I've found more issues with chain snatch during long whoops sections. I go through chains more often then tires on my 300 EXC, which does have a cush clutch but not cush hub. That was with primary drive brand chains. I'm trying out an RK brand to see if it does any better. If that fails then I'll switch lubes. With longer rides (250-300 miles), I got to the point with a primary drive brand chain that it would stretch during the ride to be out of tolerance.

I'm just wondering if a cush hub would save me some cash on chains.

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I think that your chain is too tight. I recall that due to the linkless suspension, you need to give KTMs more slack than the jap bikes.

Yes, it is difficult to get the proper tension on the KTM. I pull my shock and run it through the full range of motion to ensure the proper tension.

Part of the issue is that I have an awesome z sprocket on the rear which is indestructable. It is probably hard on the chain. The other part is that I'm not 100% trusting this lube. I use the honda red can, which is well regarded, but this chain was trash when I was finished with it. It was like a noodle and had very worn rivet internals.

There is no way a 300 should be stretching a 520 chain.....try lots more slack

potatoho said:

I've found more issues with chain snatch during long whoops sections. I go through chains more often then tires on my 300 EXC, which does have a cush clutch but not cush hub. That was with primary drive brand chains. I'm trying out an RK brand to see if it does any better. If that fails then I'll switch lubes. With longer rides (250-300 miles), I got to the point with a primary drive brand chain that it would stretch during the ride to be out of tolerance.

hello girls ! well we will see what this ktm 525 is all about in the next 10 days, tomorrow morning ( 19 feb ) im leaving my home in thailand and going to cambodia first then laos,. ,the bike is an 05 525mxc ( fan and a bigger tank )and this will be my first ride on it, ive done this trip before but on an xr650 ,first thing i noticed is the weight ( lack of ) and that button on the bar that makes the engine go,, heaven ! ,.all in all ill do 3000 miles if all goes well ,spent the day today on maintenace ,you know, polish and stickers etc so should be fine ( gulp ) ,i ran the xr650 out of oil once and stretched the timing chain, so im a bit concerned by the ktms 1.2 litres ., bit concerned about the plank for a seat but i do tend to stand a lot, ,it will be 85 per cent dirt, ill give an honest opinion when ( if ) i return ,.ps how the hell do you add a pic to this ?

Good luck with the trip and do post up when you return. I am contemplating taking my 450 SMR on some or possibly all of the Transamerican trail with the addition of a larger tank, fan and some 17" knobbies. I am curious to see how well everything holds up.

Last things first.....do you have any experience with TireBalls? They are a nightmare to install in a shop environment with 3 mechanics, let alone in TimBukTu with a stick and a rock. Try Bridgestone Ultra Tubes with Tubeless Tire "Slime" in them and Michelin Desert tires (EXTRA PLY SIDEWALL PREVENTS PINCHES)....on a 525 you will have no worries.

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No, no experience with tireballs, they just seem like a good idea, I don't wanna be constantly fixing punctures... the Mondo Enduro guys at one point were fixing myabe 7 punctures per day. Thats just gonna sap strength and morale. I already have Michelin Desert tires... how about those, some 4mm (or are they 5mm?) "monster" inner tubes, and the slime? how much slime do you put in?

DaddyBigDaddy said:

Get a DID VMX Gold X ring chain and never lube it...never! Run stock 15/45 for street and just bring 14 and 13 primary's, no need to swap rear. Start with an Ironman or SideWinder Tri-metal 45 Rear...they will last 10k miles!

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Excellent. Thanks for the recommendation :)
How many miles would you expect the chain to last? or just change it at the same time the rear sprocket gets changed? May have to mail a few chain and sprocket sets (hmm... and inners/repair kits too) ahead of me.... or leave instructions for them to be mailed at specific times.

DaddyBigDaddy said:

The HT is overkill.....the LC4 motor is only .25 liters more in oil capacity and 20% larger in displacement. Use Motul Synthetic 300V Double Ester 15/50 - I have run these set-ups in every RFS, LC4 and LC8 Baja bike we have built for the last 5 years without one failure.

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Maybe overkill, maybe not. I'm prepared to pay the $400 for the peace of mind. After all, I think I'm already asking a lot of this bike for it to take me 40,000 miles! besides, how often am I gonna come across high quality oil? if I have more of it onboard, then theoretically, I can go longer between oil changes, right?

hello girls ! well we will see what this ktm 525 is all about in the next 10 days, tomorrow morning ( 19 feb ) im leaving my home in thailand and going to cambodia first then laos,. ,the bike is an 05 525mxc ( fan and a bigger tank )and this will be my first ride on it, ive done this trip before but on an xr650 ,first thing i noticed is the weight ( lack of ) and that button on the bar that makes the engine go,, heaven ! ,.all in all ill do 3000 miles if all goes well ,spent the day today on maintenace ,you know, polish and stickers etc so should be fine ( gulp ) ,i ran the xr650 out of oil once and stretched the timing chain, so im a bit concerned by the ktms 1.2 litres ., bit concerned about the plank for a seat but i do tend to stand a lot, ,it will be 85 per cent dirt, ill give an honest opinion when ( if ) i return ,.ps how the hell do you add a pic to this ?

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Excellent! I guess its already tomorrow over on Thailand now, so maybe I won't get a response to this, but is your bike modified in any way?

Oh yes, the 525 is SO light. Lighter even than a DR350 or XR400... which is pretty cool

I'll be very interested to hear how you find the bike for such a long journey. Hopefully if you find anything that really causes problems I'll be able to fix it on my bike before I do a similarly large journey at the end of March.

