The 500 EXC has 19,000km covered and is about to pass 400hrs so I decided to give her some care and attention. Every year I check the valve clearances and when I look at the measured clearances from 2019-2020-2021 and 2022, I can see the […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
Some people say that if you have €100 to spend on your bike, then spend €99 of it on suspension. I’m not sure I agree with the 99:1 ratio, but definitely 50:50 .. your suspension is the most important part of your bike IMO. Like […]
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 […]
Ever had a wheel bearing failure? You get that metal on metal knocking from the back wheel, and it kinda ruins your day, right.. Seeing as I’ve had a number of ruined days, these days I consider wheel bearings as a consumable, a service item, […]