Buy an 07 KTM 525 EXC w/ 300 hours??

Long time lurker, first time poster. I used to ride an XR250 back in the early '90s, and this site has been great for helping me decide to get back on a bike. I'm about to pull the trigger on an 07 525exc and wanted some opinions on it. The bike has nearly 300 hours on it but has had the following items replaced recently: Piston / Valves / Seats (done by reputable KTM dealer), plastics, clutch, sprockets, chain and battery. Some upgrades include Clark 3.1 gallon tank, FMF exhaust, and soft seat. I am a little leary of buying this bike because of it's higher hours, but it seems like the RFS engines are pretty bulletproof with the right maintanence (seller claims oil changes every 4-6 hours). I believe I can get this bike for $3500-3600, which seems to be about what I can get an 04-05 with ~100 hours. The '07 is very appealing here in Oregon because we can't plate the older bikes for DS use. What should I look out for on this bike? Thanks!

I had an 07 just sold last year with 46 hrs on it, scotts damper, plus all kinds of farkles on it with a rekluse clutch ( awesome ) and I sold it for $5K. It would depend if he had receipts and records. I would do a leak down test and compression test. Or at least bring it to a dealer and have them check it out if you are not confident in your abilities.
Just my worthless cents.

How many miles does the 300 hrs equate to, was it alot of street, back roads gravel, or all trail and/or actual racing. I'd want to see the receipts for the top end work and maybe talk to the dealer that did the work. I've owned three EXC450's and currently have an '07 with 94 hours and 2678 miles. They have all been solid. I know a guy that recently sold an '07 525 that had over 14,000 miles on it and a fair amout of them were pretty hard riding with sport bike guys on the street. The motor had never been touched with the exception of regular maintenance, (and I'm not certain how much of that it actually got). I can't help but think that bike probably needed a head job and at least a re-ring and piston but you couldn't tell it by the way it ran. The motor was quiet and didnt smoke either. The countershaft leaked a little bit but that was it.

Good luck.

1.5 years ago I bought an 05 525 for 3,800. BUT, it had the factory dirt suspenders revalved and resprung. 04 450SMR forks, wheels and a Penske triple clicker. Two tanks, two seats, the stock carb and an MX offroad carb and it only had 150 hours. For the bike you're looking at I wouldn't pay more than 2,500.


For reference.

Opinions from self-styled "experts" like the statement above are one of the
main reasons why I will never advertise a bike for sale on ADVrider. The last three
bikes I sold were sold on Craigslist and no one even tried to feed me
any baloney about what some ADVrider "expert" said the bike was worth, but if they
had they would have been told to leave the premises immediately. The bikes
were sold for fair market value, which any buyer or seller with a brain can determine
without consulting a self-styled forum "expert". All you need to do is look at
the asking prices for all the bikes sold recently, and Google will work just fine for that.


The simple truth is, the opinion of someone who is not directly involved
in a sale is 100% irrelevant. It comes down to what the seller is willing to
accept and what the buyer is willing to part with and all the rest is just
talk.



.

You are wise to consider only the 2007 RFS engine bikes.

It won't be long before the feds clamp down on bikes in all 50 states and bikes
which have managed to be registered in the past will soon be prohibited from
being registered any more. At that point the value of those bikes will drop
significantly for anyone who wants to be able to ride them legally on the street.


The miles and hours matter less than the condition of the bike. I suggest you find
the best KTM mechanic who is close enough to the bike you are considering buying
and pay their shop rate for a comprehensive pre-purchase inspection. A leak down
test and a careful check of all the major systems would give you a good idea
of whether the bike needs major work soon. If you lack knowledge of the RFS
engines you might miss things someone who is familiar will not miss, so it is money
well spent to pay an expert to look over the bike.


Regarding what the bike is worth, a 2007 RFS EXC is a sought after bike on the west
coast especially because the west coast is where the feds first began to crack down
on bikes which were not street legal from the factory. So comparable bikes
are NOT RFS bikes which were made in earlier model years but _only_ RFS bikes which
are also 2007s. What an earlier bike which is NOT factory street legal sold for
is utterly meaningless in the west coast market if you only want a truly street legal
dual sport bike.


The RSF engine EXC is one of the best dual sport / enduro bikes in the world. Whether
you buy this one or another one it's a great choice.

Good luck with your search.


