2013 mexican 1000 ktm 640 adv build

We have decided to race the NORRA MEXICAN 1000 once again in 2013. This time we will be bringing bikes.

Last year we had the incredible generosity and support from a group of riders based out of San Diego area. They brought bikes, chase truck, mechanics, beer, food and good times along with them. I owe 2012's race to all those that helped out.

2012 we raced two '90's XR 600's and a 2008 KTM 530 EXCR. The first XR crapped out on the transfer after the first test on the first day. The other 2 bikes make it all the way to the finish. We learned alot over those 4 days.


In the name of comfort and reliability, I sought the advice of Mark (Baja Dad here), and he said, get a 640 KTM adventure, you will love it for this type of race. So when I got back home, the search was on.

I found a 2006 640:

Less than 2500 miles on it
Rally Raid Tires
UHD TUBES
FMF Q4 Can
Shark Fin Rear Brake Guard
Full Skid Plate
Kickstand

Price was right and it is now in the garage, looking pretty much BRAND NEW.

Here is the list of UPGRADES planned:

CUSTOM SEAT
FLEXX BARS
STEERING DAMPER
BAR RISERS
LARGER PEGS

ROADBOOK READER
ICO
MOUNT FOR ABOVE
GPS BACKUP

MODIFICATIONS:
2 ROTOR FRONT BRAKE- DELETE ONE ROTOR AND CALIPER FOR USE ON DIRT.
FCR 41MX CARB/CABLES INSTALL (COMPLETED ALREADY- it RIPS.)
SNORKLE REMOVED FROM INTAKE
SIDESTAND DELETE
PASSENGER PEG DELETE
FRONT AND REAR BLINKER DELETE
Suspension- respring at minimum
Rear Wheel needs another Rim Lock

I'll post pictures as soon as I get to my computer of the progress so far.

It's got TWO rotors and calipers up front.

On dirt, it has been tested that the optimal setup is for one Rotor and Caliper. Plus you lose more than 5# of unsprung weight.

That is alot when you hit a mannequin head burried beneath the sand at 80mph.

That fact had slipped my mind.

That would mean- AHHHH- no brakes.....

I'm not that crazy!

You will need to order a BRP Chain block( ask Jim for the older Husaberg style) it bolts on!

I am working on a New design roodbook mount for the 640.( much less vibe at high speed )
I will let you know how that is comming.
Looks like we will have atleast 5 KTM 640 in the Rally!!!!!


Have fun on this build the KTM 640 is the BEST overall do all bike I have ridden.

Cant wait for Pics!!!

The 640's are amazing, I loved mine when I had it. I rode the Alcan rally and did 5000 miles in 9 days and it never missed a beat! My feet fell asleep though looking forward to seeing all you nuts down there again, should be even better this time around!

That should be a nice ride Maineroot!

I plan on racing my '09 Berg. Will be my first race in 30+ years, so just planning on having fun, finishing and down in Cabo!!!

Are you running the "Tecate ralley fairing" on this scooter?

Cool, and another Texan. Ck. your PMs

A few of us are thinking of running 950SE. Not sure whether to race or just chase on the bikes.You won't be navigating by iPhones and dust clouds again?

Here are some pics of the bike coming off the trailer when I got it.

Yes- you should race those 950's. They guy who overalled the bikes at the event was on one. That thing was a DIRT MISSLE!!

Dont forget one of these!! Like I said it will wake up the top end!







BTW How many miles ?

Excellent choiCe ! I think the bike suits very well long distance rallys with very little modification. The downside is that after market parts have become rare these days, rally bash plates are difficult and very expensive to find . Larger bash plates are rare as well and there is only Hyderacing (hard plastic - Europe) and bboffroad (Aluminium - Australia) and the price in these two are fine.

I would go and protect the tank and most importantly the fuel petcock with Chris Barnes's tank protectors, I have had two sets and the fist one go damaged but everything else survived the accident. Very good for off road riding, cheap and they come in aramid or CF. Now we are on the petcock thing, check for leakage in all positions. It should not drip but you never know...

I would check the voltage that reaches the front of the bike. This particular is not old, but the cables are not known for their good quality so you may loose a couple of volts between the battery and the lights. Now we are on the lights they are terrible. You dont understand it until you put either HIDs or LEDs. I had HIDs for most if the time and it is an easy mod to do. What you have to remember is to put silicone inside the ballasts to prevent them from self destryoing themselves from the offroad rides and falls. I went through three of them before doing so. :huh . The silicone trick should be applied into the bottom plastic part of the main switch. Usually in a rally bike you bypass the switch with a toggle or sth so that should not be a problem I think...

I guess the BRP chain block that the Baja Dad says is the aluminium chain guide. It is a KTM part but it was easier for me to find it through husaberg (I have an FE450 2oo5 model as well). It is a straight bolt on and the only problem that you will ever come acroos will be for it to take a massive hit and bend. Then you are in business ... You can modify it so you can take it out without having to break the chain, so that is a wise idea. Or you can carry a dremel tool with you

For the navigation equipment just make sure you put fuses for everything. Mounts for RB's can be found from KTM (they suck - full lock is prohibited ). Mecasystemes has stopped doing the one they had so you are on your own ... You may need to change the fairing back to the old version which was two parts. It is higher and you can modify it to be more vertical in order to accomodate the navigation equipment without interfering with the handlebars. As Baja Dad, more and more people have decided to make their own navigation towers, either for different or for this bike (and I am one of them as well ), but you can look here http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=684282 and proceed accordingly if you feel adventurous...

If it does not have, try and find a sidestand that works. That is another challenge. KTM original does not fit straight away with the centre stand on, so it is either one or the other. Motec, does a side stand which will bolt on and allow you to keep both stands but it is a death trap and beleive me is can eat your legs for breakfast... For a rally bike I would prefer the side one only if I did not have another option ...


