Project bike: 2007 KTM LC4 640 Adventure

[brothernath]

Mate, if there is anyone that deserves thanks, it's you. With your blog we've shared your pain & your triumphs but we've also been entertained - in some ways it was like Mikey writing from somewhere in Africa rather than you from Gizzy. She looks beautiful Peet, you (& your helpers) have done a fantastic job & I'm sure you have the seal of approval from the "big muppet". Catch ya saturday....

cheers
Nath

[Te Hopo]

The beast looks awesome, congrats man!

[Kokopelli]

Great looking bike, well done. I've always like that particular model. Enjoy the Motu.

[kiwipeet]

Just got home from a nearly 300k round trip:

Gisborne to Opotiki via the motu road and back through the Waiokeka gorge.


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I met Clint and Rosie in Matawai and we had a gentle cruise through the Motu Road back to Opotiki for a late lunch. This is from the top of the Motu Road.



Generally The bike went really well, but has a couple of small issues to sort out. The throttle isn't closing off properly so it tends to over-run into corners, and she doesn't like water...

Yesterday she cut dead when I rode through some deep puddles, A bit of splash and she stops dead. And today a few times she decided to cut out for a split second when riding, and at one point refused to start for Clint until he gave the ignition wires a prod. So It seems we have a loose wire near the ignition.

I thought the bike was a bit skittish on dry gravel. Veeeery twitchy. But I had the tires pumped up pretty high for munching miles on the black stuff. Tonight I had a bit more of a think about it, and will have a closer look at the suspension. I haven't changed anything since it arrived so it will still have the same setup for when the bike fully loaded.

Otherwise all good It handles brilliantly on the road.



...and yes Mikey, she was an absolute blast to ride through the gorge.

[The third Amigo]

Well done, Give the man a sausage! Im glad its up and running. Ive been following this since you began.THANK YOU, CLINT, for helping, I wish I could have been in there as well. Also thanks to all those who helped Pete and Dad with this. I hope you can fix your gremlins asap and it gives you many hours of pleasure riding about. Im sure Mikey is looking down on you and smiling. Keep up the trips, And STAY SAFE yourself. Thumbs up pete , be proud of the achievement.

[warewolf]

Nice one!

They handle water well, so there's definitely a fault there you can deal to. I've ridden mine in heavy rain heaps, and done plenty of deep fords without issues.

The throttle issue, check the clutch hose routing near the throttle cam on the carb. Mine developed a stiff point in the throttle actuation, it was the cam rubbing on the hose. One cable tie later, the hose was held clear and all was good.

[clintnz]

Great to see the orange beast on the road - well done Peet! It's been a pleasure to help out.



I even got a ride



The Motu & Waioeka definitely make for real nice mix of riding

...just had a thought, one thing to check while troubleshooting the water aversion, make sure the drain hole out the bottom of the spark plug well is clear.

Cheers
Clint

[mcguyver]

Congraulatiosn Pete,
Great to see the bike in action. Very pleased I was able to play a small part.

[Cromagnon]

Well done, awesome work and nice write up along the way.

[kiwipeet]

Dad came over again and we pulled the ignition barrel apart, as per this thread here and that all looks ok, so we reassembled it. But we did find Mike's wiring fix for the headlight problems he had on his trip.

We did find a couple of tiny little chafe marks near the ignition feed with the copper exposed (the red wires). I don't know if that's enough to interrupt the power to the ignition/ecu/coil. but it's about all we have found so far. We couldn't find my wire connectors so that'll have to wait until tomorrow to go back together.

I pulled the throttle cables off and had a play. squirted some WD40 down them... but to me they still feel stiff, and there was a heap of play in them, but not stiff enough to hold the throttle open against the butterfly spring. I've refit them and adjusted them.. and they drag a bit. but not badly.

Even though they're stiff I think they're a red herring. As Clint and I discussed the butterfly should be closing ok, but it's like the vaccuum operated slide isn't closing. I pulled the top off the carb and had a look see. The slide is a bit gritty and grimy and looks like it has some score marks in it. (but looking at other photos that seems to be common.)

I'm being lazy and was trying to avoid it, but I guess I should really pull the carb out and clean it properly. Maybe tomorrow night.

But this is the threadI really want to get into. How to remove/disable the EPC (electronic power control ) or commonly known as the the "anti wheelie" restrictions. The bleed valve also lets grit and crap into the top of the carb, probably explaining the scratching on the slide.

[clintnz]

Originally Posted by kiwipeet

another night in the shed and bike is back apart again.

We pulled the ignition barrel apart, as per this thread http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169958 and that all looks ok, so we reassembled it. But we did find Mike's wiring fix for the headlight problems he had on his trip. We did find a couple of tiny little chafe marks near the ignition feed with the copper exposed (the red wires). I don't know if that's enough to interrupt the power to the ignition/ecu/coil. but it's about all we have found so far. We couldn't find my wire connectors so that'll have to wait until tomorrow to go back together.