.

I paid $3000 for my 07 with 40 hours two and a half years ago. It was a very good deal. I had a plated 05 at the time and traded that for another bike (I figured it was a ~$4000 trade).At the time (sept 2010) low hours 07's were selling for about $5000 (get on gas price) to $5400. This was all in Oregon.

My personal opinion would be that, here in Oregon, now, you could get a 07 with a lot less hours for around $4000-4200.

When you say that the valves were replaced by a KTM dealer, this to me says that stock valves were used. Stainless KW would have been a better choice.

Also, I'm not sure on the current OR plating rules but you can definitely plate an 05/06 in WA and you can bring one of these into Oregon. This is the route I went with my 05, it came with just a plate and a rear brake switch. I installed the KTM Euro harness and all the other parts to make it 100% street legal. I doubt there will be a federal crackdown on existing titles, new is a different matter.

As someone said in response to the $2500 figure, a bike is worth what it will sell for. I have no doubt the above bike will sell for $3500 to someone. This doesn't mean it's a good deal for you, just for this other person. As I said, I'm pretty sure with some patience you can do better, especially in terms of the number of hours and maybe also in terms of accessories. The KTM exhaust is pretty good, easy mod to remove the restrictor, the FMF isn't anything I'd want. An aftermarket header, well that would be different.

No, this is where the state of California began to crackdown. Meanwhile on the West coast the state of Washington tried to crack down (on plated 2-strokes, you could still plate a pre 07 KTM 4-stroke), it backfired and ended up the exact opposite where now you can plate subject to: http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/offroadmotorcycles.html

As far as I know the rules in oregon havn't changed. It depends on how the dealer originally applied for the title when they relinquished the MSO.

Thanks for the replys. To answer some questions... The bike has ~6000 miles on it. I'm guessing that the new valves were stock KTM. The seller is the original owner.

The 04-05 bikes (~100 hrs) mentioned earlier were on CL for $3800-3900 and were gone in only a couple days (they were plated in Oregon.).

I considered buying an out of state plated bike but Oregon has started cracking down on those recently

Is this first hand experience? I ask because there is a ton of hearsay on this topic.

I sold my 2006 300 XC-W 2-stroke last September. It had an OR plate (originally from WA) that I applied for at the DMV. It was coming up for renewal. I'd heard nothing from the state prior to sale. The new buyer (Oregon resident) had no issues transferring the title and still has the plate.

There were issues a few years ago over plated XR650s. At that time I personally called the state and worked my way upto the head compliance officer at the DMV who told me that I couldn't plate my own but they would honor a plated bike from out of state.

Maybe something has changed recently but I'd make sure you're operating on solid information.

6000 miles, 300 hours, 20mph. The lower the mph, the higher the percentage of single track. The stock KTM valves wear. I'm about due for replacement on my 07 (240 hours). If I replace with KTM ones, i'll probably be doing it again in another 2x0 hours. If I use KW stainless, I probably won't ever need to replace them for a very long time. Something to keep in mind.

Good deals are out there, you just need patience. Below $4000 prices tend to collapse into each other, so you'll get good deals on 07s and poor deals on 04s all within a few hundred dollars of each other.

You also need to be able to move fast for a good deal. Like take 1/2 day off work at zero notice, go to bank, arrive with cash. If you can't do that, try posting a Wanted ad in the Pac NW Flea Market thread (and if you're willing to drive, the main Flea Market). Inmates here are pretty honest folks in my experience. I think you can do better.

6000 miles is a drop in the bucket for that engine. 2 buddies have 02 520s with 28k and 17k miles with no issues.

I think the price is too high, though.

Thanks for the help guys. I was pretty sure I would get this bike, but maybe I should wait and look fror a better deal.

Crazybrit - re: bringing a WA plated bike to oregn - there was a thread here in the last couple weeks where someone had a plate revoked on an 05 exc he tried to bring over from WA. He said that Oregon recently started scrutinizing WA plated bikes more because of the the new law making it possible to plate dirt bikes in WA. I believe bikes already plated in Oregon will not have this issue.

Overall, my thinking on this bike is that 1.) It is street legal from the factory - no worries about keeping the plate. 2.) most of the wear items have been recently replaced so I should *in theory* be good for another 200 hours before it needs any major work (is this correct??). 3.) Price seems to be in line with other bikes I have seen recently for sale (I have only been looking at KTMs for 6 weeks or so - my friend talked me out of considering DRZ400s ).

