KTM Motorcycles

About KTM

KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and moped manufacturer. KTM is most commonly known for its off road motorcycles though in recent years it has expanded into street motorcycle production.

The company was founded in 1934 by engineer Hans Trunkenpolz in Mattighofen. It started out as a metal working shop and was named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. In 1937, it started repairing and selling DKW motorcycles, and Opel the following year.

In 1954 KTM began producing motorcycles, almost all of the components being produced in house, with the notable exception of engines, made most often by company Rotax.

In 1955, a businessman Ernst Kronreif became shareholder of the company, on acquiring a sizable portion of the company. It was then renamed Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen.

KTM's first moped, called Mecky was launched in 1957, followed by Ponny I in 1960 and Ponny II in 1962, and the decade saw the beginning of the bicycle production.

Kronreif died in 1960 and Trunkenpolz two years later, of a heart attack. Company name was changed back to Kraftrader Trunkenpolz Mattighofen with his son Erich taking managing the company. In 1978, US subsidiary KTM North America Inc. was founded in Lorain, Ohio. In 1980, it was renamed KTM Motor-Fahrzeugbau KG.

Since 1990, KTM motorcycles and automobiles (X-Bow) have been designed by KiskaDesign, a Salzburg-based design firm. It is responsible for the overall branding for KTM; including the design of the vehicles, shops, exhibits and printed material.

KTM first participated in motorsports events in 1953 in the 5th Gaisberg competition in which it won the first three places. One year later, KTM won the Austrian 125 national championship. Two years later, in 1956, KTM participated in the International Six Days race for the first time and Egon Dornauer won the gold. 1966 year marks the winning of the Austrian national championship by Manfred Klerr using the new 250cc Motorcross bike. In 1973, the Austrian team records the first World Championship points and the first Grand Prix wins.

Moto blog

2013 KTM Moto3 250 GPR Production Racer Available for Sale

KTM has begun accepting orders for a production racer version of its 250cc Moto3 World Championship race bike. The production racer will be available in February 2013 though orders will be accepted from July 1 to Oct. 1 of 2012 for 45,000 euros (US$55,400).

Moto3 proves its worth at Assen

Describing the action in the Moto3 race as ‘edge of the seat’ would be doing it a disservice as the train of battling riders did more than prove the worth of the 250cc four-stroke singles that were introduced this season. For the entirety of the 22 lap race the fighting was full of gasp-filled moments, in the first half of the race the top 20 were all in the same camera shot and covered by less than 2.5 seconds. Towards the end there was a breakaway group of five riders; Maverick Vinales, Sandro Cortese, Danny Kent, Luis Salom and Louis Rossi.

Carbon Fibre race bikes, and a KTM makes it debut on the BSB Motostar rostrum

Many think Carbon Fibre chassis are relatively new to motorcycle racing but I can lay claim to having been there and done that almost thirty years ago. I first rode a Carbon/Kevlar 250cc Armstrong in 1983 before going on to grab four British titles and pretty much every national lap record over the next three years. I also had some top ten 250cc Grand Prix finishes although I was totally gutted when my team mate Donnie McLeod topped me by finishing 2nd in the Belgian GP at Spa.

KTM Fines MX2 Factory Racer Jeffrey Herlings for Bad Behavior – Video

KTM has issued a fine and a warning to its own factory motocross racer Jeffrey Herlings for “certain behavioral issues” from the past two MX2 World Championship rounds. Herlings currently leads the MX2 World Championship standings, winning five of seven rounds including eight of 14 motos. KTM did not specify exactly what Herlings did, but the tipping point was dropping the F-bomb on live television in a post-race interview.

2012 Erzberg Rodeo Results – Only 7 of These People Finished the Race

You know it’s a tough race when less than 2% of the starters make it to the finish. That’s what happened this Sunday at Austria’s Iron Mountain for the 2012 Red Bull Hare Scramble. KTM factory rider Jonny Walker was the first of just seven competitors to make it to the top in the 3.5-hour time limit out of a field of 500 entries.

KTM to Broadcast Live Streaming of 2012 Red Bull Hare Scramble

The  2012 Red Bull Hare Scramble finals at Austria’s “Iron Mountain” will be streamed live on KTM’s website. The annual Hare Scramble is the culminating event of the 18th Erzberg Rodeo at Austria’s Erzberg “Iron Mountain”. The Red Bull Hare Scramble attracted 1800 entries this year from 35 countries.

KTM RC8R: The first month

First impressions are everything so the gearbox niggles on the first RC8s meant I didn’t become an instant fan. There was never a problem for normal road riding but when the pace was increased on track days false neutrals were found and gears were missed. Ironically I might have been able to help here as KTM signed me up for pre-production shakedown testing before I got sidelined with appendicitis.

2013 KTM SX Lineup Revealed

KTM revealed its 2013 motocross model lineup featuring a new 250 four-stroke engine and updates to the 350 powerplant. The 2013 KTM 250 SX-F gets a new powerplant said to be lighter than the previous engine thanks to a new high-strength aluminum alloy. The new engine has a 78mm bore and a 52.3 mm stroke, compared to the previous model’s 76mm bore and 54.8mm stroke.

WSB, Nobby Ueda and my KTM RC8R

WSB last weekend at Donington Park, once again delivered some amazing racing but I'm not sure what Leon Haslam has to do to get that first victory on the BMW. He looked the strongest prospect for the win in race one until Marco Melandri appeared to brake a tad early at the Esses sending the Pocket Rocket across the gravel. I really believe it was a case of innocent victims though at the last corner on the last lap in race two.

Report: KTM Developing 375cc Twin for Bajaj

Austrian manufacturer KTM is reportedly working on a new 375cc Twin-cylinder engine for Indian partner Bajaj. Bajaj owns a 47% stake in KTM and the two companies have worked together in the past for the KTM Duke 125 and Duke 200 as well as the Bajaj Pulsar 200NS (pictured above). According to India’s Business-Standard, KTM and Bajaj are collaborating on a new 375cc engine at Bajaj’s research and development facility in Akurdi, India, outside of Pune.