t52 strokes as for yamaha we are very excited to ride the blue machine for 2022. i'm excited to ride both the 250 and 125s from yamaha's and as soon as we do we'll have a video on our youtube channel so make sure to subscribe to motocross action's youtube channel and click the notifications button so you can get an update once we ride those new bikes and when we ride other new models that we got coming down the pipeline here soon thank you guys for tuning in as always motocross actionmag.com if you want to find out more about this bike and other bikes that we're testing also we're going to have a full in-depth article about this bike in a future issue of motocross action magazine so if you haven't subscribed to the magazine or picked one up at your local newsstand be sure to do so if you want to learn all kinds of stuff about motorcycles thank you guys for tuning in that's all and if you have some more time click the thumbnails now to see some of our latest videos

Channel: motocross action magazine

Views: 170,675

Keywords: ktm, two stroke, 2 stroke, 250, 250SX, 2022, model, year, new, wild, fast, speed, race, racing, competition, moto, motocross, sport, dirt, dirt bike, offroad, course, fierce, agility, aggressive, loud, noise, intense, power, powerful, horsepower, engine, parts, review, opinion, details, test, testing, action, jump, trick, stunt, gap, class

Id: AUBp2Yslh7o

Length: 14min 4sec (844 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 06 2021