| March 26, 2023
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The Dirt Bike That Almost Wasn’t
By Scot Harden
The 300cc two-stroke motorcycle is a mainstay in the off-road community. And for good reason: It’s the Swiss Army knife of dirt bikes, the perfect combination of lightweight handling, response, torque and overall rideability. In fact, for manufacturers whose bottom lines are directly tied to off-road sales, 300cc two-strokes often are their best-selling full-size machines.
Everyone from the world’s top hard-enduro competitors to cross-country, desert, grand prix, and even weekend trail riders love the 300cc two-stroke because it offers a clear advantage over everything else in technical off-road and trail settings, especially the heavier and more physically demanding 450cc four-strokes that sit atop of the motocross food chain. For vet riders, there simply is no better friend.
Scot Harden aboard the very first 300cc KTM two-stroke model offered in 1990. It was the 1990 300D/XC. Photo: Karel Kramer
Today, the 300cc two-stroke is such an important component of the off-road market that it’s difficult to remember when the segment didn’t exist. This incredible sales success was born from a desperate need to make KTM relevant in the U.S. market at a time when the company was a very small player. Indeed, the 300 even helped pull KTM through bankruptcy in the early 1990s. Here’s the backstory.
The impetus for a 300cc two-stroke production model goes back to 1984, a much different time in the sport, and especially, in KTM’s history. Mike Rosso, the technical service manager at the time for KTM’s U.S. distributor, KTM America, had logged comments from other KTM staffers, that 250cc models with longer strokes seemed to have more rider-friendly powerbands than 250cc engines with bore-and-stroke ratios that were closer to square.
Rosso surmised that taking one more step—matching the longer stroke with a slightly larger 71mm piston—might produce something special. Unbeknownst to anyone in management at KTM, Mike married these components in a 1984 KTM 250, making a 273cc version of the bike. Test rider after test rider immediately fell in love with the powerband and raved about the engine’s rideability.
As a covert race test, Rosso quietly prepared a prototype for Dirt Bike magazine editor Tom Webb, who entered the bike in the 1985 Blackwater 100, billed as “America’s Toughest Race,” the hard enduro of its day. According to Webb, the bike was a clear winner. It was powerful and fast with great low-end grunt, but light and nimble like the 250cc model on which it was based.
In 1985 and ’86, KTM produced a small run of 300s based on Rosso’s 273cc engine package and the 250cc chassis. Without any real marketing behind it, however, the bike mostly went unnoticed—the best-kept secret of its day. Next, KTM sleeved down an existing 500cc engine to 350cc and offered it as part of its 1987, ’88, and ’89 model lines, dropping the 250cc-inspired 300. Instead of a lightweight, nimble 250 on steroids, they got a heavy, underpowered 500 that was a bit dated and, ultimately, a disappointment on the sales floor.
By 1987, U.S. KTM sales had bottomed out at fewer than 1000 units. Something needed to change, and in March, 1988, Rod Bush was named president of KTM America. Those who know anything about the history of KTM and its phenomenal success know what a huge impact Bush had on the company’s direction and culture. I was fortunate to join Rod and another industry legend, Selvaraj Narayana, as western region sales manager in July of that year, and later, as VP of marketing. We all knew making KTM relevant would be a challenge, so from a product-planning perspective, we had to be innovative.
That first year, 1988, was significant in many other ways for KTM. One of the founders, Erich Trunkenpolz (the “T” in KTM), sold controlling interest in the factory to GIT Trust Holding and as a result his “voice” at the factory became less influential. At the time, KTM Austria consisted of three business divisions: motorcycles, bicycles and radiators. GIT installed a new group of managers, who were highly educated but with no motorcycle experience.
KTM’s entire model range in 1990 included three 300cc models: D/XC, E/XC and MX.
Each manager had “Dr.” as part of his title. There was a Dr. of Marketing, a Dr. of Engineering, and so on. So many key staffers with Dr. in their titles was a little intimidating. In self-defense, we came to call KTM Austria the “hospital staff” to describe the corporate environment at the time. Fortunately, we had a powerful ally inside the factory, someone who had worked at KTM for many years, was well-respected, and knew the ins and outs of how things really worked. Head of export sales, Franz Soellhammer was personable, intelligent and most importantly, he trusted our views of the U.S. market. We could confide in him, and he supported us unequivocally as we began to make changes that ultimately would dramatically impact the U.S. market.
In 1989, KTM sold four two-stroke models: 125cc, 250cc, 350cc and 500cc. None of them sold in large volumes, even though the smallest of the four had just won the U.S.’s first 125cc motocross world title with Trampas Parker at the helm. The 500cc model also was competitive, but with a left-side kickstarter, it was dated. KTM had just launched its first lightweight racing four-stroke model, the 600cc LC4, but because of hard-starting issues, sales of that model were slow.
