Mike Alessis | Bike Tests | Products

Mike Alessi’s Factory 250 SX-F

March 30, 2007

It must be a good feeling knowing that you’ve got one of the fastest bikes on the track. Not only that, but it’s one of only a few out there and you weigh lighter than most of your competitors – you’d just have to be going to the start line oozing confidence. No wonder then that Mike Alessi has pulled more than his fair share of holeshots throughout the year.

KTM have virtually built their reputation over the past years with the outstanding performance of their ridiculously fast and strong 125cc two-stroke motor. Not so long ago if you rode one it would increase your chances of doing better in the MX2 class. Times change and change quick. The onslaught of the four-stroke has even made arguably the fastest 125cc engine obsolete.

So for over a year now KTM have been racing and developing the 250F, grooming it for mass production in 2006. With the factory bike taking its roots from the foundations of next year’s stock model is KTM going to jump straight back to the front in the horsepower war? Jamie Dobb’s 2000 factory 125 is the best motocross bike that I’ve ever ridden. Five years on would Mike Alessi’s bike take that accolade?

ERGONOMICS

I don’t know what it is but there is just a certain feeling a factory bike has. You could almost be blindfolded and you could probably still tell it’s the real deal. I guess it’s the way that the controls feel light n’ tight when you first get to grips with them. As soon as I hoisted my slack ass up onto it I had a reassuring feeling I could smash it into any large jump or breaking bumps and the front end would be able to lap it up like a seedy politician asking for more sexual depredation. The steering feels light but not loose and that’s how it rides. Mike isn’t the biggest man in the class and neither am I, so I found his footpeg, seat and bar position absolutely perfect. I mean that – totally perfect. Even his levers were exactly where I’d have them if I was the team’s No1. It was like the bike was made for me, fitted like a glove. For taller riders I’d say the distance between the seat height and the footpegs is too short, but this factory KTM isn’t for Marc DeReuver, it’s for Mikey. The seat foam was very pleasant on the ringer, it was firm but fair and just had the right amount of give in it. The radiator shrouds seemed much wider than my KX 250 and to be honest I didn’t like them, they were the only grumble that took a lit bit of shine of the ergonomics for me really. At the front of the seat and rear of the tank however the bike is slim and very easy to grip with your knees.

MOTOR

Just as well really because Mike’s bike is rip-snortingly fast. I tell you, stock 250Fs are getting like 250 two-strokes but this is another rung on the power ladder. The second, actually probably the millisecond, you crack open the throttle the bike is taking off. It’s a smooth but alarming burst of speed and it doesn’t stop there. No sirree Bob, I hadn’t even made it into the mid range hit. As if I need that, Lake Elsinore can be fast enough on a stocker let alone with a 250F that could probably win a European tractor pull humming between your legs. The mid range is the strongest feature of the engine in my opinion. Obviously the top end speed isn’t average either but this is where you feel the difference between what a factory bike should be and what a stock one isn’t. Where you’d have to knock it down a gear on a production model, the KTM can just hold that gear and pull the equivalent and then some. With the power refusing to die down as you reach the top end (if you’re not scared by this point) it still keeps pulling until it finally tops out at a limit there’s just no need to take a MX bike to. Because of that I found I could, if I wanted, go down that extra gear and rev the valves out of the engine and it would still drive you along the ground at a phenomenal rate. As I said the jetting and response for a four-stroke isn’t what you’d expect it to be, it has a more two-stroke feel about it. Snappy and crisp like a quick click of the fingers. That coupled with the traction qualities and raw power of the engine make it twice as easy to do things on the track. Big jumps with short run ups that would usually need seat bouncing were left behind me as I sailed over them way too far. It took several laps before I became accustomed to the power. The gearbox ratios were of course suited ideally for the power with third gear being about every gear on a stock bike rolled into one. Shifting was a breeze, it had a lighter engagement than ladies that lunch, not that you had to change that much to be fair.

