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Nathan's motorcycles.....


flyingbrick

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Man it's like you brought a rotary and every ones brothers uncle's dad had one and they went well till the blew up.

 

Definitely keen to ride it more. Hopefully the compliance goes easy and your able to get road riding fast.

 

I forgot to mention I rode ktm300 two stroke for some years till I sold and upgraded to newer bike. Man what fun that was.

 

Off to trade me I go.

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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 :biggrin: 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. :thumbright: 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. 

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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. 

 

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5 hours ago, cletus said:

Sweet! 

How much tarmac vs gravel do you plan on riding? 

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.  

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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.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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

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https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000091384568.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.405b4c4dLsmVvs

image.png.701049916d7452442ec6da5db4a7194a.png

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32836090581.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.405b4c4dLsmVvs

image.png.dab626d55808493c57c730168968166e.png

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000102872989.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.7d953c00Rc2rKS&mp=1

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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

image.png.7a0b588e03c7e213f8b1e1dc612d43c3.png

 

And a pair of these cheap dry bags for luggage

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000833648876.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.70b14c4dI3L9yy

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Will see if @64valiant has time to make me some sort of strap system to hold them down nicely.

 

 

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Fitted an Aliexpress handle.  Makes the bike really easy to lift and turn around,  great mod for the money. 

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Bought a Vapor for very cheap,  20200717_110040_copy_1612x3316.thumb.jpg.99b666420260534aa93f13cd1c323e2c.jpg

and picked this up today from PB tech. Was hopeful that its Desulphating function might increase battery capacity but it only did that mode for about 30 seconds,  so it's unlikely. 

Need a new battery but at least this should mean i can reliably start the thing this coming weekend. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Took quite a few coats of clear to get it smooth and nice- problem being that every time it got glossy there was another little flaw in the surface to contend with. Ended up filling the flaws with some HEAVY coats of clear and then doing a good thick coat over the whole thing. 

Then i blocked it down with 2000 grit and am pretty happy with how flat the face turned out (though there is much room for improvement, its not noticeable).

I then rubbed some wax into it to reduce the matt finish to more of a satin finish- i really like the way it looks but may buff and polish it later (never will do this)

So yeah, all finished as far as i'm concerned. Just need some small stainless dome head screws and nuts to secure it to the mask.

(Looking at the close up, actually could use some more sanding with 2000grit, but meh)

 

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Our friend @64valiant made my seat about 2" wider by removing the taper on the sides of the cushion.  Should be a little less punishing now. 

First we pulled the old cover off and let the foam dry out for a week. 

Then Greg glued some new dense foam to the sides of the old. 

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Then he did some foam shaping with the grinder. This part always looks like the most fun. 

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He must have a pretty good eye because his stuff always comes out pretty darn symmetrical

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Then he covered the whole thing in this thin fabric reinforced foam.  It makes sure that none of the foam seams and lines will show through and also helps hold all the foam together.   I didn't get a photo of that but basically the black stuff ended up stuck to the seat 

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And then he stretched/ stapled and heat gunned some motorcross/dirtbike gripper fabric over the whole thing.  And here it is installed. 

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i then drilled and tapped a radiator bung thing to take a temp sensor.

I used temp sensor sealant. The temp stands for TEMPORARILY SEALED THEN STARTED LEAKING FFFFFffffffff So wheeled it back into the shed and ordered the correct adapter from usa because none available locally.  Ffffffff

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On 22/07/2020 at 18:55, flyingbrick said:

and picked this up today from PB tech. Was hopeful that its Desulphating function might increase battery capacity but it only did that mode for about 30 seconds,  so it's unlikely. 

Need a new battery but at least this should mean i can reliably start the thing this coming weekend. 

20200722_161145_copy_1612x3316.thumb.jpg.3519f400730edbc705639f783a1fe4cf.jpg20200722_170538_copy_1612x784.jpg.7b74739107c97386b3f4ab534b1b31b3.jpg

So this charger is fucking amazing and has bought back 3 batteries that were otherwise dead and only just functioning. Absolutely amazing and 110% should be on everyone's wtb list. It's definitely more than just a charger. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Done a few hundred km on this since fitting the fairing, wider seat, battery tender, dampened sprocket and Vapor dash. She's a WIN so far. 

The fairing is extremely effective at reducing pressure and buffeting to chest- unfortunately that air has gone up into my helmet area and increased noise, so have sealed up helmet vents as they are known for being loud.

  • The wider seat is SO MUCH NICER to spend time than before. Its true what they say, 2" makes all the difference.
  • The battery tender (as mentioned numerous times) is fucking magic. I can crank this thing for ages now (has happened a few times when forgetting fuel tap)
  • The dampened sprocket has removed the harshness from the drive train. Its nowhere near as good as a full cush hub but its night and day difference to before, and far far far cheaper.
  • The vapor dash should be standard on all road legal dirt bikes. Having water temp is brilliant but the biggest benefit is having an easy to use trip meter to plan fuel stops. The new higher location and bigger screen is soooooooo much better to, so very happy.

The night before Greg went away on holiday he also did some sewing for me. I got a waterproof belt bag from Rebel Sport and had him stitch on an extra strap plus form a loop. I was trying to copy the expensive Giant Loop setup and reckon we had 100% success. Its super handy and in a far better location than any normal "tank" bag as real-estate is limited. It fits all my annoying things needed while out. Bottle of water, keys, wallet, phones etc 

Also went for a great ride on saturday - followed a mate on his new R1 thing - He was being careful so it was easy to keep up. Figured out when riding nicely I can get around 180km to a tank- The Vapor has made this much easier to track.. 

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