Post Flight Inspection

The big EXC isn’t designed to cover 2300km over 10 days, but she took it all in her stride. Now that we’re home safely it’s time to inspect her for any unexpected wear, and replace or adjust parts as needed. The only items that either […]

To the Alps

I’ve been planning a solo spin around the Alps, starting off in Memmingen, Germany, and taking in some amazing roads all the way down to Bardonecchia in Italy. When I get to Bardonecchia I’ll have a few days of downtime, when I can sleep, or […]

Fork Service Time

It’s been nearly a year since the last fork service, so it’s time for a refresh. The TE300 and EXC500 both use the WP 4CS forks, and despite almost universal global hatred of the 4CS, I don’t find them too bad. Although having ridden normal […]

Suspension

The 2016 500 EXC should have be sprung as standard with 4.6 springs in the forks and a 7.2kg spring on the shock. The previous owner must have been a big guy, as my used model came fitted with 5.0 springs in the front, and […]

Dodgy Starter Motor

My TE300’s OEM starter finally gave up the ghost after 4 years, and I decided to try out one of these cheap ebay starters. £60 is a lot less than £229 so it’s worth a try. The installation was smooth, all the holes lined up, […]

Cylinder Leak Test

After the valve clearance test, I wanted to test the compressibility of the motor. A standard compression tester can do this, but I think a cylinder leakdown test is more accurate. In order to do this test the bike has to be at operating temperature, […]

Valve Clearance Check

Seeing as the motor on this used (new-to-me) bike has 150 hours on her, and the KTM service schedule recommends a piston at 135hrs, it’s kinda overdue a piston. Before we actually get to installing the new piston though, we’ll do some checking on the […]

Tyres and Tubes

It seems everyone you talk to is running different tyres and pressures, and everyone has an opinion on what works best. What they really should be saying though, is what works best for them. A tyre that works well in dry sand might not do […]