Hi guys Read the whole thread and learned a lot. If all goes to plan, ill have one in the garage tomorrow. Will do the anti smog mods for sure. I have also been following the thread over at ktmtalk.com discussing the frequent clogging of the injector due to the ethanol being mixed into gasoline in the united states. Startron seems to be ktm's recommendation to combat this. A fairly cheap and simple solution. 1/2 per tank is easy enough. Anyway, coming from a DR650 having the wife on the back for a ride was simple. Larger seat, factory rear pegs, etc. Spending 10k on not being able to take her out for an ice cream cone may not be a great idea. Anyone that has one have an idea of the feasibility of adding some rear pegs somewhere and going 2up? I have only seen pictures and one at the dealer for about 15 minutes and while I was looking at it, rear pegs were out of my mind. Anywy, any thoughts would be helpful.
No offense taken. As I see it, there are pros n cons to everything. The great Basin products certainly have their place. I only suggest that anyone putting any kind of added load on to this machine (or any other for that matter) take a good look at the structure under the seat...or lack of it. No offense to KTM because they designed this bike to be a race bike not a mule. I have a 990 Adv that is IMHO the best off road adventure bike built. It WAS designed to be a mule. I have welded up several 450 XCW type subframes that have been overloaded. A quick look indicates that much of the aluminum extrusion used on the 500 is similar or identical to that on earlier models. That is to be expected. That means it won't survive long under added load no matter how it is stacked...panniers, soft bags, loops, etc. I will be interesting as time goes on to see the different approaches taken & how well they survive. All & all tho, this bike has some of the most beautiful design & construction I have seen in quite some time. On any brand. And, it is fun to ride!
Earlier today, a friend who owns 3 KTM's and races enduros was admiring my new EXC 500, speaking with great admiration of many of the changes made and other attributes. Suddenly, he crouched down in front of the bike and exclaimed: "You're missing a bunch of springs" !!! I had no idea what he was talking about, but he quickly pointed out that there were no springs holding the header pipe to the flange on the exhaust manifold, and he explained that these springs are responsible for not letting the header pipe disconnect while maintaining a tight seal. Frankly, I don't know what kind of danger or problem these missing springs might have presented, but since this bike has about 90 minutes of riding and less than 60 miles, it's obvious that it came from the factory in this condition. Check to see if yours is properly connected. I have included a photo of the center spring as that WAS properly attached.
Last Photo and if someone can tell me how to add more than one photo at a time, it would be greatly appreciated !!!
Holy cow, you are missing springs! Mine are in place. I wish I could tell you that for some reason these bikes didn't need them The dealer should have plenty of springs in stock. I'd say its probably OK to ride to the dealer and pick up springs. I wouldn't do any off road business until I had springs in place. Headers are usually wedged in place pretty well, as long as your ride is smooth I wouldn't be too worried.
Greetings, 'Got to see a 2012 500 EXC in person today. Sweeet ride. But.... there is almost no subframe. Hopefully someone steps up quickly with either a stronger/fuller subframe, or even a nice pannier rack system, to rectify this situation so at least a Giant Loop Great Basin, or even just a Coyote, could be safely added to the bike. ktm950se
The great basin is designed for bikes that can and are built to carry passengers...the exc isn't that bike. I don't see an issue with it handling a coyote.
Agreed, on the Great Basin not being designed for this size bike, but I'd like to use it on there just the same. ktm950se
It is best to use a photo sight like Smugmug or Photobucket. Upload to the photo sight then link from Advrider to that sight. There are instructions on Adv on how to do such.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwQNLeUEttA http://www.tec-cycles.com/id53.html i found this on another post kool idea no fat chicks
Removed the smog junk last night...thanks for the tutorial Harcus. I had to go about 6 clicks to the left to get the idle at an acceptable level...suprised it made that much of a difference. I used the spare plug that came with the bike on the cylinder. I used the plastic plug at the end of the tank vent line that was located next to the shifter and a short piece of tubing to block off the small brass nipple. After a little safety wiring I think it will be ok. I talked to the dealer about getting my replacement fuel tank as the cap won't come off without tools (tried other caps off of different bikes as well) and he stated that KTM was wanting to wait on a new batch instead of sending me one they had in stock. That being the case I'm sure I'm not the only one having this issue. Tried to order a bunch of parts and found that most were on backorder until mid December so I just got in line:)
oooh... got a question! Are you guys being able to do the "de-smogify" on your EXC-Fs without doing a remapping of the ECU? That is, do you have to both the de-smog and remap at the same time? Or can you do *just* the de-smogify, have it run better, and then do the XCF-W mapping at a later date? T'anks! E-Ticket
Derrickbwg About the filler cap...Yes, it is stubborn. I would say that it an issue with the cap not the tank. The little lock fingers are stiff & do not retract easily. One option is to go "Lockless"... Remove the cap See the 3 Torx head screws Remove them Pull out the little locker Reassemble Note that all is smooth n sweet. Will the cap unscrew itself? Do not know but we shall see.
When I was loading the bike up the dealer went to unscrew the cap when going over the bike and it wouldn't budge, it took a large wrench to get it off. He went to the showroom and grabbed a cap off another bike and it acted the same way on my bike, yet both of those caps worked very easily on the bikes on the floor. We even lubricated the cap slightly and tried to clean up some flashing at the seam on the neck. When I talked to him yesterday he said that KTM was waiting on a new run of tanks before they sent me a replacement because there were concerns of molding/manufacturing issues with other owners bikes and they didn't want to send out any they had in stock. Who knows but that's the answer I got. I still might go the route you suggest until a replacement comes in. The cap is so difficult to turn, especially while trying to depress the lever, that using both hands fully to turn it will surely be an advantage for the time being.
