Real world KTM 350 EXC impressions?

Which hose kit did you go with? I'm looking for one that gets rid of the thermostat and the t piece...

I bought mine from Blais racing services, link: http://blaisracingservices.com/

It doesn't remove the T.

I don't understand why someone would want to?

Unless your bike is different than mine, the T is integral to the cooling system.

Removing the thermostat will basically turn your KTM cooling system into about the same thing the KLR650 comes stock with.

Maybe that's ok in some areas, but my KLR definitely ran too cold on road sections during the spring and fall.

On my bike the plastic Y shaped fitting that lives just north of the waterpump cracked, and was weeping. An aftermarket hose kit was less expensive than an OEM replacement. While I was at it, I removed the T-stat because it was bouncing off the back of the rad, beating up the radiator. While I was looking for a kit, it appeared that everyone on the planet was re-packaging the Samco made kit. Good quality product.

Wanted to remove the stock t or y because of the leakage problem David_Moen had , trying to make this thing as bullet proof as possible...

I have not looked into the cooling system on this bike, but in many cases, pulling the thermostat will do just the opposite of what you think.
Usually the rate of flow is controlled by the thermostat and you can actually over-heat an engine by not running one. The coolant is not in the radiators long enough to transfer the heat.

Just rambling. I have no idea if the 350 is one of these or not.

Neither the sx-f nor the xc-f 350 models run a thermostat.



Andrew

So that is just on the street legal models? Hmmmm. Might be something to do with emissions.

I've not even been into my six days yet so don't know about it.

The 350 runs quite warm, even on days when there is snow on the ground, my fan still comes on quite regularly when riding in the bush. As mentioned previously the off-road only versions of the bike don't have one, so I think the T-stat on the EXC has more to do with passing a cold-start emissions test than anything else.

The kit I bought was from Moose Racing, but it had Samco hoses in it. Munn Racing sells a different kit that has Samco hoses in it. Blais racing sells a kit, and judging by the photos on their site, it has Samco hoses in it too.

It's got one. "Off road".

I may to ditch that since the "real" bikes don't have one.

My KTM is leaking oil out of the little hole in the stator cover. It's not supposed to do that right?

No that's a bore hole that's supposed to be plugged solid.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn LG-D802 met Tapatalk

I managed to get the plug out. There's no hole in the plug itself so I cleaned it and the plug hole in the stator cover. I put blue loctite on it and tightened it down pretty good. I'll see if it leaks tomorrow.

Does anyone have "real life" experience or data that shows removing the thermostat is a bad thing? I ask because I've read a lot of peoples opinions on this, but have yet to see anyone post any personal negative experience regarding thermostat removal.

My issue comes after installing an Acerbis tank, my thermostat housing hits both my tank and my radiator, eventually it will destroy my radiator.

I'm not trying to start a "thermostat war" here, I would just like to see if anyone has actually removed their t-stat and has had a negative effect.

As u know from above I've removed my bike's Tstat and I have a direct, in the radiator hose, real time temp readout that I can monitor while riding. If I'm cruisin' say 30 mph or greater I see the temp run around 160 degrees F. This is with an OAT around 80 degrees as it was today. When running slow of course the temp bumps the limit I have set on the controller for the fan and the fan kicks ON. With the fan running the temp stays around 220 but can go up (I've seen 240) if you're really working the engine and slow speed.......we do have a little bit of sand here in the desert.

So.....bottom line....I don't see any downside to having no Tstat for the weather and conditions I ride in anyways. The factory Tstat is a 158 degree unit.

Dave

Dave, did you have a temp gauge in before you removed the tstat? I know on some race cars, we'd actually see higher temps without a thermostat.

Yes I did and haven't noticed any differences to tell ya the truth......but I've only got about 500 total miles on the bike.....about 400 with Tstat.

I plan on riding a moderate amount here in the next couple/three months before the heat arrives and of course will be monitoring water temps and will report anything unusual.

Here's the unit that I use from TrailTech: http://www.trailtech.net/digital-gauges/tto/temperature/722-eh5




And here's a really cool option to replace the thermostat and has a built in temp probe.....but don't know if it would fit with aftermarket gas tank like my Acerbis 3.0 gallon: http://www.trailtech.net/thermostat-replacement-and-temperature-sensor-fits-ktm-models





Dave

I don't see how removing the thermostat in a place like Nevada would be a problem. However in places that actually see cold temperatures I would think the engine would never get up to temp which is not good either. A couple weeks ago I was riding on the frozen trails and it was 7 degrees F. Even WITH a T-stat it took a while to get some heat in the radiators.
JMHO of course.

Keeping the thermostat in makes sense to me if I was riding in 7 degree weather, a majority of my riding is in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California, where I don't do a lot of riding with weather below freezing. I think I will buy a temp gauge like the one Rider1 uses to at least monitor my temps.

Thanks for the replies.