Another 08-11 KTM Thumper Build Thread

[dieselcruiserhead]

Hi guys,

I thought I would put together one more build thread related to my relatively new to me 2010 KTM 450 Six Days that I got last fall. This bike (and getting to this bike) helped me figure out a lot of stuff with bikes in general, so I'm mostly putting this together to just share the wealth. I'm super pumped with this bike and with luck I'll keep it for at least 3 years, and my estimate is 7,500 to 10,000 relatively trouble free miles..

A couple milestones / brief intro:

Bought from a slippery guy who lied about its condition, hours, and miles, and stored it outside. It was a good deal so I still ended up buying it. Now that I have all the work done to it I'm pretty pumped overall...


End of last season. Burning oil but looking good with my 4 gallon Safari Tank / all blinged out with my Talon / Excel heavy duty wheels, and www.Globetrottin.com ultralight rack for our typically mimialist style Utah-style overnight / multi day (this link does a good job of explaining it, though it takes it to an extreme)


Complete teardown that occured over the winter, sandblast and powdercoat


Fairly recent pic of it last weekend back in action. First trip / ride since the complete reardown...

[dieselcruiserhead]

Some biases and a little history...

First bike was a Honda XR5650R that I went "full ADV douchebag" on and made or bolted on a lot of shit that just added weight... I fabbed up the headlight and rack setups. It did great on highway and touring with some capabilities but needed a lot more work to be more capable off road. I had just put too much stuff on it and the old suspension was pretty rickety. If I had lightened it with some CRF forks it might have come around but I rode a friend's KTM and within a week I had it sold...



Second bike was a KTM 02 520 EXC which is an early model of the KTM 525 and is nearly identical. The 02s are completely underrated and are great and when buying one you get a lot of bang for the buck. When I bought it I was in a conundrum I was looking for a newer bike, but this one was completely dialed, recent top end work with thousands invested, and it belonged to a pilot who completely utterly blinged it out. It came with fastway pegs, complete suspension work, 2 good seats, 3.4 liter tank, the Excel Talon wheels (that now live on the 10), and even had one of the Scotts stainless filters in it. I didn't know what it was so I actually tossed it...

I still didn't / don't know too much about the big benefits of the early/ late model KTMs in terms of frame stiffness etc. they all work so well. I definitely feel and notice the difference between this 02 and my 10 but they both perform very well and outperform me. Another huge thing was when I added the Gen III carb to the 02. this also worked great...


This said, something about my KTM that bugged me was I was always sort of saying to myself "I want a newer bike" even though my bike completely hung with everyone I ride with. I became a victim to the "newer is better" problem that we all suffer from and in my mind I kept telling myself I had an old bike. I was convinced there are drastically newer and better technologies out there. there are, but they are not gamechanging. If I were smart I would have just kept the 02. This said, last fall I ran into a little extra money and finally decided to sell the 02 after a couple phenomenal years on it and at least 3K fairly hard and trouble free miles.

This is where it all goes down, down in the mancave/basement..

[Roland44]

Originally Posted by dieselcruiserhead

Hi guys,

I thought I would put together one more build thread related to my relatively new to me 2010 KTM 450 Six Days that I got last fall. This bike (and getting to this bike) helped me figure out a lot of stuff with bikes in general, so I'm mostly putting this together to just share the wealth. I'm super pumped with this bike and with luck I'll keep it for at least 3 years, and my estimate is 7,500 to 10,000 relatively trouble free miles..

Awesome! Subscribed, keep up the good work...

[dieselcruiserhead]

Purpose of the bike it's my swiss army knife, does it all. "Modular" good for day trail riding, and also decent for Adventure riding / desert riding etc..

Stuff done to the bike (in order).

Fairly stock KTM 450 2010 Six Days XC-W

As bought:

• Acerbis 2.9 Tank
• high volume water pump
• Themostat bypassed (via removing it and JB welding the case together -- previous owner)
• Crack in the stator cover from a rock, also JB welded back together
• Suspension service by MB1, no idea what was in it
• Stock rear spring
• KTM hard parts billet orange rear brake fluid cooler on it for some reason...

Some Nice Six Days option perks

• has the better 2011 style frame which they lowered the engine 10mm similar to the 2012 models. Not sure how much of a difference this makes. this 2010 does corner / handle really well though
• Has an electric fan stock
• Has super deep gearing stock - 13:52. This was eventually replaced to 14:50.
• Has nice adjustable billet triple clamps in black that go from 18-20mm. KTMs usually come with 20mm clamps, and these came setup in 20mm. After messing around I actually think 20mm is best so stock KTMs have it dialed. the 20mm makes it go exactly where you want, but it still completely stable assuming you have your your sag correct (more about this later).

79 hours and 700 miles. turns out the speedo cable was broken too. Probably more like 1500. No big deal..

