Ive got a couple of threads splattered about on this bike, and Im just looking to consolidate everything in one place Ive restored vintage bikes and vintage snowmobiles on other sites and really enjoy going back the the threads and re-reading my projects. So, anyway the bike. I found a 94 KTM 620 EXC for sale late last summer. I could tell it had been ridden hard and put away wet most of its life but after a test ride, I just had to have it! Heres how it looked when I bought it: I got it for a price I was happy with and spent last summer/fall riding it and making a list of what it needed. Im glad I didnt have this list when I test drove it I may not have bought it! So heres where I started: Headlight flickers Tail light doesnt work Turnsignals sometimes work Instrument lights dont work Parking light doesnt work Rear shock shot Front shocks leak Clutch slips Spark plug needs replaced Waterpump needs new seals/bearings Carbs jetted too fat Seat I hate the white seat Plastics plain white Luggage none Handlebars too low Steering - spooky at highway speeds. Updates on the next post.
The shock is fixed. Bought a used one off an inmate in good shape. Initially, I thought I could just pull the two bolts holding the shock on and slide it out the left hand side of the frame. No such luck. I ended up stripping just about everything off the top and back of the bike to get access. That was taken after I got the new shock in. I haven't had a chance to test the new shock. Since I had the tank off, I decided to tackle the water pump rebuild. And, since I was buying parts, I decided to buy a new sprocket shaft seal as well. I'll get some pics as I go.
Headlight flickers Just a loose connection. Tail light doesnt work Handlebar wiring was redone - poorly Turnsignals sometimes work Instrument lights dont work Parking light doesnt work Parking light deosn't exist. Need to buy a replacement. Rear shock shot Replaced Front shocks leak Clutch slips Spark plug needs replaced Waterpump needs new seals/bearings Carbs jetted too fat New jets ordered. 195-170MJ; 52-45 idle jet. Seat I hate the white seat Painted with vinyl interior paint. Not lasting very well. Plastics plain white Luggage none Luggage rack built. Top box acquired - but I need to mount it. Handlebars too low Rotated back too far. Moved them forward and I think It'll work. Steering - spooky at highway speeds. Steering stem had too much slack. Tightened her up.
Not in my garage it doesn't! To hell with that easy fix nonsense! I gotta take the hard way out!!! I looked at that. I looked real close and decided that there was no way the shock would slide through the swing arm. Not with the nitrogen reservoir on the side. I was sure that if I too the linkages off, it would just frustrate me and I'd have to take the subframe off anyway. Well, I've learned something. Next time - if I have to rebuild this one- I'll try the easy way!
Few easy steps and shock is removed... 10) lower the shock about 2 inches until it's free of its bracket on the frame and try to rotate the reservoir ccw about 200 degrees towarts the chain, then tilt the head of the shock about 20 degrees to the left, then take it out through the hole in the swingarm . You might need to lower or raise the rear wheel a little to get enough free play but it will work!. Remember the shock's 'attitude' when sliding it through the hole in the linkage....getting it back in place only works in the same way!!! Its simply matter of faith and right magical moves...
Nice bike, good luck with the rebuild. Looks great so far. Painting a seat seams like a terrible idea, like something someone would do to make the bike look pretty to try and sell it for top dollar. Any chance you could post some larger pics?
Grav, Get a bible you disbeliever.... Loosen the shock, work the swing arm up and down, up and down slightly turning the shock. It will come down fast and go back up the same way. It will fall out and smash your finger because you are not ready for that. Practice. I think the pivot can stay? You can adjust the spring tension with the hook on your axle wrench but you must remove the shock to do it. Practice, KTM, Paris -Dakar winner. bill
yeah, I've come to that conclusion myself. The seat was recently recovered by the PO. The vinyl is in great shape - so it seemed silly to rip it off and reupholster it. I found this Duplicolor product that is marketed to repaint vinyl seats: http://www.duplicolor.com/products/vinylFabricCoating/ For a $4 can, I thought it was worth a try. Mostly, it worked. But, there are places that the seat cover folds over itself when I sit on it. The paint has come off those parts. So, it was worth a try, but I'll probably end up having a professional recover it - just not white. Here's what it looked like for a couple of months after painting the seat: The picture thing is a bit annoying. Photobucket has been resizing my pics. I may have to look at host my pics somewhere else.You do know you can click on them to make them a little bigger, right?
I've got a shop manual for the bike. Sometimes I'm just not smart enough to open it. I've been turning wrenches on bikes since I was 9 years old and I bent an intake valve on my CT70. Apparently I was under the impression I knew what I was doing! In all fairness, I did get the shock off and the new one went in really easily! But, then I just had all that stuff to put back on. I'm just going to chalk it up to getting to know my bike! Lessons learned!
