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Setting up the 300 XC for snow

S
Feb 24, 2016
194
145
43
WA
I have the SX head and ignition, PC2, Avid heater and Thermostat and by far hands down the best thing i did to my bike is add a Lectron.

My fuel mileage is now as good and sometimes better then a FI 450. It starts first kick no choke all summer and first or 2nd kick with choke no matter what the temperature in the winter. it came all setup bench flowed and i bolted it on and have not touched a single adjustment(there aren't many) on it since. you also can you use it all summer as the MPG gains are worth it alone.

It would be my first purchase after a heater and thermostat.


Do you run the same fuel rod winter and summer? I have mine all tuned up for summer riding with a 3-2m and wondering if I need to change anything for winter.
 

Clay911

Member
Lifetime Membership
Aug 22, 2010
53
20
8
Alberta
That is the only change for winter is the fuel rod. i dont remember off the top of my head the # but call Lectron and explain your mods and they will set you a rod up for winter.
 
M

mxracer299

Well-known member
Nov 24, 2010
173
119
43
Great Falls, MT
I have 2 dirt and snow seasons on my modded 300. Here's what I have settled on for a setup. Porting and head cut, 42 thousandths squish, any less and you will need race fuel and lose over rev. Scalavini pipe, it works waaay better than any other pipe, I have tried pretty much every one. Boyseen rad valve and pro series reeds. Modified exhaust manifold, weld up the top outside so you can grind out the inside enough to match ports. 38mm carb, 40mm works but you lose too much bottom IMO, every brand has its quirks... lectron, kehin, smart carb. SX ignition makes a noticeable difference, comes on quicker and revs faster, if it doesn't add hp the seat of the pants feel sure doesnt agree. Another thing to not over look is your spark plug, the br7 is too hot with the sx ignition on a mod motor, I've had really good luck with the br8eix plug, it's easier to get my jetting consistent and works well in dirt too, I don't like the br7 in high rev environments. Red PV spring. This setup has outrun pretty much every 450 I've run it against! As far as the 330 kit vs 300, the 330 pulls noticeably harDer off the bottom and the 300 pulls harder on top. I don't know which is better but I wouldn't go 330 unless I burnt a cylinder, the other downfall of the 330 is it vibrates a lot. After riding a lot of 300s in every configuration possible it's pretty apparent that if you do a few of the mods it doesn't do much. An engine is an air pump with 3 stages, intake, combustion and exhaust, if you don't increase the amount of air in all three places you just aren't going to gain much efficiency. Good luck!

Ooh and one more thing, run an EGT Guage! It will make life a lot easier, I've ran stock carbs with JD reccomendations, lectron and smart carb, none of their reccomended setups were close, some of them were off far enough to burn up a motor in the first full pull. Figure on spending the first few rides getting a baseline setting, carbs take work, especially on a modded bike, every bike and every environment has a different setup.
 

wwillf01

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Aug 12, 2012
2,790
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Heber Ut
I have 2 dirt and snow seasons on my modded 300. Here's what I have settled on for a setup. Porting and head cut, 42 thousandths squish, any less and you will need race fuel and lose over rev. Scalavini pipe, it works waaay better than any other pipe, I have tried pretty much every one. Boyseen rad valve and pro series reeds. Modified exhaust manifold, weld up the top outside so you can grind out the inside enough to match ports. 38mm carb, 40mm works but you lose too much bottom IMO, every brand has its quirks... lectron, kehin, smart carb. SX ignition makes a noticeable difference, comes on quicker and revs faster, if it doesn't add hp the seat of the pants feel sure doesnt agree. Red PV spring. This setup has outrun pretty much every 450 I've run it against! As far as the 330 kit vs 300, the 330 pulls noticeably harDer off the bottom and the 300 pulls harder on top. I don't know which is better but I wouldn't go 330 unless I burnt a cylinder, the other downfall of the 330 is it vibrates a lot. After riding a lot of 300s in every configuration possible it's pretty apparent that if you do a few of the mods it doesn't do much. An engine is an air pump with 3 stages, intake, combustion and exhaust, if you don't increase the amount of air in all three places you just aren't going to gain much efficiency. Good luck!

Ooh and one more thing, run an EGT Guage! It will make life a lot easier, I've ran stock carbs with JD reccomendations, lectron and smart carb, none of their reccomended setups were close, some of them were off far enough to burn up a motor in the first full pull. Figure on spending the first few rides getting a baseline setting, carbs take work, especially on a modded bike, every bike and every environment has a different setup.

Egt= happy life.. Most people will never know how good their engine could run without it... I was in that group...


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M

mxracer299

Well-known member
Nov 24, 2010
173
119
43
Great Falls, MT
There's 4 300s in my group, I have a sxlt and every other one is a LT. It will turn a LT just fine. On hardpack my won't hook up until 4th gear, it's amazing that a 300 will struggle for traction with a lt, they hit hard! My girlfriends bike is a 300 with sx ignition, PC pipe and stock carb with a LT, it lacks a little power but it works surprisingly well! If you cut the head, PC pipe and 38mm carb you'll be right with 450s pretty much all the time.
 
