The injection is incredibily smooth! Feels like a big improvement over the 530, again. LOVE the bike and would not mind adding one to the stable :) now just need the right lottery ticket..
did not get to do a proper test unfortunately. New wheels kick ass, with the thinned spokes, ultra light yet strong. compared to my 690 and 'old' 450exc there's just a big leap forward as a true offroader.
I have now been fortunate to ride both US models. I have a buddy with the 500 XCW and another with the EXC. All I can say is I have to get me one of these. Been helping the buddy with the EXC set it up which is great as I am getting a big leap on what/how to make the mods I want to make to one once I am able to get my own. Bottom line to me is if you primarily ride trails and can make it street legal in your state get the XCW, if you primarily ride Dual Sport get the EXC.
It is not how they perform it is how they come stock. The EXC has full DC system for lighting with a big easy to see tail light, horn, etc. To me the differences in performance are very negligable. I am sure there is a difference but both bikes ran so well and were geared the same all I could tell was that one was quieter than the other.
Sorry but should have added to my previous post that the XCW comes geared closer to what one wants for the woods but needs proper dual sport adds like horn, brake light switch, etc. Just like prior models the EXC needs gearing changes and a chain. So if they perform simarily it is a matter of what you add vs what you remove. If you go XCW and want to be street legal you add stuff, if you go EXC and want to trail ride your remove stuff and change gearing.
anyone out there got a 500 exc with the map switch? i have one and have put the switch on , but i haven't ridden it hard yet . Has anyone ridden one really hard yet and noticed the difference with the swicth.?
Picked up my '12 500 EXC today...can't wait to strip off all the street legal bits and replace with more dirt worthy items, change the gearing and hit the trails. I'm replacing the giant mess of a plate holder with one from a xc-w and some sar signals. It really sucks that it doesn't come with a skidplate but beyond that I'm pretty stoked about the purchase. I went with the 500exc over a Berg FE570 mainly for better tank options and the security of the kickstarter....hopefully I made the right decision.
Breaking in and setup in progress, desmogged and re-geared 14-50, this thing runs clean, smooth and strong,
looks good....... what did desmogging entail? did you modify the muffler? hope to get one soon.. thanks
I haven't touched the muffler, and when I mentioned de-smogging the dealer said it was much simpler than the 530 and did it for me. I am still learning, and the imformation is a little scarce. I have ordered the JD 6x for tuning the FI, as what I've read from JD on KTM Talk is there are gains to be made there, and he provides some setup for different configurations.. I feel that the muffler is a little restrictive, but not sure it needs to be changed even though I have one on the way. It just runs great. Very impressive. I had a 530 and this is much smoother and very quick stock.
I haven't found any info on desmogging the 500. Doesn't look like much but I never mind a little guidance from someone that has gone before me. Are you happy with the 14/50? It's geared so tall stock that a gearing change is at the top of my list.
As far as I can tell, it's going to work out great. Pull off the bottom is of course greatly improved. After all of eight miles and my first oil change, I will take it up on the mountain tomorrow.
Got to see the 500EXC at my dealer today. He told me that the semi will be at a nearby motocross track with both the 350 and 500 for demo rides....... ..... the same day I'm having knee surgery next month.
Took mine out today with hard Parts switch man what a difference more like my 690 only lighter a lot lighter
So is this going to be the 500 exc / xc-w everything thread? Makes sense to me, start with speculation and on to the real thing, complete history of a bike in forum form... just need to remove the ? from the thread title... Anyways, I've had my dual sported XC-W for 1 week now; 10 hours and 300 street miles on it. I've yet to take it off road, except for a few cuts through empty lots here and there. Coming off a 640 adv, it is MUCH lighter, MUCH more powerful, and MUCH smoother; I love it a LOT. So far changes I've made: -Dual sport kit (don't have many details, dealer did the work) -Enduro Engineering skid plate -Enduro Engineering bar risers -14 tooth front sprocket (up from 13 on the xc-w. I never rode it with the 13, but 14 seems to be slow enough for tight work) -mounted garmin 276c Some thoughts regarding this bike and ADV kinds of things: -It will need a larger tank for sure. On the street I am getting right at 50 mpg in city. I'm not riding it very hard yet, so with more enthusiastic rides that will drop. -A more comfy seat will be on my list. It is less comfy than the stock 640 adv seat, and the 640 seat left much to be desired. I could sit on the 640 for an all day 10 hour kind of ride and at the end my ass would be KILLING me. I start to get that feeling after 2 or so hours on this guy (not completely to the 10 hour 640 feeling, but my ass is talking to me). -oil changes are EASY EASY, especially compared to the 640 adv. I know there will be a lot of talk regarding this bike and oil change intervals; if it comes to oil changes in the field mid-trip it doesn't scare me. -i want to use the big giant loop on this bike, but there aren't good points on this bike to strap it down to. I plan on adding mounts some how. I need to look in to how folks managed this on the 530 and 525 bikes for ideas. I've only really got cell phone pictures at this point. I'll be off roading tomorrow and will take some real pictures then. For now, the cell phone pictures I took last night while fabing the GPS mount will have to do. Bike before I got started. I'm using the shop up at work (i wish this were my garage). Cardboard templates for the mount. I modified a touratech mount to get the GPS lower and less forward. Tabs go in between 2 of the Enduro Engineering bar risers Here it is finished. The mounts are .060" stainless. I'll probably paint them, but they look ok bare. From the cockpit. The picture's angle is a little lower than my head, but the gps is just low enough that I can see the dash still. From the side. The touratech mount is just high enough that I can get my fingers between the bars and the tab to unclamp the GPS. I hope the unit isn't too far down and back that I have to take my eyes too far off the road. I'm used to my 640 adv with the GPS tucked above the dash in the fairing which keeps the road in my peripheral vision while using it (sorta). EDIT: I should also note, in the event someone wishes to copy this general method for mounting a GPS; the 2 plates I made are as wide as they can be at the bottom near the bar risers and actually angle in slightly to pick up the Touratech mount. If they are made to be parallel you loose a lot of stiffness and the GPS may be more prone to vibrate left and right. Anyhow, thought I'd share last nights efforts and a few thoughts. I'll post up pictures and thoughts after tomorrows ride
Very nice work! I agree that the rear of the bike doesn't offer many GL mounting points, but I'm sure you'll figure something out. ktm950se
While many have recently criticized this bike's true "adventure" abilities based upon this seemingly meager oil capacity, its interesting to note that the 690R Enduro only has an oil capacity of 1.70 L (1.8 qt.), and no one seems to be questioning its long-distance capabilities. And even more interesting, while the 500's manual calls for using 10W/50 oil with 10W/60 as an "Alternative engine oil for harsh operating conditions and increased performance...", the 690's manual recommends 10W/60 as the standard oil, with 10W/50 as an alternative. I suspect finding either out deep in the nether regions of Africa, Australia, or Russia would be difficult, but even more so for the 10W/60 weight. KTM may have given us, in the 500, the ultimate adventure motorcycle. We'll have to wait and see if the 30 hour (vs. 4600 mile for the 690) valve adjustment recommendations are truly required... ktm950se