Turnsignals – sometimes work Instrument lights – don’t work Front shocks – leak Clutch – slips Spark plug – needs replaced Waterpump – needs new seals/bearings Plastics – plain white Headlight – flickers Just a loose connection. Tail light – doesn’t work Handlebar wiring was redone - poorly Parking light – doesn’t work Parking light deosn't exist. Need to buy a replacement. Rear shock – shot Replaced Carbs – jetted too fat New jets ordered. 195-170MJ; 52-45 idle jet. Seat – I hate the white seat Painted with vinyl interior paint. Not lasting very well. Luggage – none Luggage rack built. Top box acquired - but I need to mount it. Handlebars – too low Rotated back too far. Moved them forward and I think It'll work Steering - spooky at highway speeds. Steering stem had too much slack. Tightened her up. The current project is the water pump. I got the new bearings in the mail from VXB yesterday. The new seals and Orings are coming from KTM-Parts. Hopefully soon. I'm getting some new jets in that same shipment as well as the Sprocket Shaft seal. Not much I can do until the parts get in. Any advice on getting that sprocket shaft seal out? I've got the sprocket, and spacer out. I'm just not sure how to attack it from here. Do I need to break down and buy a seal puller? Is there a substitute that I can use without risking damage to the case?
Make a slap hammer... Buy a big cheap screwdriver, bend the end in a hooked L shape, big washer on blade up to handle, next a piece of pipe. Slap it our or use a block of wood and pry. Seal puller is cheap at... http://www.tooldiscounter.com/ItemDisplay.cfm?lookup=LIS56750&source=froogle&kw=LIS56750 bill
Brilliant! That's exactly what I ended up doing. Bent the tip of an old screwdriver, grabbed the end with a big channel lock, and tapped on the channel lock while working around the inside perimeter of the seal. Now, I just gotta wait for my new parts to get here. In the mean time, I've started digging into my instrument panel lights. The bulbs all appear fine - which means the wiring is hosed. I already had to fixed some botched wiring to get the tail light to work, looks like I gotta dig out the wiring schematic again. I wouldn't be too worried about it, but I want to know if the bike is overheating. Especially since I'm going to be messing with the jets.
Here's a pic of my slap hammer concoction: It aint' pretty. And it don't work real well. But it worked and it was pretty much free. I got the old seal out without damaging the case. So, on to the electrical. I hooked up 12V DC to the bike to simulate it running and tore the front end apart to diagnose why the lights don't work in the instrument panel: Turns out that 3 light bulbs were burned out, one had fallen out of its socket and one was missing. That left two bulbs that weren't burnt out. I plugged them into various sockets and whaddya know? The electrical is fine! I just gotta order some new bulbs. And, I figured out the turnsignals. The flasher relay is physically crushed. The outer case is broken. If you hold it just right it'll work, but sometimes it doesn't. It just needs replaced. So, here's the real exciting part. The bike is as dismantled as it's going to get. As soon as my parts get here, I can start putting her back together! Up until this point, I've left the bike in worse shape than she was before I started - every night. Now, it's going to look like I'm making progress! I really wish it were warm enough to take this carcass to a car wash. She's sorely in need of a pressure washing!
Grav, Nice work. Nice tool. I think there is a silicone O-ring that works with the spacer/seal surface. Be sure to replace that. At least there is on the '02 Adventure. bill
Thanks! Yeah, I've got the O-Ring coming with the rest of the KTM-parts.com order. Creeper's write up covered that in detail. It looks to me that the chain was set way too tight and that's why this seal was leaking. I just hope it didn't do any real damage to the bike.
That's so common. If there's no play in the shaft things should be good. You can keep n eye on it. Do you have a cush hub? That might help. b
I didn't notice any play - but didn't look for it either. I'll give it a good look tonight. The shop manual sure makes it look like I have a cush hub. The Austrian translation of dämpfergummi is "drive rubber". Close enough! Most of my parts came in yesterday. Hopefully I can get some time in the garage tonight to start putting her back together. The only thing I don't have are the bulbs for the instrument cluster. I've found them in a few places - but I can't get my 4 itty bitty 1000 hr incandescent bulbs for less than about $30. I can either order them from China in packs of 10 for $.50/piece and pay $30 shipping or I can order them from Cheap Cycle parts for $4/piece and pay $10 shipping. Either way feels like a rip off! The same bulb is used in some Yamahas. I'll see if I can find them that way. Maybe there's a dealership that carries them around here. I'm really considering converting the whole mess to LEDs. It wouldn't be any cheaper - but at least I'd never have to replace burnt out bulbs.