Atk 605 Dual Sport
CYCLE WORLD TEST
ATK 605 DUAL SPORT
PUSH-BUTTON DIRTBIKE FOR THE STREET
CYCLE WORLD HAS JUST DONE A FULL ROAD TEST on a dirtbike. It was even taken to the dragstrip and the dyno just like all our test streetbikes. What’s going on? Well, this particular dirtbike comes with just enough lights and switches, along with a mirror and a horn to justify a license plate-barely. This is the off-roader’s Superbike, a Honda RC45 or a Ducati 916 for the dirt crowd, and it’s made right here in America.
ATK’s new 605 Dual Sport is not for everyone. To start off, it’s expensive-make that oh-mv-gawd expensive-pricetagged at S7895. And, honestly, it is not really made for the street. This is a dirtbike, the same as the ATK 605 Cross Country right down to the suspension valving, that you can operate on public highways without fear of citation-observing applicable traffic laws, of course. But it doesn’t have a speedometer or an ignition key or a fork lock.
ATK has filled one of the smaller holes in the motorcycle market. Dirt-oriented dual-purpose bikes have become more and more popular, headed by Honda's XR65OL, CW's unanimous pick as Best Dual Purpose Bike since its intro duction in 1992. But the ATK 605 makes the Honda feel like a streetbike. If the XR-L is a 75/25 dirt-to-street mix, the ATK is biased 95/5.
Although ATK is not a new company, its owners, now based in Utah, are (see page 76). The 1994 Dual Sport we received was bike number 000001 off the assembly line, a pre-production unit intended to help sort out teething prob lems. We ran into a few, but nothing dire. The kickstand inserts pulled out of the swingarm, and the rear-turnsignal clamps were too large, prompting the signals to slide around on the frame rails. These problems have already been fixed; such is the advantage of a small company.
One of the 605's most endearing features is its electric starter, well worth the extra 18 pounds and $800 that it costs, especially if you've ever had the pleasure of trying to persuade a big kick-start Single to fire up on a cold morning. For traditionalists or those with an innate distrust of batteries, there is also a kickstarter. Next on the appreciated-feature list is the bike's quiet exhaust note. The muf fler on our testbike had a core about an eighth-inch smaller than the updated mufflers that will come on production bikes. ATK claims this will unleash a few more horsepower with no noticeable noise increase. In pre-production form, our ATK churned out 34 horsepower, 2 more than the Honda 650. What is hard to see from a dyno chart is how much more respon sive the ATK is. When you grab a handful. there is zero lag. By compar ison, the XR-L, heavier and tallergeared, feels sluggish.
Warm-up time is quick. Pull in the light-action clutch, click the Thumper into gear and you're off. On the Street, you may be doing a wheelie, depending on how hard you get into the throttle. Power is robust right off idle and the engine pulls hard through midrange, though it flattens out a bit on the top end, probably due to the muffler. Overall gearing, tailored for the dirt, is low for the street; keeping up with the flow of traffic on the free way at 60 mph, the motor revs at a level that transmits an annoying vibration through the bars. Go slower, or flirt with the law and push it up above 70, and the vibration isn't too bad. For comparison, the Honda XR650L is more suited for the street, with less vibration, a widcr-ratio gearbox, softer suspension and a cushier seat.
On the dirt, it’s a whole different game. The 605 is at home off-road, with an extremely roomy layout that is comfortable and makes for easy sitting-to-standing transitions, though the 38-inch seat height is a challenge for riders under 5 feet, 8 inches. Handling is clicked up a notch from past ATKs. The rake was pulled in a degree-and-a-half, and the motor was moved an inch lower and a inch-and-a-half forward. This makes for a better-turning bike that is still very stable. The 605 gobbles up fireroads. Rain ruts and rocks have to be pretty large to deflect the front end. Sliding the bike is graciously simple; smooth, easily controlled power helps here, and makes starting off on slippery hills less of a task.
Suspension rates are straight off the Cross Country model, yet we’d swear they were specifically calibrated for dual-purpose duty. Both ends are surprisingly plush, especially the rear, compared to past ATKs. Lengthening the shock stroke from 3.25 to 5 inches has allowed the use of a much softer spring, which translates into the rear end being much more compliant than before. It took a lot of force to budge the older, 9.2-kg. spring; the 605’s WP shock now has a 4.2-kg. spring.
Up front, the fork is a new WP internal-bleed unit, the same as on ’94 KTMs. There’s more adjustability than with older WP forks, easily accessed by turning the clickers for compression and rebound damping.
Brakes have not missed out on the revamp, either. Switching over to Nissin calipers and master cylinders has paid off for ATK, as has moving the rear brake from the countershaft sprocket to a conventional rear-hub location. The previous brake setup, novel as it was, always worked better on paper than out in the field; the new rear brake is progressive and strong. The front brake is good, but not great, especially on the street, where you have to pull plenty hard on the lever to get decent stopping performance.
Another of the ATK’s attributes is its weight. Although not light by dirtbike standards, 316 pounds with a full, 4.3gallon tank isn’t bad, especially compared to the 345-pound, gassed-up weight of an XR650L. And, finally, a dual-purpose bike-maker has fitted a decent-size fuel tank. The ATK has enough range for off-road exploring, about 160 miles while moving along at a good clip.
Also on the standard-equipment roster are some excellent finishing touches. The gold-anodized, machined-billet aluminum hubs are beautiful as well as strong. An Answer ProTaper handlebar is stock, as are stainless-steel spokes and an O-ring chain. Of course, for almost eight grand, you expect good components.
In the end, that’s the big question. Is the 605 worth its asking price? Which begs another question. What’s your definition of a dual-purpose bike? If you’re looking for a 50/50 dirt/street bike, or even a 75/25 mix, then ATK has missed your boat. But if you’re after a dual-purpose machine that strictly adheres to the dirtbike-with-lights dictum, then the ATK 605 is about dead-nuts perfect. This bike can be raced competitively in off-road races; it will do a good job of carving up twisty pavement through a canyon; and it will take you to the comer store for a quart of milk-if you carry a lock and chain.
It all boils down to how much dirt you want in your dualpurpose bike, and how much you’re willing to pay for it. E3
ATK 605
$7895
