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KTM Thumper Discussion

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Finally made it home. 2018 miles. Thanks BWDMAX for the idea to take it apart and put it in the CR-V. Worked great and nobody knew it was back there. Never had to worry at the motels.
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That’s what friends are for....to talk you into crazy ideas like sticking a dirt bike in your wife’s car.

Next I’ll have you ride it somewhere it should not fit! LOL
 
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So my son has been riding since he was a kid and more recently started to ride a little dual sport with me. We plan on taking a trip this summer for his high school graduation. I thought that having matching bikes might be a good idea. I have had my ‘06 525 for a while and like it for an all around dirty dual sport. I have a couple other bikes he has been riding, but stumbled across an ‘07 525 on Craigslist for what seemed like a good deal. It had lots of goodies with it. The seller and I texted back and forth and he told me that the bottom oil screen hole had been stripped and a local mechanic had retapped it and put a plug without the screen.... I went silent on him and then began to ask a few details about the plug. I decide to make an offer with thoughts of being able to fix it back right.
Here’s the bike.
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What to do next? Lay it down and remove the skid plate to get a good look.
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Ok brass pipe plug with JB weld on the threads.
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A little heat and picking and tapping from a hammer and the old plug is out. A few measurements and I determine that a 16mm Time-sert will work. The previous fix almost had the hole too big, but I decided it would be in the margins with some 500deg loctite and a dab of JB weld.
Time to prep the hole. I carefully plugged the oil passages with foam earplugs then drilled and tapped. I used a shop vac to suck most of the shavings out and then stood the bike up and washed with carb cleaner.
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The hole is on an angle. These plugs can be easily cross threaded when doing an oil change especially with the skid plate on. The angle also ment I had to open up a little around the hole to get the insert to fit. Here you can see the test fit with the shiny area to the right where I relieved the case with a dermal tool.
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I didn’t have time to finish so I removed the earplugs and flushed the case with mineral spirits several times. I am confident that there is no derbies from drilling or tapping in the engine. I was able to get back to it this morning. With all my stuff ready I flopped it back on it’s side. All the important stuff, including coffee.
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Hole cleaned one last time and insert prepared with loctite and JB weld.
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Inserted
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Now just waiting for everything to cure.
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Truth is this bike probably would live without the screen, but it is where you will get an early indication of a failure that might be diagnosed before a catastrophic failure. I’ll sleep better knowing it is in there and I can inspect it.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Well done ...

Two things ...

metric tap and die set is a must have tool. Not sure how I made it so long without one.
people foo-foo JB weld. It's a very good product to have in your tool kit.


I'm about to tackle clutch dampers on a 500EXC. Any advice?

Went with an Acerbis tank. Thought the 2 gallon rotopax a bit heavy for the rack.
The MSR fuel cans were OK, but really didn't allow carrying anything else.

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Nice repair job, congrats.

I installed the Ktm / Husky guys clutch weight, not sure if that is what you mean but a clutch damper? It makes my 501 a low speed tractor / trials bike now. Amazing what a difference it made for low speed traction and didn't seem to take any performance away at all.

That is when I installed new clutch plates and springs too.

https://www.ktmandhusky.com/product-page/standard-clutch-weight-for-12-16-exc-xcfw-fe-fe-s
 
Who's that old dude standing next to the bike in the first pic? :brainsnap
 
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_RG_ said:
Nice! :thumb:
Click to expand...

tricepilot said:
There are cardiac surgeons who wish they had your skills
Click to expand...

mitchntx said:
Well done ...

Two things ...

metric tap and die set is a must have tool. Not sure how I made it so long without one.
people foo-foo JB weld. It's a very good product to have in your tool kit.


I'm about to tackle clutch dampers on a 500EXC. Any advice?

Went with an Acerbis tank. Thought the 2 gallon rotopax a bit heavy for the rack.
The MSR fuel cans were OK, but really didn't allow carrying anything else.

2015_500EXC_Acerbis_01-XL.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks guys. I mostly posted, because I found several references to this repair out in cyberspace, but none with pics. I thought they might help someone.

Mitch I don’t have any experience with the dampened clutch in the newer bikes. There is some chatter on advrider https://advrider.com/f/threads/2012-ktm-500-exc.682150/page-377. They referenced a video for a recluse install.[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGldfsVPQRg&app=desktopThis"]Rekluse® Install | Core EXPâ„¢ for KTM/Husaberg/Husqvarna DDS style clutches - YouTube[/ame] looks like a good reference, just reuse your stock pieces. It shows everything you need to touch though.

I have also found the best place to carry fuel is in the tank. This bike I’m working on came with 3 tanks; stock 2 gallon, 3.4 KTM XC tank, and 6.6 super tanker for special occasions.
 
KTM calls them dampers ... seems the entire civilized universe calls them cushions.
Basically a "cush drive" inside the clutch.


The video is for an older 300. I don't think rivets are used in newer versions.

Still waiting on a side cover gasket. will order a clutch kit (if needed) once I inspect the hub and plates.



Edit ...

Thanks for the video link.

I had seen that video referenced, but thought it specific to Rekluse.
Very helpful.

Any experience with the Hinson setup?


Getting the bike dirty is a lot of fun ...

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After 40 years, I'm starting to get my sea legs back.
Bought a knock-off action cam to document all my antics, crashes and falls.
 
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Tourmeister said:
Who's that old dude standing next to the bike in the first pic? :brainsnap
Click to expand...

Yeah I smile every time I see the kids pics on the home page rotation. Time goes fast for sure.
 
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Finally joining the fun here! I've had my ultra reliable (220 hours now) plated dual sported 08' XCR-W 450 for 3 or 4 years now and I just brought home an 04' LC4 640 Duke II with a matching set of laced 17" excels with distanzias on LC4 Adventure hubs.

My end game goal is a new 690 to match my wife's habanero orange Prius C (she loves orange), so she unknowingly supports this, haha.
 
Your son has grown up a LOT since we met!

That's a great looking repair. I'm always afraid of stripping that thing, and others out. The older the bike gets the more I worry about it.
 
crchristo said:
Your son has grown up a LOT since we met!

That's a great looking repair. I'm always afraid of stripping that thing, and others out. The older the bike gets the more I worry about it.
Click to expand...

Yes he has grown up.

I can assure you as long as you don’t cross thread that plug you won’t strip it. The aluminum that the case is made out of is hard. I was surprised how hard it was to drill and tap. I used to remove and install while on the side stand. I now remove while on the side stand and let it drain along with the drain plug, side screen and oil filters. I then lay the bike on the right side and put everything back in. The side screen is easy to ensure is straight and you can see the bottom screen plug better.
 
I`m late to the show and have a 13 500 XCW kitted and a 08 300 XC.. Had the 500 since new and the 300 is my toy..
 
Got the chance to putter around on a fuel injected KTM 500 XCW today. Man, those things are sweet!!!

This one had a Rekluse on it also and all I can say is wow. It took me a while to trust it and ignore the clutch, but when I finally did it was super. I ended up going back to using the clutch though because I don't really know how not to have it as part of my own ride experience and none of my bikes have that feature anyway, but I walked away very very impressed.

I was kinda surprised how light the bike felt, being a 500 and all. I expected it to feel kinda heavy or something...but nope. Plus, there's all those David Knight GNCC videos to remind me that any complaints I might offer can be easily refuted by a good rider anyway...
 
Looky what followed me home. JMZ’s 380. Hope aspr gets his shop built soon, I need a place to keep it and do a little upkeep. Figured since I have a husky I might as well taste the orange koolaid 😍

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