What has been done since I bought it

• Bought a used Safari 4.0 gallon tank. 4.0 is the perfect size for ADV riding (in the Utah desert at least). 3.4 is just barely too small in my opinion
• moved over / was able to keep some of my stuff from my old bike before I sold it. Fastway pegs, Excel/Talon wheels, Scotts Stabilizer.
• Dunlop MX71 tires - these have been great. 90/100 in the front, not sure if this is too big up front / still on the fence about this.
• Ultra heavy duty tubes. Experimenting with tubliss up front
• Seat Concepts Seat. Awesome
• Acerbis chain guide
• Gatos Bros steering stabilizer mount and handlebar riser

It started started burning oil towards the end of late last season as winter came. So I decided to do a complete teardown of the entire bike. I started reading about the tips and tricks from DJH and Travis at Thumper Racing over on KTMTalk and basically with a few relatively small repairs (one of which included replacing the piston. Little did I know this is easy and can be done in an afternoon), the 08-11 are super solid, have a lot of the characteristics of the 12+ engines, and are noticeably smoother and tighter than the RFS engines though they all work great. The biggest change is in the frame and overall handling though, but again its a difference but not a game changer particularly over the 06/07 frames in my opinion...

So the list since the fall is:

Took frame ot the sand blaster. I used the correct KTM orange. A lot of people spend money using or ordering a European code because that's what they have. Sherwin Williams "Ultra Orange" is cheaper and is also the same correct orange. Even the guys at the KTM dealer commented that it was the correct orange.
With the complete frame, all associated items such as swing arm bearings, going through the electrical, every single bolt removed and tightened with blue loc-tite, and organizing the electrical.
HBD guards and panel. (barebones version - my own indicators). I previously used Tusk guards with Cycra shields but HBD is top-quality and much much better.
Vertex piston, head work, and cylinder by DJH on KTMTalk. I was planning on local but they were backlogged and DJH had good communication and really documents his stuff well in terms of what he does to your engine/carb etc.
41mm carb and jetting and hose routing by DJH on KTMTalk.
DJH cam tensioner. This one is bling but is manual. I actually returned a dirt tricks one I ordered in favor of it not knowing the details, the Dirt Tricks one is automatic and is better so I should have used that one.


I also did a lot of my own hacks / mods.

• home made coolant reservoir, using tubing and some nalgene bottles and a little silicone
• home made cig light connector
• home made street legal kit -- better / stronger than the kits and cheaper. but in the end considerably more time to wire up...
• added welded brace across frame so skid plate can bolt up without the included adapter
• Switch from a 02 KTM which I like better because it has both buttons on the same side
• LED indicators from Checker Auto Parts which I use for high beams and turn signals

Details on all of this coming in this thread.

[dieselcruiserhead]

KTM dirtbike photo porn...

My home made wiring setup, also to make it street legal, new Acerbis plastics, pillow top grips, white fork guards, etc etc.


Vertex piston / head / cycinder work from DJH Cycle Sport. Also note the high volume water pump setup (KTM hardparts kit).


Seat Concepts seats. I'm actually wicked tall with long legs but I prefer and went to a lower seat after a little time on the tall seat. These seats are amazing / best bang for your buck out there...


the six days models come with this billet bling black adjustable triple clamps. these are nice... I run them in 20mm mode which actually feels great on this bike even though I'm a desert / high speed rider. I switched to 18mm then back to 20mm, which is what all 08+ KTMs are. So these aren't needed.


Gatos Bros steering damper mount / risers. Designed and manufactured by Jesus Gatos right here on this board / works of Art. Link to their thread Link to their site. Not affiliated just a happy customer.. Stabilizer tower for the 08+ and Stabilizer oil change came from pro moto billet. Scotts Stabilizer I had from my 02.


GlobeTrottin.com rack that weighs less than 5 lbs. I'm not affiliated but I actually suggested this to Jim Harvey (Harcus on this board) who is the man and I've gone on some advenetures with. Shortly after he had a working prototype and I couldn't believe when this rack came in at just a hair over 5lbs. 5lbs -- the weight of a small battery. I could go to a Shorai and lose 60% of this weight gained. This is the ultimate rack for ultralight exploring. It also bolts to steel parts of frames, removing weight from your subframe. Use 15liter drybags with Voile straps for gear carrying. This rack fits all 2008 & later models.


more to come tomorrow...

[Foot dragger]

Good stuff,Im still getting used to the 2011 530EXCR I picked up a while ago,I end up riding my 200 a lot on the tight trails around here, but I may take the 530 up and try it out this weekend,its mostly stock but the stock suspension is great for my 180lbs,better then any stock suspension Ive tried by a ways.

It just doesnt feel as heavy as one would think on super tight trail,KTM is getting these things better and better.
JD jet kit and FMF Q are all thats been done engine wise and it flat rips as is.

I wanted the last year with a carb and it seems like it was a great idea after riding it some.