KTM Freeride 250 F

The KTM Freeride 250F might look like any other dual-purpose motorcycle when viewed from a distance. However, a closer look reveals many distinguishable details which set it apart from the crowd.

At the front, the Freeride 250F gets a hexagonal headlamp, which is surrounded by a similarly designed and symmetrical looking orange colored fairing. The suspension forks are wrapped in decals, making it look sporty when viewed head-on. The front fender is mounted high like any other dirt bike, however, it is positioned horizontally just below the headlamp, with a tapered down front beak.

From the sides, the Freeride 250F looks slim and lean, however, unlike the other dirt bikes, the fuel tank isn’t mounted too high and has a slight horizontal layout. The small fuel tank is surrounded by busily designed small bodywork which partially hides the perimeter steel frame beneath it. The single piece and almost flat seat sits at the top, with a curved rear fender behind it.

The curved rear fender ends up in a small LED tail lamp at the rear and has an under seat exhaust pipe below it. The dual-purpose tires definitely add to the off-road stance, apart from serving their purpose of traversing over rough terrains.

The rider’s cockpit has a minimalist appeal to it, with the Freeride 250F getting a small fully digital instrument console. It displays only the speed and lap time, with the basic tell-tale lights positioned alongside the digital panel. The single piece handlebar gets handlebar crash guards, which make it look wide and big. The switchgear too looks simple and bare bones, given the overall appeal of the motorcycle.

The KTM Freeride 250F is designed to decipher the challenges posed by the worse of trails, which is why it has got a great seat of rugged chassis components. Designed around a perimeter steel-aluminium composite frame, the Freeride 250F gets 43 mm upside down hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and Xplor PDS monoshock absorber at the rear, both of which have been sourced from WP.

The suspension travel of 250 mm at the front and 260 mm at the rear, along with 21-inch wheel and 18-inch wheel with off-road tires, is enough to make the Freeride 250F able to conquer over the worst of roads or no roads. The 260 mm disc brake at the front and 220 mm disc brake at the rear provide great feedback as well.

The KTM Freeride 250F has been blessed with the same engine which is present on the very popular and wild 250 EXC-F, which is purely meant to conquer the off roads with ease. However, for the Freeride 250F, the motor has been homologated for a more tractable performance to make it suitable for urban riding as well.

Here on the Freeride 250F, the four-stroke, single cylinder, fuel injected, liquid-cooled, 250 cc engine, which produces 21 PS of power and 18 Nm of torque. The engine is coupled to a 6-speed gearbox, which has short gear ratios to extract the most of performance stacked a lower rev range. The light-weight exhaust is lightweight and matches the Euro-4 emission norms.

The KTM Freeride 250F, sadly, lacks many safety features, even the ABS. However, the disc brakes at both the ends provide sharp bite on application.

The KTM Freeride 250F positions itself as the perfect balance between being too hardcore for the off-road riding as well as too sophisticated for urban riding. Combining the best of both the worlds, the Freeride 250F emerges out as a practical and fun bike at the same time, owing to its excellent prowess in handling and performance.