I guess between the two of us, we should be able to prove whether or not these bikes can hold up to distances like that!

BTW - STAND! that seat is a bitch. I rode my 525 back home (on the road) after I bought it. About a 3 hour journey - my arse was still hurting a week later!

PotatoHo- those Primary Drive chains are shit. I think once you upgrade to a nicer quality chain you will agree with me on that one.

I also switched to a steel 50 tooth rear sprocket. Those aluminum ones wear too damned fast for my taste.

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I'm inclined to believe you. I've run about 3 of them and was the same each time. Basically they would be OK for a few rides, but once they started going they went very fast. So far so good with the RK. Had a long ride today.

If you want a long lasting rear steel sprocket, try the Sunnex (Sunstar) Z Sprocket. Weird circular saw looking thing. I've not worn one of them out yet. I got it from ktm-parts for $35. It comes with special bolts but no nuts. Have to use your old nuts. I use a moose front sprocket.

The seal on my 2003 EXC shock started leaking, so I bought a used 2004 SX shock with some race-tech mods (P20 spring, different bladder etc). This thing is pretty cool! Not sure about the mods, but the SX shock is trick because it has both a low speed and high speed compression setting. So you can set a nice and plush low speed compression which actually works great on the street, and then have the high speed compression set for the harder stuff.

This thread is great. I'm in the process of doing the homework to decide what my next direction will be. The real reason for some one like me to do a 525 ADV is that building the damn thing will be as fun if not more fun than actualy riding it. I'll be out of med school and working full time in orange county by the end of the summer and I'll FINALY have the money to do this stuff! But that 690 sure sounds tempting. Both mabey!?

If you want a long lasting rear steel sprocket, try the Sunnex (Sunstar) Z Sprocket. Weird circular saw looking thing. I've not worn one of them out yet. I got it from ktm-parts for $35. It comes with special bolts but no nuts. Have to use your old nuts. I use a moose front sprocket.

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I'll have to check out that sprocket on the next go-round. Thanks for the tip.

OK--got the hot scoop on the rear wheel: get the LC4 wheel for an '02 thru '05. Get the matching backing plate. The part number ends in 144. The other two plates that end in 044 and 344 have the support bearing in the wrong location for our RFS needs.

Assemble with lots of silicon or soap on the rubbers. Put the tire (or rim) on a couple of 2x4 hunks of wood to protect the brake rotor. Then get on the sprocket and bounce up and down until the hub seats in the wheel. You will hear an audible "splork" as it goes together. It will then fit in the RFS swing arm with ease. It will not until you jump on it. This is the secret KTM tool to mounting this wheel.

I have had great luck with the trackmaster chains. They last and are fairly inexpensive. I have my 525 geared 15/52 for all around riding. When I do technical off road I can put on a 14 and just flip the rear axle blocks to pull the wheel back and I am good to go.

hello girls ! well we will see what this ktm 525 is all about in the next 10 days, tomorrow morning ( 19 feb ) im leaving my home in thailand and going to cambodia first then laos,. ,the bike is an 05 525mxc ( fan and a bigger tank )and this will be my first ride on it, ive done this trip before but on an xr650 ,first thing i noticed is the weight ( lack of ) and that button on the bar that makes the engine go,, heaven ! ,.all in all ill do 3000 miles if all goes well ,spent the day today on maintenace ,you know, polish and stickers etc so should be fine ( gulp ) ,i ran the xr650 out of oil once and stretched the timing chain, so im a bit concerned by the ktms 1.2 litres ., bit concerned about the plank for a seat but i do tend to stand a lot, ,it will be 85 per cent dirt, ill give an honest opinion when ( if ) i return ,.ps how the hell do you add a pic to this ?
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Hey there Mike. A fellow Thailand off-roader here. I saw you selling the bike on GT-Rider, i did not know if it was plated or not. Can you cross borders with that 525?

Luckily for 85 baht you can get the oil changed anywhere . I Hope you post a report on this site and also GT-Riders when/if you get back. Starting to get hot over there now so stay hydrated. Good luck.

OK--got the hot scoop on the rear wheel: get the LC4 wheel for an '02 thru '05. Get the matching backing plate. The part number ends in 144. The other two plates that end in 044 and 344 have the support bearing in the wrong location for our RFS needs.

Assemble with lots of silicon or soap on the rubbers. Put the tire (or rim) on a couple of 2x4 hunks of wood to protect the brake rotor. Then get on the sprocket and bounce up and down until the hub seats in the wheel. You will hear an audible "splork" as it goes together. It will then fit in the RFS swing arm with ease. It will not until you jump on it. This is the secret KTM tool to mounting this wheel.

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Thanks Stu. I confirmed the part numbers Andy supplied with Pat at Dirt Works, who is a really helpfull guy - sorted me out with everything I need, and at a really great price too

I'll fit according to your instructions when it arrives... I'll let you all know how I get on

Attached Files:

I used the old style switch (from an LC4) in order to have an off position. The KTM switch looks like it is off the 950. The new switch is wired from hot to the taillight/running light. The new switch has a passing flasher switch, probably required, but with a 35/35W bulb who are they kidding? The new switch has a plastic pin locating it on a hole in the handlebar making moving it to install brush guards difficult. If you cut the pin off the switch rotates on the handlebar. The old LC4 switch locks down securely without a pin. It plugged right in. It also has a kill button which you could wire for a passing switch or as a second kill switch.
Stu

Attached Files:

I used the Cycra adapters for the Enduro Engineering brush guards to have clearance for the cables in case of a crash and in the event that the guards might rotate some. Tearing off hydraulic lines is no fun....
Stu