flyingbrick

yeah I'd love to attend, but unless someone gives me dispensation, the only bike I have going is clearly outside of the rules @cletus has a DRZ that he's probably keen to get some kms on too. Also, going down to With regards to camping @Thphantum this is something that I have been wanting to get into for a while, there are a few MINT spots for camping off this road, you'd just want to be super discrete about it (and leave no trace of your night when you go). Flick me a PM if ya keen to plan something outside of this! more fun if its not just me (I don't know anyone else keen to camp in random places during winter, LOL) Edit: hmmn, I could ride the wifes farm bike. 125cc. not close to road legal though.

man that is super impressive.

Looks great! How do you adjust table flatness?..or is it perfect right now and so rigid it will never move?

I am keen to see how this looks with the factory box removed (That is what you are doing, right?)

LOL, Obviously they lift the head to the correct angle and then tape the cylinder shafts to hold it up in position. Funny.

Argh so the KTM has broken. JOKES, still going fucking lush as. Still very happy with the choice of bike- I'm not so sure i'd have been keen to fang a heavier dual sport bike around the farm and paddocks like I do with this one. The ride last weekend did raise an issue that the bigger KTM EXC's are known for- the infamous KTM Boilover. For some strange reason 99% of them have no radiator fan or recovery tank- this is a problem for many people in hotter climates and after two hours following the wife round at walking speed (lol) and stopping to open farm gates the bike had a few extended burps of steam. KTM, Trailtech and many other manufacturers all make steel frames that hold a small fan onto the rear of the radiator, these are usually around $350 NZD delivered. I'm cheap so went straight to Ali Express. If anything fails then its simply back to stock and burps some steam so who cares? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000429659534.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.405b4c4dLsmVvs https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000091384568.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.405b4c4dLsmVvs https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32836090581.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.405b4c4dLsmVvs https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000102872989.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.7d953c00Rc2rKS&mp=1 My only concern really is that the fan vibrates on the radiator and wears a hole- will use a ring of self adhesive foam on the mating faces to prevent this. Also ordered is a pair of these but undecided how many to use and where to locate them (possibly under rear side fairing oppose muffler). They perfectly fit a small fuel bottle (I forget the brand) but usually used for tools, spanners, tire irons, tubes etc. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000372255982.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.70b14c4dI3L9yy And a pair of these cheap dry bags for luggage https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000833648876.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.70b14c4dI3L9yy Will see if @64valiant has time to make me some sort of strap system to hold them down nicely.

So good.

You can easily make that cone, do you need steel?

Done around 350km on this so far, fuck i love it. Slowly working through all the little niggly (is that word racist? ) problems like idle tune, loose rear view mirrors, lever adjustment etc after each ride. Fitted the steering dampener off bike #1. Also got a sticker kit off trademe for $50. It was good practice but unfortunately half the stickers were missing and some were completely wrong for the bike. Next on the list has got to be a seat recover and widening with maybe denser foam or something. Right now it feels soft and luscious until You get an hour into the ride.. then it feels like ya arse bones are hard against the hard plastic seat base.

Damn you have an evora, none of us were going to judge you on cost of a p plate lolol

As much gravel as possible. This front tire is pretty weak but i have the mt21's to go on next. Swapped the rear spring yesterday as the new one was super heavy. Managed to set the static and loaded sag and they both came out perfect so total win there. Now have to swap over the steering dampener from old to new bike. It's pretty powerful compared to what im used to- be lying if i said it wasn't intimidating at times. I had to give it twist to a avoid a car that hadn't indicated on a roundabout, holy hell it can move fast when you ask it to.

So yeah new bike is really cool. Need to stop spending $$$$ now and sell some shit.

Thanks man(for the reminder), im fucking useless, dont think ive even paid for mine. Keen to lend a hand/draw dicks on the packaging.

