Is anyone seeing any performance benefit from the front fork preload adjusters? These basically add a little load to the fork springs (and slightly reduce volume of air in the forks). Curious if anyone actually adjusts these (and finds benefits) if you have a desert tank on, or similar... thanks, Andre -
Anyone have a replacement front brake light switch? KTM wants 65.00. Little much for a switch. What do they think this...a BMW?
Nevermind... I ended up getting the hydro switch http://www.bajadesigns.com/ProductDetail?ItemNumber=120100 They can be found for as low as 7.00.
The hydraulic switch works but you might not like the feel of the lever with it in there. I'm changing to the micro switch on mine, they're the same part number on most KTMs so you might fine one 2nd hand (I did).
Night Falcon, I would suggest that when you do replace the spring (which is a very easy task), spray and clean all the shock body threads but do not take a wire brush to them as the shock body is aluminum and coated to prevent corrosion - a wire brush may remove the coating. You will need to loosen the tension right off the current spring by threading your preload collar up the shock. To do that, you need to loosen the collar's 4mm allen head bolt. Do not loosen and remove that bolt - just loosen it enough to allow the collar to spin freely with the wrench and then by hand once the collar is off the spring tension. Doing that will ensure that the collar remains aligned with the shock body threads since the collar is a machined aluminum piece that has been cut with a relief to tighten with that 4mm bolt. The mistake I made was removing that bolt right out of the collar and when I spun the collar with my wrench to adjust the preload, I ended up misaligning it against the threads of the shock body and mashed up a whole section of those threads on the shock body as well as ruined the collar itself. If you lube everything and just loosen that pinch bolt, you will not experience the near-disaster that I just went through (it cost me to disassemble the shock and machine the threaded section plus the cost of that KTM worm drive adjuster). When you're done adjusting, DO NOT over tighten that pinch bolt - it WILL snap and when it does, you may not be able to extract what is left of the bolt that remains in your preload collar. Anyhow, as I said, my crisis is now over and I have a very pretty and very purposeful KTM preload adjuster but if I had not been able to machine repair the threads on my shock body, I would have been screwed as KTM does not sell that shock body threaded tube alone, only as an assembly with the shock boy top section and it is nearly $1000 here for just that... Oh yeah, you didn't mention the brand of spring that you're going to use but given its specs, I suspect that it is a KTM spring. Regardless of what has been stated, make sure that you measure the overall unloaded length of the new spring compared to the old spring - yes, they should both be the same overall length...
On my XCW, I used a $0.75 snap action switch from All Electronics. Had to use some double sided tape and solder a couple wires but has worked for thousands of miles.
You would think so, but the mounting pins are often on the wrong side. I found the close part by the OEM, Marqurdt, but the pins are on the wrong side. Aparently the part is a Brembo only buy and not available otherwise. I found the Brembo part number, but no luck on the part. I found several KTM switches, but they were all on the wrong side too. The hydro switch is just a banjo bolt with a tiny sensor in the top of it....it shouldn't change things much. The bike is new to me anyway so everything feels weird vs the beemer.
Get the sag right on front and rear, don't skimp on that. Then make sure they're serviced or still have fresh oil in them atleast. After that go through the bearings for everything, wheels, steering stem, swingarm all of them make a very big difference. That will give you a very good starting point that, before jumping, will do most things decent if not well but that setup will also allow you to tune and tinker and actually give you some feed back as to what you'll need for your particular riding style and conditions.
It's the same on all the EXC's and 640's, I think I got lucky when I found a used one for $20! The difference isn't huge, the hydro switch just makes the lever feel a bit spongy.
After spending almost full 6 years on RFS based bike and have gone trough three engines (510 exc, 576SXS, 540SXS), now I'm finally switched to XC4 bike. I was shaking my head already long ago, but this model is very rare at my country and almost bought one 450EXC-R 2008 in Lithuania but something inside me was saying no no no, this is not the right bike for you. And finally two days ago saw one for sale and decide in three hours, this is bike i must have. And now i'm the owner of 2010 530 EXC-R, i'm was surprised it came with WP 4CS forks, clutch slave guard, wider water pump, Selle Dalla Valle seat cover, rear brake caliper is from latest generation bike, and could be something more. I havent ridden it yet, will write down my impressions in few weeks.
Congratulations and welcome to the club - watch your bank account, this thread will make you spend lots of money :)
I use these hydraulic switches on all my bikes and find that there is little if any difference in 'lever feel'.
Mate, that sounds nasty! Really appreciate the heads up - reading what you did, I would have done the same, and likely ended up with the same result or worse! The biggest mistake I've had on my build so far is a pinched rear tube....and I'm barely over the anguish of that Shock is a WP (yellow highlight). The guy I'm getting it from says it measures 260mm not the 250 that's stamped on it. <TABLE style="WIDTH: 343pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=457 border=0> <COLGROUP> <COL style="WIDTH: 343pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 16713" width=457> <TBODY> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD class=xl65 style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; WIDTH: 343pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #bfbfbf" height=17 width=457>Heavier spring rate:</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 15pt" height=20> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 15pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=20>9121-0005 spring: 84-250 (80-95 kg rider)</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>9121-0006 spring: 88-250 (85-95 kg rider)</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD class=xl64 style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow" height=17>9121-0007 spring: 92-250 (90-105kg rider)</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>9121-0008 spring: 97-250 (95-115kg rider)</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17></TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD class=xl65 style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #bfbfbf" height=17>Part # Description Spring Rate Spring Type Spring Color</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>9121-0001 6.9 - 250 WP SHOCK SPRING 6.9 KG STRAIGHT RATE WHITE</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>9121-0002 7.2 - 250 WP SHOCK SPRING 7.2 KG STRAIGHT RATE WHITE</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>9121-0003 7.6 - 250 WP SHOCK SPRING 7.6 KG STRAIGHT RATE WHITE</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>9121-0004 8.0 - 250 WP SHOCK SPRING 8.0 KG STRAIGHT RATE WHITE</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>9121-0005 8.4 - 250 WP SHOCK SPRING 8.4 KG STRAIGHT RATE WHITE</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>9121-0006 8.8 - 250 WP SHOCK SPRING 8.8 KG STRAIGHT RATE WHITE</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD class=xl64 style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow" height=17>9121-0007 9.2 - 250 WP SHOCK SPRING 9.2 KG STRAIGHT RATE WHITE</TD></TR> <TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17> <TD style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>9121-0008 9.7 - 250 WP SHOCK SPRING 9.7 KG STRAIGHT RATE WHITE</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> I will set it up based on overall length with a 9mm preload as per the OM then see what the static sag looks like. Should equal 35mm in a perfect world but expect I will need to tweak it. The current spring is wound right to the end of the adjustment which is not ideal for the shock or the spring -especially on hard landings
My race tech spring is also 260mm but I chose it over the KTM WP springs because I wanted a progressive rate spring.
I just noticed this statement about spring length. The actual spring length is not really important, at least not as long as they are within 10mm in length, for example 250 vs 260 mm. Minor length differences can be compensated for with the adjustors.
I blame all of you in this thread. Look what you have made me do to my perfectly good bike..... :huh JD kit Desmog Sikass tail Pipe mod lets all hope I can put it back together, and it runs...
what.... no, dirt ticks cam chain tensioner, clutch slave protection, G2 throttle tamer, Cyclops LED light, water pump mod........
Hose kit is next, ill leave cracking into the motor to the experts :) Does it really need a throttle tamer? Ill guess we will see after the mods :)
