KTM - Motorcycles with two or four wheels

imagePhotos: KTM

Like many other motorcycle manufacturers, KTM AG has a turbulent history behind it. This starts with the name: In 1934, Hans Trunkenpolz founded a locksmith's and car workshop still without a name. At the beginning of the 1950s he used the letter sequence KTM for the first time, which initially stood for motor vehicles Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, after the entry of his partner Ernst Kronreif in 1955 for Kronreif Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. It remained until the 1980s, when a name change was due. Today, the abbreviation KTM is no longer dissolved.

Ready to race? Always

KTM sees itself as a manufacturer of sporty motorcycles. "Ready to race" is the motto of the Austrians. And with success: the company was able to collect more than 260 world titles, especially off the road. The orange motorcycles are also a force at the Paris-Dakar Rally. Since 2001, KTM has been the constructors' world champion with one exception (2008, when the rally was cancelled).

Of course, the motorcycle crisis of the 1980s, when the market shrank sharply, did not pass KTM without a trace. After various restructurings and changes of ownership, a groundbreaking decision was made in 1994: If enduros had made a name for itself for the competition, the first road motorcycle appeared this year. The Duke 620, as the machine was called, sold well. So good that there were not only various successor models, but the product road motorcycle was further fanned out.

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KTM also makes a car

Today, KTM sells about the same number of models for the site as for the road. These include super athletes, sports tourers, travel enduros, naked bikes and supermotos. In addition, there are motorcycles for road racing. If you prefer to have four wheels instead of two, KTM will also find what you are looking for: The range includes quads and an unusual sports car, the X-Bow (bottom left).

If you want to know more about KTM, you can visit the KTM Motorhall (see photo on the top left) since May 2019. The museum is located at its headquarters in Mattighofen, Austria, and is about 3,000 square metres in size.

Today, KTM is one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in Europe. Most off-road sports motorcycles worldwide also bear the KTM logo.

Data

  • Founded: 1934
  • Legendary: Paris-Dakar
  • Orientation: Sport, Enduro
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