Dream Machines: KTM 380SX 2-Stroke ATV

While their run in the North American ATV market was tragically brief (thanks to an economy that tanked right when the performance ATV scene was heating up), there is little doubt that KTM left quite a mark on the industry.

Revered for their nimble handling chassis, rip-roaring engine packages and goodies rarely seen at the factory level (hydraulic clutches, Ohlins suspension, Nerfs and tethered ignitions), all four of the KTM models released (450 & 525XC, 450 and 505SX) became instant classics among racers and performance junkies alike.

However it wouldn’t be human nature to quit pushing the envelope on what’s possible and we have located a Youtube clip that verifies this idea once and for all. Someone out there managed to shoehorn the potent KTM 380cc 2-stroke engine into the 505SX ATV chassis! While the concept of the factory 2-stroke is all but dead these days on account of bureaucrats and unspent hydrocarbons in exhaust vapors, it is incredible just to imagine what it must be like to ride this open-class-powered beast.

While a video of the machine in action would have been fantastic, we did locate this clip of the quad firing up and being revved to the moon as only a 2-stroke can. If this guy would consider building these beauties for the sake of reselling them, we suspect there would be quite a market out there. In fact we think it’s safe to say one would be spoken for instantly – as in shipped first class directly to ATVC Headquarters.