2012 KTM 500 EXC as a Lightweight Dual Sport

[Visigothic]

Harcus

That is Damn sharp looking!!!!!!!

Good job

[HickOnACrick]

Originally Posted by harcus

Sorry about the slow progress on this thread. Too many projects going on.

I have finally finished the proto of the new headlight mask. This mask uses the lights from ADVMONSTER.COM. Beautiful LEDS with many lumens of light. The lights are individually adjustable. Looks like this...

Front view...



Back view...



Bike view...



Trail view...



Currently wired so the top light is on for the low beam & both are on for Hi beam. These are 3 LED lights at 1500 lumens per. Four LED lights at 2000 lumens are available with a new higher output light coming soon.

So far, so good.

Man, it must be nice to be retired and have all this free time. Nice work H.

[harcus]

Originally Posted by SteveO

So, is the light housing plastic or fiberglass?
i had a Lynx (fiberglass) fairing that didn't do too
well in crashes......
plastic seems much more durable.....

This is fiberglass. I should add that all fiberglass is not created equal. Durability relates to the quality of the glass work & the thickness.

Pros n cons of glass vs carbon vs polypropylene. As demand increases we may go to polypropylene. Mount methods, shapes, etc, all effect durability.

[harcus]

Originally Posted by HickOnACrick

Man, it must be nice to be retired and have all this free time. Nice work H.

Did I retire? Doesn't seem like it!

[harcus]

Originally Posted by Visigothic

Harcus

That is Damn sharp looking!!!!!!!

Good job

Thanks!

[tornillo]

Originally Posted by motomark39

Thanks! looks great!

[SteveO]

So, I finally got my RaceTech improved rear shock back from the shop. Got it mounted up yesterday and decided to start the new year off with a Shake-down ride.

What I was shaking down was my idea of a GPS mount, and a heat shield, the rear mounting of the Giant Loop Mojave bag and a TrailTech Vector computer that replaced the stock computer.

I recently picked up a Garmin GPSMAP 276C with a Tourtech mount. This was so that I could keep an eye on a larger gps, while watching the trail at 50mph. Since there were no mounts for the KTM 500 EXC, I had to come up with my own type of mount. Now, this is the first version, and I do recognize that it needs to be re-worked to move it further forward. On the ride yesterday, my helmet hit the mount twice. However, the mounting points are solid, and they will work very well for a future mount that is positioned further forward. Also shown in these pictures is the Trailtech Vector computer. I decided to go with the Vector (voltage reading) instead of the Vapor (RPM reading) because the voltage indicator is more important than the RPM reading. These bikes have a Rev limiter that handles the RPMs. Knowing if the voltage is going out is much more key to the electrical system on this bike As well, this particular Vector has the temp gauge that interfaces with a radiator hose. I mounted this temp sensor in the hose that runs back up into the radiators from the engine. This, IMHO, gives the most accurate temperature reading of the engine temp.... At any rate, it works very well. My temps on this ride ranged from 160F when riding fast to 199 when going slow. I don't know at what temp the fan kicks in, but I never heard the fan kick on. Maybe I just couldn't hear it, but the bike performed great despite this fluctuation in temperature. I did see in the manual that the radiator cap is set to release fluid at ~227*F. So, I would assume the fan would kick on sometime before the engine water reaches that temp....





Just starting off in the afternoon.....



Testing my ghetto heat shield and mounting adjustments for the Mojave bag.
The bag stayed in place, but needs to be a little more secure....still working on that...

[SteveO]

Originally Posted by harcus

This is fiberglass. I should add that all fiberglass is not created equal. Durability relates to the quality of the glass work & the thickness.

Pros n cons of glass vs carbon vs polypropylene. As demand increases we may go to polypropylene. Mount methods, shapes, etc, all effect durability.

hmmm. I suppose if the fiberglass is flexible, it would be great. The Fiberglass made in the Lynx fairings is really stiff and pretty much crumbles and comes apart upon impact. Not a good setup for off-road bikes.

[harcus]

Finally finished the production version of the top rack. It is made of .75 dia x .049 wall steel tube for minimum weight and designed as a truss for maximum stiffness. The OEM subframe on these bikes can't take large bending loads so the rack attaches to the same lugs on the main frame as does the subframe. Final weight is 9 lbs.

Here is a LH view ...



Here is a RH view...



A top view...



Here it is with the 34L RTE soft bag. A smaller bag is in the works but not yet available ...



Here it is with Wolfman Dry Expedition bags...




Also, finally installed the exhaust pipe guard. That thing sticks out there a bit...




Now, time for some testing if it will ever stop snowing....

[SteveO]

Nice work!

[ktm950se]

'Glad to see you tied both sides of the racks together with a rear brace.

Very nice!

ktm950se

[Sparrowhawk]

Originally Posted by harcus

This mask uses the lights from ADVMONSTER.COM. Beautiful LEDS with many lumens of light.

Just wondering if you have any worries about the LEDs mounted like this overheating when the weather gets warmer? I don't know about the Advmonster product but these small & powerful LEDs tend to need some air flow to keep their cool.

[Ridetosea]

Very nice work. Very interested in the rack.

[harcus]

Originally Posted by Sparrowhawk

Just wondering if you have any worries about the LEDs mounted like this overheating when the weather gets warmer? I don't know about the Advmonster product but these small & powerful LEDs tend to need some air flow to keep their cool.

I believe that there will be sufficient air flow to keep it cool but in about 7 months we will have a perfect testing environment here. The plan is to put a temp readout on the lites & see what it says.

[harcus]

Originally Posted by Ridetosea

Very nice work. Very interested in the rack.

It will be added to the web site tomorrow....globetrottin.com

Just delivered SN 001 to a local dealer today.

Turns out this fits 250 / 350 / 450 / 500 / EXC / XCW / SX from late 2011 on.

Bags are coming soon.