Vintage KTM GS500 dirtbike any info?

[dokerty]

I have the same bike, stumbled across it a while back. been in the shed for some time, took a while to get required parts together. seat tank etc.
I have started to take it apart lately. got engine parts from Peter Knight in the uk. www.rotax.co.uk gaskets, etc.

Looking for some one to rechrome the forks for me at the moment.

What are the plans for your bike? full restoration?
I am still not sure of my bikes history, wheter it was an original gs dual sport or off road only, so not sure of direction yet.

I need to get my hands on head bearings and fork seals, any ideas?

[herman maire]

Originally Posted by dokerty

I have the same bike, stumbled across it a while back. been in the shed for some time, took a while to get required parts together. seat tank etc.
I have started to take it apart lately. got engine parts from Peter Knight in the uk. www.rotax.co.uk gaskets, etc.

Looking for some one to rechrome the forks for me at the moment.

What are the plans for your bike? full restoration?
I am still not sure of my bikes history, wheter it was an original gs dual sport or off road only, so not sure of direction yet.

I need to get my hands on head bearings and fork seals, any ideas?

Dokerty,

Cool, is your bike the same year as mine ( 1982 ) ? What was the condition of your engine like? Other than a new piston and a bore, my engine appears to be in perfect condition.

Is there damage/wear on your front forks pistons? I honestly dont know if you can rechrome them, I am sure other members on this forum would know. I would be curious to know also, luckily the chrome on my front fork pistons are in great condition. I am going to have the lower front fork body's anodized .

Another member posted link earlier in my tread that appears to have quite a extensive amount of vintage KTM parts, have a look
http://enduroklassiker.com/artikel/

I am doing a full restoration on my bike but not to the point where you dont want to use it, I am starting to really, really like this vintage Austrian bike. I honestly dont know if my bike was originally a dual sport or off road model but I am going to restore it to be a Dual sport, its just much more fun to be able to drive to the trails VS having to put the bike on a trailer.

Post some pics of your bike when you get a chance.

[herman maire]

Originally Posted by WIBO

Congratulations on your purchase....

You've bought a piece of rare moto history....

Keep the pics coming or start a new thread?

Good luck with the moto

Wibo,

Thank you for the kind words. I would have though that these bikes were more common in France than Canada.

Originally Posted by MZRider

My offer of a free manual on CD stands.

YES, YES I am interested. Would this CD work on a Mac? I would really appreciate this.

[herman maire]

Heres a few more pics of the engine tear down, this is as far as I will be going as the bike only had 4500 miles and everything appears to be in very good condition internally.

Once I removed the head, there was zero contact with any valves.

Bk brkr baker, it looks like you are correct, this appears to be a non-interference head or just got lucky



The only problem that I found was with the piston that had a broken ring seat, what surprised me the most was that this was an original hight quality MAHLE piston. I would not expect a MAHLE piston to have a problem like this. There was no other damage to the cylinder.


I have all the new original Rotax engine parts ordered from Elliot at Ron Woods racing , they were great to deal with and took the time to answer all my annoying email question. A new oversized Forged MAHLE piston has been ordered.

[tdrrally]

[IheartmyNx]

That would make a way cool Retro-Sumo build...


There, I said it...


Inspiration? Here ya go...

[danketchpel]

Those are some very cool bikes.

I particularly like the TT500, sweet.

I think the OP's KTM 504 will make a very nice dual sport bike.

[smokeeater495]

Subscribed. A very cool old bike. Glad to see you got lucky with the motor.

[Roadrunner II]

Greatings from Switzerland

We have here a specialised Dealer for KTM-Oldtimer. Here's the link the the Webpage:

http://www.sdi-ktm.ch/index.php

Maybe you will find what you need. But remember: the shipping cost from CH to the States may kill you

[3uba296]

Love it! Keep us posted!

[xr400r]

You will be smiled upon for taking on this project. Good luck with it and yes very rare. The only one ive seen. I love those old bikes!

[MZRider]

Originally Posted by herman maire

Wibo,

Thank you for the kind words. I would have though that these bikes were more common in France than Canada.

YES, YES I am interested. Would this CD work on a Mac? I would really appreciate this.

I'm working on converting my scans of the manual to .pdf files and will then upload it to Scribd for everyone to view. Will let everyone know when it's ready.

[MZRider]

Here's a link to the complete manual in .pdf form:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/103218934/...-Repair-Manual

For some reason the program I used to convert the jpeg images to a .pdf shuffled the pages a bit. The first 13 pages or so are scattered throughout the rest. Everything is there though. Enjoy!

[Rot Box]

Dang I don't know how I missed this one!!

Cool bike thats for sure! Keep Keith at http://americandirtbike.com/ and Lee at www.atkusa.com in mind they both deal with the big Rotax and know everything there is to know about them. Along with stocking many parts they are great guys to have saved in your phone. That same engine was virtually unchanged for 20+ years and it is a model of reliability. It a good consensus to change that timing belt (with the OEM Dayco brand only) every season as they are an interference engine. and it is also recommended that you set your valves at a tight .004" NOT .002" like the manual states. If the KTM is anything like the ATK's you'll want to add about 1.5 quarts of oil then run the bike for a minute and add the rest. If you try to just fill the tank up and call it good chances are you'll be low on oil. Lastly that bike "should" have the typical 190W lighting coil in case you want to power a third world country

Can't wait to see more!

Btw that big idle pulley (timing belt) takes a standard sized bearing found at any bearing store so I'd replace that while you have it apart. The little one is something like $90 so hopefully you don't need one of those!

[Navin]

Rechroming the forks??? PM me if you want a deal on a sweet 50mm WP front end complete, from the triples to the Excel wheel, needs fork seals. I think I even have the original full brake system. Should bolt right on your bike. Might be the best conventional forks ever made. Off a 20 hour 1999 125SX. Great condition.

Good to see it is getting saved!