530, no question. Can't get comfortable on my FE450, not saying it's a bad bike but I'm struggling to find a balance between stability and agility, right now it's pretty anxious, hard to feel settled on.
I like the Extra 55 CC's of the Berg for Dual Sporting, BUT I just couldn't make myself buy one because of the Prooven KTM Reliability & all of the bolt on goodies for it
Brown Dog, Maybe a group buy on something like that? I might even buy a matching front and get a bit more DSing next year.
KTM 530 vs BERG 570. for me it came down to chassis. the KTM just fit me better. i thought the KTM turned just as well. i couldn't tell that the berg felt like a 2 stroke, maybe i am just not that good of a rider. but that berg has one hell of a motor. i wonder what the KTM 570 kit would do to my 530?
Had a request for info on the pipes I've tried. To date, that's 4. - FMF Ti Q - FMF Powercore Ti - Akrapovic - Stock Stock is good, I think you have to remove the baffle on the EXC version to avoid overheating. You can't grab the rear fender, and it's a little heavy. But, it's probably not worth spending money to replace it. Akra is clearly the nicest, and the lightest, and the most expensive. No question, I prefer the Akra. After 3 bikes, mine finally bit the dust when the end cap delaminated where I dropped it on a rock some time ago. Didn't want to spend the coin to replace. Tested 92-93 Db every time I went through tech. FMF Powercore is too loud, unless you get a seriously baffled insert. The Spark arrestor leaves it 95-96 Db, too much IMO. I took a baffle out of a KTM branded FMF pipe that is much longer and has an exit about 3/4" in diameter. This makes it much quieter (93ish) and it runs just fine. I wouldn't have paid for this pipe, it came on a bike I bought and when I broke the Akra, I threw it on. That's what's on now. Not recommended unless you have another tip to install. FMF Q is not quiet enough, IMO. I'm running it now on my Husaberg, and it's 94-95ish with the S/A in. I need to figure out a PN for the tip that is currently in my Powercore and get another one for the Q. The pipe does have a nice mellow tone but it's still too loud, IMO. FWIW, I see pipes as a way to lose weight first, and they are kinda nice bling, but to me, power output is pretty irrelevant. I get routinely schooled by a guy on a 150XC (and feel no shame in that, he was on the ISDE trophy team a few years). I agree the 570 has nice torque delivery, but anything over an XR400R probably has more than most of us can use except for about 5% of the time, even dualsporting.
Brown Dog, Mook and anyone else, It cost me $1200 for the rim, spokes, rim lock, bearings and hub built by Ash's Spoked Wheels in Aus and shipped across the country. I then had to add a sprocket and rotor. I would say you could get the same thing in the US for half that price. I can honestly say that I haven't noticed any difference while riding with the cush drive BUT, I ride mostly on the dirt and only use knobby tyres, I also haven't done much riding on the 530 in the last few months due to injury and too much work. The RAD cush hub is very similar (if not the same) as the KTM 950/990 setup and much much better than the Talon hub I used on my old 950 ADV.
KTM hub with sprocket carrier should be 320$. Are there any cheaper options? I think I'll have to get one for the 18" wheel. Does the rad (or other brand) sprocket carrier fit the KTM hub?
You are in Europe, aren't you (location is missing in your profile)? It's 350+ for hub and carrier here. The rim and spokes are also different. Your best bet will probably be a complete used LC4 wheel. Finding a silver one won't be that hard, only black ones are really rare as they were only used on the later 640 Adv.
OR, you could buy a complete stock wheel assy & sprocket carrier for a 2003 640 from KTM. It's a 2.5" [silver] rim width though.
Have you priced the complete wheel? Retails is about $800. :huh 04-07 640 Adv has the black 2.5" rim.
You're right. Prices from eur to usd are roughly 1:1 so I take it is around 300-350€. Finding a complete wheel with cush hub is very difficult so I don't think the price is too bad and eventually I will have to get one anyway. I've been eyeing this http://www.kushsprockets.com/design but I have my doubts. You can get a set of new wheels for 414 GBP including shipping in europe, I just bought one set. http://www.jbeuk.com/contents/en-uk/d3_wheels.html
Just dropped off my seat to a local upholstery shop and it will only cost $50 to have new foam installed in the seating area (he pointed out that there was no need to replace all the foam, just where the rider makes contact). If interested here's the place http://www.foamnfabric.com/ BTW~The guy who helped me has an XR250 so he understands the need for softer seat foam on a KTM.
