Some bikes are built to win. Others are built to make you remember why you ride. During the KTM Track Battle, four pros lined up with four very different machines — but the moment Carson Brown threw a leg over KTM’s lightweight 2-stroke rocket, everyone knew things were about to get loud, fast, and a little bit wild. Carson wasn’t easing into it.
Carson: “The second I heard that 2-stroke fire up, I was buzzing to get on it. I’ve got a 2-stroke background, so the moment I threw a leg over that thing, I knew exactly what I wanted to do – just rip. And especially on that track, a little hard-pack, kind of slippery and muddy, it came alive. Being so light, I could really slide it around and have some fun. Honestly, I had just as much fun watching the other guys ride it too, because it’s one of those wild bikes where you’ve got to ride it right on the edge to get the most out of it. So, 10 out of 10 fun right there.”
From that point on, the KTM 2-stroke smoker wasn’t just another bike in the lineup — it was the pure fun machine. The one that brings back the full-throttle, ear-to-ear-smile version of motocross.
Carson didn’t even need a warm-up lap. The moment he hit the first turn, the bike seemed to match him perfectly: lightweight, razor-sharp, designed for riders who want to attack rather than cruise.
“The main thing for me was just being able to flick it over jumps and stay a bit lower, like kind of whipping it around compared to the other bikes, because it was so light,” he said. “So, like the finish line jump, I was able to really kind of have some fun with it and get loose — especially compared to some of the bigger bikes.”
If you watched the video, you saw it. The bike didn’t just clear the finish line jump — it danced over it. That’s the charm of a READY TO RACE 2-stroke in the hands of a rider who prefers two-strokes. You don’t muscle it around. You play with it.
Carson’s background isn’t just riding 2-strokes — it’s riding old-school 2-strokes. The ones you jet in the morning, re-jet after lunch, and pray don’t bog mid-corner. So when he felt the new EFI system working under slippery race conditions, it was instantly noticeable.
“What I was impressed by was the fuel injection, especially on a muddy day like that,” he explained. “It was fun around that track because it was a tighter track, and I didn't have to worry about the bog or sucking water in or the different temperatures and stuff with it being fuel injected. So that was nice about the bike — especially for those conditions.”
No jetting. No messing. No guessing. Just twist and go.
That’s the magic of KTM continuing to push 2-stroke tech forward when everyone else said the platform was “done.” The result isn’t a nostalgia motorcycle — it’s race tools of several displacements, with character.
Carson has ridden every kind of 2-stroke — from museum pieces to big-bore hill-climb builds to the prototype bikes at events like Red Bull Straight Rhythm. So, when he says the modern KTM version feels like a different animal, that’s not marketing — that’s credibility.
“Yeah, the things that are nice on that compared to the other 2-strokes out there — on top of the fuel injection, obviously the electric start is amazing, especially when the bike is hot” he said. “And then just the chassis on it was nice because these newer ones are skinnier and they've got a flat seat, so it was good to really get on it. Just a completely different feel than even the previous generation of the KTM 125 SX. Which is fun because I like that KTM keep innovating the two-strokes and updating them.”
There it is — the real elephant in the room. KTM is one of the last manufacturers still investing in high-performance 2-strokes at this level, and riders’ notice.
The KTM Track Battle format meant something important: four different riders, four different riding styles, and zero time to set up the suspension. Everything had to be READY TO RACE from the first moto.
“Suspension-wise on the bike for that track. It was great because in that situation it's adjustable — especially the air fork and everything,” Carson said. “Between the three of us, we were all different weights, so we were able to get the forks dialed in on the fly. It was nice that we didn't have to re-spring or adjust much not even a few clicks or pumping up or airing down the forks.”
“This thing has a special place in my heart because I obviously love two-strokes, I’ve got a long background on them,” he said. “I rode the KTM 125 SX at Red Bull Straight Rhythm those years. I got some wins in the 125 class there. I had some good moments on a 125 at Loretta's and throughout my amateur career, so the 125 platform is really special to me — and it's something that I still ride on the daily.”
That’s the difference: this isn’t a bike he occasionally tests. It’s a category he grew up in, competes on, and still rides for fun even when the cameras aren’t rolling.
“If you haven't ridden one, you have to try it. You gotta get out there, wring its neck, have some fun and whip that thing around — because there's no other bike like it.” - Carson Brown.
If you’re keen to give your KTM 125 SX the added performance that Carson loved, please check out the KTM 150 SX factory kit, available in the KTM PowerParts catalogue with
article number A43030905044.
See the full KTM Track Battle featuring Carson Brown, Mani Lettenbichler, Daniel Sanders — and yes, the wild 2-stroke rocket that stole the show.
Watch it now on YouTube: “KTM TRACK BATTLE: Mani vs Chucky vs Carson – Who’s Fastest?”.
This 2-stroke machine is just one part of KTM’s next-gen motocross lineup — engineered for racers, built for riders who refuse to settle, and carrying the same READY TO RACE DNA into every segment.