350 XC-F

I know, this is crazy.  It's been a long time since I've had a 4 stroke in my garage, but it's time to see what all the fuss is about.  For years now, I've been listening to the buzz surrounding the KTM 350 XC-F, and it's time to get some throttle time on this machine.  As most of you know, I'm totally, 100% in love with the 300 two strokes, so this is COMPLETELY different for me.  I'm coming into this venture/review with an open mind and I'm really excited to see what this bike has to offer.  Being the XC variant, it's got the linkage setup on the rear, and the 4CS forks on the front.  Overall, this should translate to a more aggressive setup than my 300 XC-W, while it may suffer from that in the tight, gnarly sections of many of the trails I ride.  I think it will shine in the whoops and sections where it can "stretch it's legs" a bit.  I'm also very excited to test out the fuel mileage, and the EFI. 

Sadly, these bikes don't come with a kick starter, a fact that I wasn't aware of until it was delivered at my house.  You only get the kick starter on the 350 XCF-W.  KTM has this listed incorrectly on their site at the time I'm writing. Before taking it out, I have installed an hour meter, EE skid plate, EE rear disk guard, 15mm bar risers, and the flag style hand guards that the dealer didn't put on before delivering it to me.  I'm looking forward to putting the bike through it's paces and giving a direct comparison to the 300 two stroke.  Both bikes are 2014 model years. Let the fun begin!