A motor like this is like the huge meteorite to the dinosaur two-stroke, I tell you that for nothing.

BRAKES

With the motor seemingly never wanting to back off you’re going to looking for some good brakes to help you out. The anchors on the factory KTM are awesome; I kind of knew they would be. Dobby’s bike had immense stopping power with incredible control and Mike’s was no different. The front brake in particular is sublime. It’s just everything you’d try to imagine the feel of a factory brake should be. I don’t want to go too weird here but us blokes all know how good it is playing with our nuts. Well it’s that kinda good feeling. It just feels ace. You feel totally in control with it. The slightest touch and you can feel it; squeeze tight and you can definitely feel it. Even the front brake lever seems to fit perfectly into the fold of you fingers. There is no way you could pull the lever to the bars it would be like an ejector seat, you’d come out of you riding position quicker than a jack in the box. The rear is much of the same, although maybe a little more mellow. That's maybe to allow less chance of stalling when on the binders, I don’t know. None the less it maintains a beautiful controlled feel throughout. With these brakes you must be able to pick up over a second a lap and you know what they say about seconds. They all count.

HANDLING

The chassis and handling do not quite make the dizzy heights of the motor. I’m not saying the bike handles like a Bentley on the dodgems at your local fair, I’m just saying it isn’t quite what would do for me. The controls may have been ideal but not the suspension or the confidence it inspired. It’s that classic misconception that a factory bike will be the best thing you’ll ever ride. The truth is they’re always set up specifically for the factory rider in question. Mike rides different from me, that I think is blatantly obvious as is the inches around our waists; 28 inches plays 34 and growing. The front forks were good, very good. Like I said right away, even with the bike on the stand the front end had a positive feel. Out on the track at high speed there was no headshake, even with the extra horses galloping. The WP fork stroke was amazingly plush to the point where it wasn’t obvious to feel the progressive stiffness in them. Harsh, fast take offs and flat landing jumps didn’t faze me at all, where normally I’d have concerns about the front diving. For the speed Mike rides they must give him plenty of confidence. I don’t ride as fast but I am carrying more girth (in the belly!? I’m not boasting) so with that in mind it’s probably why the front end felt good. Tracking into ruts and turning sharply always seemed easy, in fact the front end pretty much stuck to the ground like a well trodden bit of dog dirt into an Axminster carpet.

The rear on the other hand was kicking around like freshly made popcorn. Not so much coming out of the turns but going in. On the small high speed braking bumps it would skate and twitch around like it had a nervous disposition. Shame really because it occasionally took the edge off the fork’s performance and made it harder to line up corners and ruts. Exiting the turns the motor was so positive but the rear shock could’ve made it even better. The rear didn’t seem to want to push into the ground like other bikes I’ve ridden. It was OK once you had it straightened up but on the angle I wanted to squirm away. If it was choppy under acceleration it was even worse. Heavy landings were more comfortable though. Basically I think it was too hard and the rebound was too fast for me. We have a policy here at MOTO to leave the bikes how the factory riders have them set up. I would’ve like to change it to find out but we didn’t have the time anyway. The reason I say that is because up until you assess the rear suspension this bike was matching Dobby’s tat for tat. The balance of the suspension wasn’t good for me, both units seemed to working out of sync. Alessi is an aggressive rider, I think that’s fair to say. I’m not, never have been and never will be and that’s why the rear end did nothing for me.

CONCLUSION

Bottom line is that the factory KTM has already won the MX2 world championship in it first season and nearly won the MX Lites (that’s going to take some getting used to) in the USA this time around. KTM have come a very long way in a very short time production wise and they seem to be heading in the right direction with their new four-stroke development. After riding Mike Alessi’s race bike it is obvious to me that the Austrian brand are quickly translating the success of the screaming 125 into their little four-poppers. I wonder if Alessi will get to taste championship victory on the KTM 250 SXF just like his new Pro Circuit rival Ben Townley? If he doesn’t I don’t think he can blame the bike for not being good enough.