Amazing lol

Right sooooo. Getting this thing road legal isn't an option- I probably bought the WORST KTM for road use in NZ. Turns out this thing is an import from South Africa- not only do I have no import paperwork but KTM SA (Who have been great really) have advised that this particular one was never homologated for road use...which is different to every EXC sold here. Do I did what any self respecting OldSchooler would have done- I have bought another one this new one gets collected on Monday and is already road legal (This was not an option when i got mine unfortunately) The new one is a bit newer, looks a bit less cool (this current one has a sweet 90's vibe with the big orange wings that i like) but is ready for hooning. There were still investigations to be done on the current bike- EG, I had MPI checking their import records for an inspection report- but I became increasingly frustrated with the barriers to actually using the thing as intended. The good news is that the old one has a few bits that will go onto the new one before its sold (Meg has said im only allowed the one big bike). Theres a sweet Ohlins steering dampener and a slip on exhaust (unsure about exhaust) that i may pillage as the new one doesn't have these. So yeah basically If anyone wants a really friggin sweet 525 let me know. Runs bloody well, zero mechanical issues. I paid 4.4 but taken steering dampener and possibly the cool exhaust, so will let it go for 4. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyway, last Saturday I got bored (I think it was raining or something) and so I made a carbon fibre luggage rack for the 525. These bikes don't have a full rear subframe like other purpose built "dualsports" so there's a bit more thinking that needs to go into rack design and mounting. The photos tell the story. Very strong, stronger than it looks. I can put the rack on the ground and stand on it (I'm 90kg) and it doesn't break. It was planned to mount this using the upper 3 guard mounting bolts- the two at the very rear of the subframe would be drilled up through the rear guard and longer bolts used, the front one is also used to retain the seat. These holes have not yet been drilled. I think if it was going to be used (It wont fit the new bike) then I'd have drilled holes and covered it in stretchy orange latex cord (Found it on ali express, used for slingshots) so that small items of pretty much any size and shape can be held down. and then drilled it so that a semi rigid tail bag can be bolted into place with big washers and wing nuts.

Good to hear!! Pretty hard to find bad comments about them- unlike other dualsport tires

I have thought about this, but Id never use the road wheels. My new mt21s are NEARLY as aggressive as the current mx tires.

2016 Duke indicators arrived and bought some writing stuff to Get it all together. I have everything I need now to get it physically ready to go. I went with factory ktm indicators because they have all the correct legal markings on lenses and body - required for compliance I think. Also, these are so much higher quality than anything iv seen yet available aftermarket. Though this isn't saying much because I usually buy on Ali Express ( and when I don't, I'm usually buying from a place like Supercheap that probably also buys from AE) Tires arrived. Look great. Went in to bike shop and ran vin to get deets. Bike is actually an import from southafrica. This explains why the bike has its light switch located to right of speedo- this is usa spec according to Haynes manual. The whole SA thing might be a problem. I have now written to KTM nz and KTM South Africa for a Statement Of Compliance...which I may or may not need. Have no idea because vtnz in Hamilton is fucking useless.

Should have just got a KTM mayte. Atleast it would be fast before it was broken

YOU GUYS STOP IT RIGHT NOW I DONT WANT TO HEAR ANY MORE.

He needs a 525, that's his problem. Lol

??? It has a kick starter?

You can mock me when he breaks. Lol

Everyone seems to think these older motors are pretty reliable. We both know it ain't going to be as easy going as the farmers drz, dr or dr but since when have I done things the easy way, lol. This turned up,

Wanted a reliable wof/reg do anything dualsport adventure bike. Kinda wanted a dr650 but totally failed and bought an 04 ktm 525exc instead. Its pretty much as per standard except for ohlins steering dampener. Hopefully can get it road legal but even If that fails I'll still be super happy. It's probably gutless to some, but for me it's just intoxicating- and now that I know how great the current knobbies are, it seems a shame to put road legal rubber on. 61hp and 112kg dry, so goes a bit better than a dr650 at 37hp and 160kg (from memory) So far I have bought a cool dual sport helmet, some decent boots, handle bar control switches, a cush rear sprocket, factory indicators from a ktm Duke, some t6 aluminium to make a new side stand, a folding aluminium ramp, a center stand lift thing and a pair of pirelli mt21 tires (road legal) Here's some pics from the past week, thanks to @64valiant for assisting with pickup, driving and providing clear and correct directional information.