T
Aug 12, 2008
74
15
8
Misery Bay, MI
I run pretty much what everyone else has said. Gore head, 38mm carb, I run the FMF fatty, carb warmer, red spring 1 turn in. The SX CDI is designed to run with the 250SX crank and 300 conversion which is lighter than the stock 300XC crank. The factory team KTM techs say a xc will run better on the XC box and I'd have to agree. But they do rip and easy to maintain! I have a lectron on order and it should make it more consistant.
 
M

mxracer299

Well-known member
Nov 24, 2010
173
119
43
Great Falls, MT
I started with a 250 xc which supposedly has the same bottom end as the 250 sx. Maybe it works better because of that. I know mine has a different crank, it spins up faster and vibrates less than any 300 I've been on. I've rode all of 40-50 300s over the years.

I am back to a kehin on mine for dirt, took all of 30 minutes to make it run right with the JD needle, I couldn't ever get the smart carb to run lean enough on bottom without getting too lean on top. Mileage is king on dirt, most of our rides are 70-80 miles and the extra fuel is needed for my chainsaw, it goes everywhere with me. I have mine setup borderline lean at 3500' and haven't had any issues riding over 10,000ft, the stock.carbs actually work pretty damn good.
 
G
Dec 20, 2007
1,941
864
113
Three Forks, MT
Thanks for the info guys.

So the verdict is skip the SX CDI?

I was thinking I would do a top end in it (unknown hours on it) and have slavens cut the head while its off.

I was leaning towards the Pro Circuit pipe. Worth the money?
 
T
Aug 12, 2008
74
15
8
Misery Bay, MI
I started with a 250 xc which supposedly has the same bottom end as the 250 sx. Maybe it works better because of that. I know mine has a different crank, it spins up faster and vibrates less than any 300 I've been on. I've rode all of 40-50 300s over the years.

I am back to a kehin on mine for dirt, took all of 30 minutes to make it run right with the JD needle, I couldn't ever get the smart carb to run lean enough on bottom without getting too lean on top. Mileage is king on dirt, most of our rides are 70-80 miles and the extra fuel is needed for my chainsaw, it goes everywhere with me. I have mine setup borderline lean at 3500' and haven't had any issues riding over 10,000ft, the stock.carbs actually work pretty damn good.

I've found the stock carb works great one minute but as soon as it changes in temp or humidity even snow buildup on the intake the motor loses its edge and flattens out, its more noticeable with 50hp than with 150 on a sled... Im hoping the Lectron will make it work more consistent. For the dirt I have no complaints with the keihin JD has it dialled for sure.
 

wwillf01

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Aug 12, 2012
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Heber Ut
Thanks for the info guys.

So the verdict is skip the SX CDI?

I was thinking I would do a top end in it (unknown hours on it) and have slavens cut the head while its off.

I was leaning towards the Pro Circuit pipe. Worth the money?
This is my 2 cents. I would send the head and cylinder off to get ported by Eric Gore mo betta it will make a much bigger difference than just the head I've done both. As far as the SX ECU I find that it gives you a greater RPM range and a better seat-of-the-pants feel but it could match my porting better.
I've found the stock carb works great one minute but as soon as it changes in temp or humidity even snow buildup on the intake the motor loses its edge and flattens out, its more noticeable with 50hp than with 150 on a sled... Im hoping the Lectron will make it work more consistent. For the dirt I have no complaints with the keihin JD has it dialled for sure.


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wwillf01

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Aug 12, 2012
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Heber Ut
Any other recommendations?

Make sure if you go with a metered carb with heat.. that you have a switch for the carb heat to shut off... I find turning it on when needed works way better than depending on the stat... when the meter carbs get to hot it affects how they run... at least that is my experience. It will affect the idle on the low end.


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BigAir

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Nov 26, 2007
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Montana
I am setting up my '07 300 XC-W as a snow bike this year. Does anyone know if there are any significant differences between an '07 and the newer 300s (besides the electric start and 6th gear)?
 

wwillf01

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Aug 12, 2012
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Heber Ut
I am setting up my '07 300 XC-W as a snow bike this year. Does anyone know if there are any significant differences between an '07 and the newer 300s (besides the electric start and 6th gear)?

The 07 should be a better porting/power combo for snowbiking..... they normally have more of a hit..
 
G
Dec 20, 2007
1,941
864
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Three Forks, MT
I am setting up my '07 300 XC-W as a snow bike this year. Does anyone know if there are any significant differences between an '07 and the newer 300s (besides the electric start and 6th gear)?

Personally I would not want the 5 speed W tranny for snow. I rode an 09 300 XC-W for a while in the dirt and did not like the gappy tranny at all.

I personally would rather have the 5 speed SX tranny over my 6 speed XC tranny in mine but they haven't offered that since 09.
 
G
Dec 20, 2007
1,941
864
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Three Forks, MT
Jetting for 6-9k with the Keihin?

I run a 38 pilot, NECJ needle in the 2nd clip and 152 main in the summer.

I was thinking 40 or 42 pilot, move the clip up a notch, and 168 main for snow?
 
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