Alright, let’s talk about the KTM EXC-F 350 and its horsepower. It’s funny, you get one of these bikes, you ride it, and you know it’s got grunt. But then someone asks, “So, how much power does it really make?” and you kinda shrug. KTM themselves are often pretty cagey about exact horsepower numbers, especially for their EXC-F line. Lots of talk about torque, rideability, but pinning down a solid HP figure straight from the factory spec sheet? Good luck.
When I first got my 350, I was coming off a smaller bike. The difference was immediately obvious. It pulled harder everywhere, revved out nicely, and just felt potent. But “potent” isn’t a number, is it? I spent a bit of time digging around online, forums, articles, you name it. Found numbers all over the place – some claimed high 40s, others low 50s, some even higher. You never know if they’re talking crank horsepower, rear-wheel horsepower, or just pulling numbers out of thin air.
My Quest for Actual Numbers
I’m the kind of guy who likes to know. Not just ‘feel’, but know. So, I decided the only real way to get an answer I could trust was to put my own bike on a dynamometer, or dyno as most call it. Find out what power it’s actually putting down to the ground where it matters.
Finding a good local shop with a motorcycle dyno wasn’t too hard. Called them up, explained what I wanted – just a couple of baseline pulls to see the real-world horsepower and torque. Scheduled a time and waited, actually pretty curious about what the result would be.
Dyno Day: Strapping it Down
Got to the shop, and the process was pretty straightforward. They rolled my EXC-F 350 onto the dyno platform. Strapped the front wheel into a chock and used a bunch of heavy-duty straps to anchor the bike down securely. You don’t want that thing moving an inch when they open it up.
The technician hooked up some sensors, one usually clips near the spark plug wire for RPM readings, and often an exhaust gas sensor in the pipe. Then came the noisy part. They fired up the bike, let it warm up properly, and then ran it through the gears up to usually 4th or 5th gear for the main power pull. Hearing your own bike screaming its lungs out at full throttle while standing still is quite an experience!
The Results Came In
After a couple of clean runs, the operator showed me the graph on the computer screen. We looked at the peak numbers. My bike, pretty much stock standard at the time except for maybe being well run-in, put down around 48 horsepower right at the rear wheel. Torque was looking healthy too, but honestly, the horsepower number was what I was chasing.
- Peak Horsepower: ~48 HP (at the rear wheel)
- General Feel: Confirmed the strong, usable power I felt riding
What Does That Number Mean on the Trail?
Okay, so 48 HP at the wheel. Is that a lot? Well, compared to a 250F, yeah, it’s a noticeable jump up. Compared to a full-blown 450 motocross bike which might be pushing into the high 50s or even 60s at the crank (less at the wheel), it’s a bit less peaky. But that’s the whole point of the 350, isn’t it?
What the dyno number confirmed for me was that the power it makes is incredibly usable. It’s not a light switch like some bigger bikes can be. It builds power smoothly, predictably. You can lug it down low in technical stuff without it flaming out easily, thanks to good torque, but when you need to blast up a hill or rip down a fire road, you twist the throttle and it absolutely goes. That ~48 HP feels like the sweet spot – enough excitement and capability without being overly intimidating or exhausting to manage on a long day of trail riding.
So, yeah. I went through the process. Got the bike, felt the power, got curious, couldn’t find a straight answer, and took it to the dyno. Now I know. My KTM EXC-F 350 makes around 48 real-world horsepower, and it feels just right. It was cool to finally put a number to the feeling.