Keep us informed,
-o0-

Michael-

I'm pretty happy so far with just the carb swap (FCR MX 41mm). This bike now has some serious grunt and punch. I have 8 months to sit and stare at the bike before the race, so I'll probably end up doing the cam install.

The motor has less than 2500 miles on it. I do not think that it was ever off road-judging from the lack of dirt anywhere on the frame etc when I removed the tank. It's like new.

You suggested a water pump impeller rebuild- is this a regular maintenance thing- or an upgrade for faulty parts? With a bike this low miles- do you still suggest that mod?

Cheers-

See below.

QUOTE=640 Armageddon;19559593]Excellent choiCe ! I think the bike suits very well long distance rallys with very little modification. The downside is that after market parts have become rare these days, rally bash plates are difficult and very expensive to find . Larger bash plates are rare as well and there is only Hyderacing (hard plastic - Europe) and bboffroad (Aluminium - Australia) and the price in these two are fine.

The bike came with a full bash/skid plate.


I would go and protect the tank and most importantly the fuel petcock with Chris Barnes's tank protectors, I have had two sets and the fist one go damaged but everything else survived the accident. Very good for off road riding, cheap and they come in aramid or CF. Now we are on the petcock thing, check for leakage in all positions. It should not drip but you never know...

Petcocks look solid. no leaks. I'll have to check into the petcock protector. That looks like an accident waiting to happen. Kind of like the waitress I saw balancing a 5 gal bucket of ice water on the rail of the pool table this weekend at the bar. She did it 3 times successfully, then #4- there was a "pool" on the pool table.

I would check the voltage that reaches the front of the bike. This particular is not old, but the cables are not known for their good quality so you may loose a couple of volts between the battery and the lights. Now we are on the lights they are terrible. You dont understand it until you put either HIDs or LEDs. I had HIDs for most if the time and it is an easy mod to do. What you have to remember is to put silicone inside the ballasts to prevent them from self destryoing themselves from the offroad rides and falls. I went through three of them before doing so. :huh . The silicone trick should be applied into the bottom plastic part of the main switch. Usually in a rally bike you bypass the switch with a toggle or sth so that should not be a problem I think...

Lights and toggles are on the list now.

I guess the BRP chain block that the Baja Dad says is the aluminium chain guide. It is a KTM part but it was easier for me to find it through husaberg (I have an FE450 2oo5 model as well). It is a straight bolt on and the only problem that you will ever come acroos will be for it to take a massive hit and bend. Then you are in business ... You can modify it so you can take it out without having to break the chain, so that is a wise idea. Or you can carry a dremel tool with you

I'll put a BRP on to start.

For the navigation equipment just make sure you put fuses for everything. Mounts for RB's can be found from KTM (they suck - full lock is prohibited ). Mecasystemes has stopped doing the one they had so you are on your own ... You may need to change the fairing back to the old version which was two parts. It is higher and you can modify it to be more vertical in order to accomodate the navigation equipment without interfering with the handlebars. As Baja Dad, more and more people have decided to make their own navigation towers, either for different or for this bike (and I am one of them as well ), but you can look here http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=684282 and proceed accordingly if you feel adventurous...

Baja Dad said he was making a mod to the stock KTM Roadbook holder. I'm going to see if I can come up with a HYBRID of what I found in the Rally Nav thread. There is already a mounting point on the steering stem, which seems like the biggest pain in the butt to fabricate.

If it does not have, try and find a sidestand that works. That is another challenge. KTM original does not fit straight away with the centre stand on, so it is either one or the other. Motec, does a side stand which will bolt on and allow you to keep both stands but it is a death trap and beleive me is can eat your legs for breakfast... For a rally bike I would prefer the side one only if I did not have another option ...


Aftermarket Sidestand is on the bike along with the center stand. The sidestand almost broke my shin when it came up unexpectedly! I was not wearing moto boots.


Keep us informed,
-o0-[/QUOTE]

You will see that the bash plate (I guess it dependes on the terrain) will not suffice. It is quite thin in my opinion for the bike and mine was destroyed early in its life... Too rocky terrain so I changed it with a heavy duty.

Baja Dad said he was making a mod to the stock KTM Roadbook holder. I'm going to see if I can come up with a HYBRID of what I found in the Rally Nav thread. There is already a mounting point on the steering stem, which seems like the biggest pain in the butt to fabricate.

There are other options that you can modify the stock, there was on person who build his out of tube similat to what KTM has done but with bends so the handlebars do not hit it in full lock. He said he had the designs to share, I can look it up if you want something similar and sent him a pm. You will find that the pain in the ass (my ass at the moment and your ass in the future ) are the cables... At least in the 2oo5 midel there is a mess there... have no idea where to start clearing things up... I am almost ready to find the clippers and start

Now we are on the same table, let me warn you about another thing. If it is a motec (it hit you, so I guess that's the one ) there may be a problem. The side stand has to bolts. One for itself and one which it shares with the centre stand. This one is an accident waiting to happen. As the side stand gets loaded, it loads the centre stand bolt (which is welded on the centre stand) and it breaks it. This happened to me and then you are both without side and centrestand. There is a modification for the centre stand only (it sometimes happens even if you do not have the side stand) were you put through bolts with nuts but lets not go there at the moment, I just give you some warnings and when you see it closely you may come up with sth In order to save you leg, please do use only one of the springs (the sidestand has two installed). It does the job and it does not give you the Muay Thai kick


-o0-

Has anyone installed a Scotts stabilizer on this year 640 ADV (2006)?

It looks like I'll need to not only buy the tower and riser for the mount- but a NEW TOP TRIPLE CLAMP as well?

Is there a way to get away with modifying the existing to make it work?