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Well folks, it’s here. We got it at the beginning of last week. It’s the brand new, highly anticipated 350cc two wheel racing machine from KTM. Factory test riders loved it, and despite the high price tag there are people fighting to get on the waiting list. Thanks to my grandfather’s notoriety in the area we were given high priority and picked ours up as soon as they came in to Valley Moto Sport. I want to send a huge thanks out to Barry Wellings for his consideration; even though his respect for my grandfather, not myself, is what got us the bike I still profit from it after all. Ok, I’ve talked enough for now without giving you something pretty to look at. Here you go:

The new 2011 KTM 350; isn’t it beautiful? Plus, the infamous Agassiz corn.

We spent a few days during the week checking it over, breaking it in, changing the oil, checking the plug, disconnecting and reconnecting wires, and all around basically playing with it. Getting the feel of it, if you prefer that way of thinking. Becoming one with the bike. Also making sure everything was put together properly, which it thankfully was. It was easy to see from the start that this bike was going to be good. The very first ride on it was a shock as the throttle was light and quick to respond. It felt more like riding a 250 2-stroke than any of the four-strokes I’ve ridden (a fair amount).

Only a few minutes old and it already knows how to jump. The parents must be proud.

The first few hours riding it were very trying on my patience. I wanted to see what it could do, but I had to keep things gentle for the new engine. However, even at 75% throttle this bike is extremely capable. In combination with a bit of seat bouncing it was enough to clear all of the jumps on our track, including a hundred foot jump right out of a corner (see below). In fact, all these pictures were taken before the bike was completely broken in.

We call this our “hundred and six footer” from when we made it, but it has worn down a few feet since.

Yesterday we had a sanctioned CMA practice event at the track and went there with the bike fully broken in. Valley Moto Sport had another KTM 350 for people to test ride (quite a teaser; there were already 16 people on the waiting list to buy one at the start of the day), and I saw two other people at the track riding them (theirs weren’t broken in yet, however). I like to think that I put on a worthwhile show for the people watching. After all, I have to do my part to show off the Valley Moto Sport logos on the bike.

The pictures are somewhat blurry, due to a low quality camera and a shaky grandfather. Sorry, it’s the best I have.

The bike’s performance is incredible. It feels in many ways like riding on a nice light 250 but with the power of a 450 at your fingertips. The only real difference I noticed in the power between our older KTM 450 and this new 350 is the gear ratio change from having five gears instead of four. Maybe a brand new 450 would have more power, but our two year old one had nothing on this 350, and I’ve heard that the pros are holeshotting against the 450s.

One lap near the start of the day, enthralled with the power I could unleash by pulling the throttle fully open, I accidentally overshot the aforementioned hundred foot jump and flatlanded on hardpan. The bike bottomed out, but barely. There was no huge “clack” and jarring of the bones that I normally associate with those hard landings. The only way I could tell I had bottomed out was by checking the rear fender and seeing tire marks. To be fair, we tightened the suspension three clicks all around from stock because I ride it pretty hard.

In summary, I think the bike is top of the line. Unless you’re good enough to have the factory building bikes just for you, you won’t find any better quality than the new KTM 350. We’re already making plans to get another one when the frenzy dies down to replace my cousin’s YZ 250F. He rode the 350 for a few minutes and loved it, saying that it was easier to handle than 450 while still having much more power than his 250. If you can afford the 5-digit price tag, it’s time to head on down and buy one. I certainly can’t afford it, but that’s what grandparents are for, right?

It’s been quite the weekend here in sleepy little Agassiz: We were proud to play host to the British Columbia event of the international old timers motocross championships. Riders up to 84 years of age took part in this family-oriented racing endeavor. Classes are separated into under 30 (support), 30+ (over the hill gang), 40+, 50+, 60+, 70+ and 80+ as well as a ladies class. My own family played no small part in this massive undertaking with the majority of the credit going to my grandfather Laurence St. Pierre, a very well respected and long time member of both the BC Old Timers and Canadian Motorcycle Association. He was there the majority of each day for almost two weeks before the event took place overseeing the cat work and preparing the track. My cousin, Justin, and I also helped him in preparing the track. My mother, aunt, and grandmother did the lap scoring for the races as well as sign-up.

The event was unfortunately not the financial success we might have hoped, but the low turnout of riders was no reflection on track conditions. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect with a couple hours of rain after the races were over Saturday night keeping down the dust for an overcast Sunday. To my knowledge, we didn’t receive one single complaint about the track over the entire weekend. On the contrary, we received many compliments and sent home a lot of very happy riders. My cousin and I had a great time riding the support class with our family claiming three of the four holeshots (first rider out of the first corner off the start) for the weekend (myself with two, him with one). Though my grandfather isn’t much of a photographer he did get a couple of good action shots on our cheap digital camera, which I will try to post as soon as I get a chance. Update: Myrna Hansen has her excellent photos up on her website. Photos including me are available here.

All in all, it was quite a weekend. Everyone involved feels stiff and sore and more than a little worn out today, I’m sure.