Last January, a Yamaha motorcycle equipped with two-wheel-drive raced the Dakar Rally.

Hoping to keep on top of what may be the next major breakthrough in motorcycle design, KTM says it also is now working with a two-wheel-drive system.

"What we're testing at the moment is a mechanical hydraulic system with a pre-set torque distribution between the front and rear wheel," Project Leader Wolfgang Felber explained in a prepared statement. "In the current phase KTM just wants to be one of the first companies on the ball and, using prototypes, to test the suitability of 2-wheel drive under various different conditions."

"I think that the system has advantages, particularly for the hobby rider," said KTM Motorsport's Kurt Nicoll. "The advantages for competition riders will be less, as they mostly have a very good feel for traction - moreover they're already used to steering the bike with a slipping rear wheel. But if someone has problems with steep climbs or often gets bogged down, then I think 2-wheel drive will yield great rewards.

"At the moment, we're just at the beginning of it's development. The problem that we're working on is perhaps the same one that four-wheel-drive cars had 20 years ago: the system is heavy. We must get the weight down (currently approx. 6 kg). When we've managed to do that, so that it only adds a couple of additional kilos, then it has the potential to trigger a similar revolution to that of the Quattro."