I have had a wire break INSIDE the insulation just out the back of the molex connectors before (actually the sole electrical fault I've ever had with mine, took a bit of finding) - so before you reassemble, check continuity, or plug it in & run the bike, while wiggling each of the wires ex the ignition.

...& solder & heatshrink is way tidier than wire connectors, if it's just worn away insulation & nothing else is in the way I'd pop the spade terminals out the back of the connectors, then slide on some heatshrink, maybe a couple of layers if the chafing is unavoidable. The gods of electricity will then surely smile upon you.

Originally Posted by kiwipeet

I pulled the throttle cables off and had a play. squirted some WD40 down them... but to me they still feel stiff, and there was a heap of play in them, but not stiff enough to hold the throttle open against the butterfly spring. I've refit them and adjusted them.. and they drag a bit. but not badly.

Even though they're stiff I think they're a red herring. As Clint and I discussed the butterfly should be closing ok, but it's like the vaccuum operated slide isn't closing.

Is the 'close' cable pulling tight when the throttle is shut? The hardest part of cleaning the carb is getting it out of the bike, they are pretty easy to work on, you've seen the BST40 carb guide in the LC4 index aye? Good luck.

Cheers
Clint

[kiwipeet]

Originally Posted by clintnz

I have had a wire break INSIDE the insulation just out the back of the molex connectors before (actually the sole electrical fault I've ever had with mine, took a bit of finding) - so before you reassemble, check continuity, or plug it in & run the bike, while wiggling each of the wires ex the ignition.

Yep, I realised after we'd pulled it apart, I should have done the wiggle test first. Will do a bit of that tonight.

Originally Posted by clintnz

...& solder & heatshrink is way tidier than wire connectors, if it's just worn away insulation & nothing else is in the way I'd pop the spade terminals out the back of the connectors, then slide on some heatshrink, maybe a couple of layers if the chafing is unavoidable. The gods of electricity will then surely smile upon you.

Hmm I was thinking along those lines myself. i.e Solder rather than crimp connector. I hadn't thought of heatshrink for the chafing tho. Good idea batman.

Originally Posted by clintnz

Is the 'close' cable pulling tight when the throttle is shut?

Hmm i'll have a closer look to make sure I have the right amount of play. I took up some of the slack, but didn't think about relative tension of the butterfly stop vs throttle stop. I will have a closer look tonight.

Moving the throttle butterfly you can feel the drag on the cables. They move but not as freely as I would like. However the butterfly does close fully when you release the throttle. So my thinking is: even though the cables aren't 100% perfect, they're not the cause of the over-run.

Originally Posted by clintnz

The hardest part of cleaning the carb is getting it out of the bike, they are pretty easy to work on, you've seen the BST40 carb guide in the LC4 index aye? Good luck.

Err... not yet... but will shortly.

[warewolf]

WD40 and cables don't mix. WD40 dries to a sticky waxy thing, not what you want. It's ok as a rinse/cleaner, but needs some lube afterwards.

Motorex Joker 440 synth oil spray seems to do the biz for me. After a wash, all the lever (hand & foot) pivots, footpeg & kickstart pivots, fork oil seals, shock shaft - basically all the moving bits that aren't greased - get a squirt. But to be honest, the carb cables are pretty well sealed so they get little attention. Some white lithium grease spray in the throttle twist housing sometimes and that's about it.

[kiwipeet]

Not a good night last night. I just ran out of steam.

I couldn't get the terminals out of the Molex connectors. If I tried any harder I think I was risking damaging things. So annoyingly I can't put the heatshrink where I want it to cover the chafing. So for now it will just have to be tape.

Dad and I decide to touch up the paint on the tank. Repco had small can which looked pretty close. First we scuffed it up and filled some of the dents with knead it.



After painting it the paint looked flat and a bad match... but at least now you don't have the plain white nylon poking you in the eye.



After that I'd had enough, and so we called it a night. Tonight when I go into the shed i'll take a 4-pack of V with me, and stay there until it's done.

Originally Posted by warewolf

WD40 and cables don't mix. WD40 dries to a sticky waxy thing, not what you want. It's ok as a rinse/cleaner, but needs some lube afterwards..

Aww....

[clintnz]

Originally Posted by kiwipeet

Not a good night last night. I just ran out of steam.

I couldn't get the terminals out of the Molex connectors. If I tried any harder I think I was risking damaging things. So annoyingly I can't put the heatshrink where I want it to cover the chafing. So for now it will just have to be tape.

They can be a bastard, a lil jewellers screwdriver poked down inside to bend in the barb that retains the terminals is what I use.

I've used CRC Dry-Glide teflon spray on my cables with good results. The routing of the cables can have a big effect too, you may want to experiment with over/under the handlebars. Check with the tank off that they're not pinched under there if you haven't already.

Cheers
Clint