Moving forward, the brightest spot in the line was the all-new primary-kickstart 250cc model that Broc Glover was developing in the 1989 FIM World 250cc Motocross Championship. Having an American superstar connected to the brand was huge, but the biggest challenge KTM faced at the end of the ’80s was the same one faced by every European manufacturer at the time: Japanese domination of the market.
Japanese product development was not only well ahead of KTM but all European makes. They had almost two decades and millions of dollars of investment in racing and marketing, giving them a clear advantage in the global marketplace. Glover’s connection to KTM provided much-needed credibility.
With this backdrop and knowing it was too late to impact the 1989 model line, we turned our attention to 1990. We realized that coming out with an all-new engine/chassis platform was out of the question—simply no time or budget for development. We also knew we needed to be creative, and that part of the strategy was finding ways of not directly competing with the Japanese. This led to some interesting planning, unique models like the largest-production two-stroke ever offered, the 1990 540cc D/XC Desert/Cross Country, and later, 380cc and 440cc models, any of which would be an interesting story on its own.
As these decisions were being made, Mike Rosso kept reminding us of the potential of the 300cc model. He believed the concept would work brilliantly with the all-new 1990 250cc engine. He determined that the powerplant, with its 67.5mm bore and 69mm stroke, could handle a slightly larger 73mm bore and a longer 72mm stroke without completely redesigning the cases and with only minor modifications to the cylinder, resulting in a 297cc package.
This was crucial because using the same platform kept development costs to a minimum. With some elbow grease and tinkering, a prototype was built. From the first ride, it was clear there was something special about this displacement combination—just enough extra punch without sacrificing the lightweight feel and response of a 250. One ride and I was sold. We believed it was exactly what we needed to jumpstart sales. We only had to convince the factory.
One of the first KTM 300s.
In the summer of ’89, Rod Bush and I traveled to Matighofen to present our 1990 model-year sales plan and business case for adding a 300cc model to the line. The “hospital staff” already had canvassed the other KTM importers and distributors. To a person, each expressed little confidence in the 300cc model, based on their experiences with the 1985 and ’86 273cc and ill-conceived 1987 and ’88 350cc examples. Furthermore, as newcomers to off-road motorcycling, they couldn’t get past the FIM’s 125cc, 250cc and 500cc class distinctions. The 300cc model didn’t fit neatly into an existing segment.
We had anticipated these pushbacks and came prepared with a presentation about the rapidly growing vet classes in U.S. racing and how displacement wasn’t an issue for those categories. We also had data showing that almost 70 percent of the current KTM owners were not racers. They were trail riders, and most were older—40-plus years—which meant a lightweight motorcycle with excellent response and torque would be perfect for their needs. In the end, even though the other importers would not support the 300cc concept, we convinced the factory to build an initial production for the U.S. We were given one year to prove the concept. Our credibility, and possibly even our futures with the company, were at stake.
The first KTM 300 MX, EXC, and D/XC models hit the U.S. market in the spring of 1990 as part of KTM’s largest model line offering to that point, some 14 models. They generated positive reviews in magazines and in the pits. Most importantly, at the end of the year, they represented the best-selling KTMs in the U.S. I campaigned one myself that year (and exclusively through the ’90s) and was amazed at the wide variety of races in which it was competitive. I raced everything from weekend motocross to desert hare and hounds, enduros, hare scrambles, GPs, even Vegas to Reno. I always thought of it as “my” cheater bike in the vet class. Fast forward to the end of that decade, and the 300 was the best-selling full-size model in the KTM lineup, not only in America but globally. I believe this is even true today.
None of this might have come to pass if KTM hadn’t gone through bankruptcy in 1991 and Stefan Pierer and his Cross Holding investment group had not taken ownership. Once Pierer took over the reins, KTM never stopped moving forward, continuing to develop and invest in newer, better designs, always seemingly one step ahead of the competition. Most of all, the company never neglected its two-stroke line while other manufacturers, mainly the Japanese, only focused on four-strokes.
KTM was the first to incorporate an electric start into a modern-day competition two-stroke engine (with, again, a lot of encouragement and input from the U.S.), and later, electronic fuel- and direct-injection. Suffice it to say, the 300cc two-stroke models offered today are some of the most sophisticated, fun, and confidence-inspiring motorcycles ever built. Eventually, the technology would be transferred to its Husqvarna and GasGas lines, and other companies would follow suit.
Now, I’m sure the 300cc two-stroke would have eventually found its way into production. It is simply too good of an idea. Still, history will show that a small group of highly motivated off-road executives in the U.S. and an innovative little (at the time) company in Austria got the first example into full-scale production. It’s hard today to imagine the non-existence of a 300cc model, which shows the impact it has had on off-road riding and racing. Some of my best-ever days on a motorcycle have been on a 300. It definitely has made a mark on me.
