Ever wondered just how much difference there is between a Works bike and a factory bike?  Often quite a lot, but in some cases very little.  The Husqvarna Works Bikes are nothing more than bone stock production bikes twelve months ahead of time.  In other words, what appeared on the GP circuits during 1981 will be on the dealers’ floors now.  I’m sure the barrels are worked and a few other changes put into effect but nothing extraordinary.  Part of the reason why Husqvarnas are so reliable is because of this scheme.

At the other end of the scale are the Japanese factories.  Production bikes incorporate ideas that appeared on Works bikes (within 12 months sometimes) but the gap between both is enormous.  Mark Barnett couldn’t race in Australia because of testing commitments.  He wasn’t testing ideas for production bikes; his only concern was next year’s works bike.  A Japanese Factory mount is built from the hubs up to suit the style, speed and peculiarities of its intended user.

We accept that production bikes rely heavily on Factory bikes but anyone calling his YZ490, RM250 or whatever a Works “Replica” is speaking bulldust!  Somewhere in the middle of these two philosophies is KTM.

 When Gerard Rond (KTM factory rider) visited Australia he rode the same bike we tested.  And as far as he was concerned the frame was much better than his ’81 works bikes.

 Rond’s bikes are very much experimental; if something goes wrong modifications are made.  Eventually a design is perfected and put into production.  The same goes with the engine.  The engineers hand Rond and his team-mates the engines.  They thrash them, suggest changes and chase GP points.  If everything works OK you and I end up with very similar units mounted in generally available production bikes.