The hours don't faze me at all....the price does. That bike should be around 3k MAX.

link?

Good things come to those who wait. You'll find more selection in April/May. I know people claim that prices are lower in Winter. I'm not sure this is true, just the supply is lower.

I agree with Off The Grid. Hours are fine but has to be priced accordingly.

You sound a bit touchy. I'm no expert, I've just owned, bought, sold and traded a shed load of bikes and I know what I would or would not pay.


Edit: I guess this "self styled expert" was pretty close even though I pulled that number out of my backside.


http://quadcities.craigslist.org/mcy/3509502184.html

http://boone.craigslist.org/mcy/3548553047.html

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/mcy/3562237256.html

http://nashville.craigslist.org/mcy/3531446967.html

http://bham.craigslist.org/mcy/3510444576.html

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/3548229585.html

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/3543422991.html

http://northmiss.craigslist.org/mcy/3533777160.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/mcy/3561234413.html

http://peoria.craigslist.org/mcy/3522289131.html

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/mcy/3512856367.html

http://flint.craigslist.org/mcy/3531040973.html

http://littlerock.craigslist.org/mcy/3548108104.html

This.

As far as I'm concerned, those links aren't relevant. All the bikes are thousands of miles from the OP, many are SX's and probably unplatable and the only EXEs are significantly older except that '06 which would be a good deal out west. At current fuel prices traveling to buy a bike you have to haul home can quickly become a bad deal depending on distance. A nice '07 (last year) RFS that's plateable brings a good price out here and doesn't last long. The '07s are considered the best of the RFS's, latest everything. I just paid 3500 for a 67hr 07 xcw that is getting a plate, once that's done I could easily get 4200 for the bike. So the owner didn't get KW valves, I'm willing to bet he didn't know the difference and a dealer is going to sell him KTM stuff. The fact is he got the work done that was needed, probably dropped a grand doing it. Is it an ideal freshening? No but the motor should be good for penty of hrs before it's required again. I'm willing to bet that bike would sell for $500 more 3 months from now and move quickly. I don't think east and west coast prices are comparable, we have big open spaces out here, ideal for the big bore so the 525 is considered a bike of choice for many riders here.

If the work is recent and he has documents to prove it, looks as nice as it sounds and passes your inspection I'd make the offer and grab it, I don't think it will last very long.

Again, your reading comprehension leaves something to be desired


The OP stated in his original post that street legal status matters to him. You have
chosen to list bikes that may or may not remain street legal ( because these bikes were NOT
factory street legal in the first place ) and as such the bikes on your list are not relevant as comparables.



The 2007 model is the ONLY year of RFS-engine KTM EXC which is unimpeachably
street legal from the factory. This is FACT, not opinion. I don't know the OP
but perhaps he likes to deal in facts rather than opinion where matters such as
plating a bike are concerned.


Sure, some of you can give anecdotal "evidence" about how you got plates on your 2003
model etc. but what you can NOT do is guarantee beyond the shadow of a doubt that bikes
which did not come from the factory with EPA and DOT certification and stickers to prove it
on the frames will in the future always be able to be registered. You are free to make such
choices yourselves of course but to suggest this is a wise course of action to a prospective
buyer does a disservice to that person, who may not understand the nuances involved and
may end up with a bike which in the future cannot be registered as a result.


To Tony : though we know that Washington state recently made some rather relaxed decisions
regarding plating dirt bikes, the OP has made it clear that he lives in Oregon. So the relevance of
Washington state rules is questionable in this particular situation, unless maybe the OP wants
to play a game involving registering a bike in a state other than his state of residence, which seems
like more hassle than just buying a 2007 and thus having the guarantee of no future registration hassles,
but of course such decisions are up to the OP.



I was trying to give sound advice to the OP. I still am. What the rest of you are
doing is not clear, but from here it looks like you are arguing for the sake of arguing,
and that you are not being attentive to the OP's stated goals in his first post.




.

Keep looking, the price is too high, the hours are too high, I wouldn't trust 99.67% of dealers to rebuild an engine. Hell, I don't trust them to do an oil change.

That clear enough.

Here is the link where one inmate got his plate revoked - see post #30:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=774553&page=2