Which 350 is right for you?
XC-f or XCf-W ?
Story by Kevin Novello Photos by Art
Pepin and Shan Moore
W
e recently had the chance to spend some time
on the 2014 KTM XC-F 350. And as a review of
the 2014 XC-F 350 would closely mirror that of
the '13 we recently reviewed, save for the stiffer, new 4CS
forks, we figured that providing a compare and contrast
between the new XCF-W and the XC-F would be more
meaningful. The 2014 models are really are quite different from a performance standpoint, and that's a good
thing.
KTM markets the XC-F 350 as the racier, open-track, GNCC
style machine while the XCF-W is marketed as the enduro/trail bike. There's no need to question that. A lot of
guys—most often the self-proclaimed fast guys—tend to
gravitate toward the XC-F for any and all types of competition. And before the new motor on the XCF-W 350 came
out, it kind of made sense. The previous editions of the
"W" were across-the-board soft in the motor department,
but that's just not the case anymore. The new W is extremely effective off the bottom and into the mid range.
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Trail Rider
The XC-F by contrast lacks bottom end power, but lights it
up in the mid-range. The W chugs through the technical
rock gardens and resists stalling while the XC-F gives your
clutch hand a work out and stalls easily when forced to go
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