Page 105 - Motoring World (January 2020)

SMOKING LOUNGE

KTM 300 EXC TPI

FUN INJECTION

The KTM 300 EXC TPI, launched in 2017,

featured some novel tech that looks promising

for keeping two strokes going.

Two-strokes are known for their heady power What KTM did was employ fuel injectors that
delivery and punchy torque, attributes that make sprayed fuel neat into the transfer ports via which
them great especially well-suited for dirt bikes. it would enter into the combustion chamber and
What is also well known is that fact that produce power after subsequent combustion.
two-strokes are far from clean. The very nature The lubrication duties were handled by a
of their functioning makes them the pet peeve separate oiling system which sprayed oil into the
of anti-pollution legislation. The scavenging engine by means of an oil pump, the control of
process utilised by two-strokes to push out the which was handled by the ECU.
exhaust gases by incoming fresh air-fuel mixture This ECU also monitored the
is the reason for unburnt fuel getting into the fuel injectors, and along with
atmosphere. This is compounded by the fact that the oil pump, would monitor
oil is fed into the engine along with the petrol in fuel and lubricant quantities
order to lubricate the crank bearings. being admitted into the
KTM tried to solve some of the issues inherent engine depending on various
with oil burners in 2017 with the launch of the parameters like engine speed,
KTM 300 EXC TPI which was a 300cc single- throttle input etc.
cylinder two-stroke. The TPI stood for Transfer KTM claimed that this
Port Injection. technology reduced fuel
consumption by about 40 per
cent at slow speeds as compared
to comparable conventional
carburetted two-strokes, although
at higher speeds the efficiency was
almost on par.
Since the fuel and oil weren’t premixed
before they mixture enters into the engine,
the volume of unburnt lubricant exiting through
the exhaust dropped significantly, which
brought down emissions as well.
Although its cleaner, it comes at a
price. Besides costing more than a
similar-spec carbed motorcycle, the
extra tech adds about 2.5 kg to the
bike. Now it remains to be seen if
technology like this actually gets
two-strokes back on the street.
That will be the day! ■

JANUARY 2020 | MOTORING WORLD 105