So I picked up a 15 KTM 450 XCF with a recluse on it. and put money down on 16 timbersled LT kit for when it shows up. Looking for advice on stuff to do to it before the snow flies and be ready to hit the snow.
Summer prep mode
- Thread starter philsummers21
- Start date
C
LED light, because you will not want to quit riding.
That sounds terrible. (well... that it's summer & you can't put the track on NOW I mean! )
The XCF's work really well as is in snow.
Are you doing fixed strut rod or TSS? Is it going to be used in the summer or purely snow? I have a few ideas but really there isn't much your gonna need for that bike in the snow!
Are you doing fixed strut rod or TSS? Is it going to be used in the summer or purely snow? I have a few ideas but really there isn't much your gonna need for that bike in the snow!
Summer and snow. Leaning towards the TSS
R
Go ahead and price out some stiffer front fork springs for the XCF. I don't think the SXF has enough stiffness and it's stiffer than the stock XCF by a good bit. .62's at least if you are +200lbs.
I was curious about the fork springs. I'm a bigger guy at 240 so. It does have Stillwell suspension mods on forks and rear shock. I'll call them about a stiffer spring
R
I'm going to do something around the .65 mark for this next winter. Helps to eliminate diving on downhill descents and also adds a layer of control when railing down the road.
Something to consider is with a TSS you should be able to go a little softer on the forks as with more suspension in the rear it should buck at the front less.
But yes, some .62 fork springs will make your life a LOT nicer in the snow. Just gonna need to swap them back and forth as gets mighty harsh in the summer with snow fork setups. As someone who likes to jump even normal MX bikes with the oil levels higher are to soft for my 155# self.
And I won't call it a necessity by any means but after riding a Seat concepts seat for just 1 ride in snow and a bunch of dirt rides so far, I would say its a nice upgrade. Way nicer on the butt. Especially when its cold and the normal seat is rock hard.
But yes, some .62 fork springs will make your life a LOT nicer in the snow. Just gonna need to swap them back and forth as gets mighty harsh in the summer with snow fork setups. As someone who likes to jump even normal MX bikes with the oil levels higher are to soft for my 155# self.
And I won't call it a necessity by any means but after riding a Seat concepts seat for just 1 ride in snow and a bunch of dirt rides so far, I would say its a nice upgrade. Way nicer on the butt. Especially when its cold and the normal seat is rock hard.
Yeah buddy has a seat concepts seat. Definitely going on my bike
What about a Tstat. Or do you have to chop up the air box or anything along those lines
R
You can chop the box or you can do an intake boot and filter... either way you are going to want to modify it a bit. I'm a fan of hacking the box since the KTM part to replace it is only $45ish. I have one for summer and one for winter and just swap boxes during the change over. Hack out the bottom of the box so the snow falls out and run the pre-filter without the foam.
Tstat is a very good addition along with a temp gauge. The one I like the best so far is the Thermobob TB3 w/ temp gauge threaded insert. Runs about $140. Only run it in the winter and make sure you take it off for summer riding.
Tstat is a very good addition along with a temp gauge. The one I like the best so far is the Thermobob TB3 w/ temp gauge threaded insert. Runs about $140. Only run it in the winter and make sure you take it off for summer riding.
If you do a TSS the hacked box is a must, easiest way is to take out the factory boot and cut most of the airbox way. Then you can just run the pod filter and prefilter that TS provides with their kits. As rush mentioned, just get a spare airbox/number plate assembly. Its kinda lame to swap over but then you have the best of both worlds for snow and then stock for dirt.
The thermo-bob is super nice. Also, What I did is got a spare set of coolant hoses for the summer so I can just swap out the thermostat parts then back to stock in the summer. Quick and easy and not to much dinking around.
Awesome. That's the info I'm looking for. Any more little tricks and add ons
http://shop.watt-man.com/Thermo-Bob-3-for-KTM450-SX-F-XC-F-13-and-up-Husky-FC450-14-TBKT4.htm so this kit. Then I'll need some stock hoses for summer usage.
R
That's the one. Just buy another stock hose since the hack point it right after the bend when it comes out of the frame. I think it's like $12 or around there.
T
Why do you bother removing the thermostat for summer riding?
R
Because the presence of the stat helps to quicken boil overs pretty dramatically. I thought the same thing too... who cares it'll just get to 170 quick and hover there. Not true. Once I ran just an in-line gauge without the stat you'll see how often the bike does drop below 170 in faster sections and between starts... the stat won't allow that to happen and keeps the bike warmer at all times and heats up quicker between starts since it does recirc when closed.
Drop the stat if you ride slow hot days.
Drop the stat if you ride slow hot days.
