KTM 500 EXC

[FrontRangeRider]

After getting the Tenere, I remembered how much I liked serious dirt riding. I wanted a KTM or Husqvarna but bought a Yamaha WR450F because it was a less expensive choice. After a season of riding it, I realized the WR was a great bike but it felt strained at highway speeds, connecting the dots between great trails. Given the distances between places I want to explore, I decided to bite the bullet and to buy what I wanted in the first place. The attached photo is my new 2016 KTM 500 EXC. Initial impressions after two short rides are that the KTM has more power across the range and that it is definitely more relaxed riding in the 55-65 mph range on the highway. The ergonomics when sitting are good but standing doesn't feel quite right. I had done a lot of tweaking on the WR to make it fit; I'll need some trail time on the EXC to do the same.

I need to do the first oil change tomorrow and have a trail ride planned for Thursday. The area where we are going (I've not been there before) is advertised as moderately technical. I'll post my impressions/ ride report some time this weekend.

 

[True Grip]

Very nice FRR!! Extremely jealous of your riding opportunities and what a great bike to explore one.

 

[greg the pole]

Tasty!

I started riding off road last year..not sure why I didn't get into it sooner.
The closest true dirt riding spot from my place is about 45 minutes from door to door, so I trailer.
I stared last year on a used exc-r 450. The first few rides I proceeded to break: both mirrors, all turn signals, tail light, and drove into a few trees ::013::
I realized that I don't need a plated bike, and started having second thoughts on the 450.
This January I sold the 450, and bought a second hand 2011 XC300 smoker. I am happy with this bike. I considered a used 2010 and up YZ450, but made the right call not to buy a motocross bike, and attempt to convert it to a trail bike.

Now...if I can only stop spending money at Slavens.. ::010::

more ramblings and pics here..
https://www.dropbox.com/s/awhuaihi7h9beut/2016-03-27%2012.08.28.jpg?dl=0

https://thetenerist.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/my-new-found-love/

 

[FrontRangeRider]

Regarding Slavens: yes, I know the shop is going to be a regular destination. I was in there today buying radiator guards (Bullet Proof Designs). Installed them this afternoon; they were an easy addition.

Depending on where I'm going and who I am going with (SWMBO doesn't like to ride her XT250 too far on the road), I either ride there or trailer the bike/bikes. The main reason the plated bike appeals to me is that some of the adventure rides here are single or multi-day rides that require a plate to get from one great section of dirt to the next. I also plan to ride the White Rim trail in UT this year and that requires a plated bike.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Congrats...it's a beast. Years ago I had the KTM520 EXC. Watch out for those unexpected 4th gear wheelies. They do sneak up on you sometimes.

Enjoy, and hold on tight.

 

[FrontRangeRider]

Thanks, DD. Was your 520 stock or did you add other maps? My salesman thought I should add the ignition map switch and at least add the EU map to the ECU. I don't plan on doing that until I have a bunch of miles and enough experience to decide whether I need that much excitement. ::025::

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Thanks, DD. Was your 520 stock or did you add other maps?

My bike was not FI, so I only used maps to know where I was going. ;D

I bought it used, but as far as I know it was stock. The thing was definitely too much of a beast for me here in the tight confines of the east coast. Great in the morning, dangerous when you're getting tired in the later afternoon. Sometimes more power is actually a bad thing. If you have wide open spaces out there it's probably one of the greatest bikes you could ever have. It's such a well designed bike. I compare every other dirt bike I've ridden to my old KTM. Those others always come up short.

 

[greg the pole]

Regarding Slavens: yes, I know the shop is going to be a regular destination. I was in there today buying radiator guards (Bullet Proof Designs). Installed them this afternoon; they were an easy addition.

Depending on where I'm going and who I am going with (SWMBO doesn't like to ride her XT250 too far on the road), I either ride there or trailer the bike/bikes. The main reason the plated bike appeals to me is that some of the adventure rides here are single or multi-day rides that require a plate to get from one great section of dirt to the next. I also plan to ride the White Rim trail in UT this year and that requires a plated bike.

good and bad to be local to Slavens. I make my list, and buy in large quantities to save on shipping.

BTW how does it work in the US regarding off road bikes? I'd like to make it to Utah in the winter this year, and plan to bring the tenere with knobbies, and my xc300 (front light, rear light, plate) down. By Alberta standards, it's legal to ride on designated trails/areas, but not street legal...

 

[FrontRangeRider]

Colorado is pretty mellow regarding licensing dirt bikes. Working headlight, tail light/ brake light, horn, mirror and DOT tires and you can even register it. I don't know about Utah but my guess is that if you have a license plate on it, no one is going to give you any grief. I did a quick search but the info at the UT DMV is a bit confusing since it mentions dirt bikes on this page: http://dmv.utah.gov/vehicles/atvs-dirt-bikes but when you follow the link, it only talks about ATVs. Suggest you call Jim at Dual Sport UT in Moab, UT. He is a great guy and if anyone knows the answer to your question, he will. His number is 435-260-2724 and his email address is: dualsportuth@hotmail.com.

 

[FrontRangeRider]

My bike was not FI, so I only used maps to know where I was going. ;D

I bought it used, but as far as I know it was stock. The thing was definitely too much of a beast for me here in the tight confines of the east coast. Great in the morning, dangerous when you're getting tired in the later afternoon. Sometimes more power is actually a bad thing. If you have wide open spaces out there it's probably one of the greatest bikes you could ever have. It's such a well designed bike. I compare every other dirt bike I've ridden to my old KTM. Those others always come up short.

Good answer about the maps.

The bike will likely be a bit less of a beast here at altitude. The local BMW crowd always talk about how much power their bikes gain when they ride down to lower elevations. We lose about 3% air per thousand feet of elevation so I am down 24% as I leave my driveway. I am also considering a Rekluse clutch with a LHRB, thinking that when the fatigue starts to set in, the smoother power delivery won't hurt (and the LHRB makes up for no engine braking).

 

[greg the pole]

Colorado is pretty mellow regarding licensing dirt bikes. Working headlight, tail light/ brake light, horn, mirror and DOT tires and you can even register it. I don't know about Utah but my guess is that if you have a license plate on it, no one is going to give you any grief. I did a quick search but the info at the UT DMV is a bit confusing since it mentions dirt bikes on this page: http://dmv.utah.gov/vehicles/atvs-dirt-bikes but when you follow the link, it only talks about ATVs. Suggest you call Jim at Dual Sport UT in Moab, UT. He is a great guy and if anyone knows the answer to your question, he will. His number is 435-260-2724 and his email address is: dualsportuth@hotmail.com.

Beauty!

thanks for that. Will email him, and ask.
was the email dualsporttruth@hotmail.com?

the one you mentioned was not recognized,

thanks,

Greg

 

[FrontRangeRider]

Sorry for my bad typing. The address is: dualsportutah@hotmail.com.

Had the KTM out yesterday for my first day of trail riding. A friend took me to a new riding area for me; a private (for fee) riding area that has a 7 mile loop. The course is a singletrack with lots of big whoops, banked turns, sand and tight trees. We did four laps with a rest period in between each lap. My slowest lap was 32 minutes; best lap was 27.5 minutes. My buddy was on a KTM 200 2T (his best lap was 22 minutes); he thinks the 500 is on the heavy side for this course. That is probably true because there were lots of times a lighter bike would have been nice but the bike was awesome in every way and as expected, is way better than I am. With no adjustments, the suspension works great. The front suspension tracked straight over logs, rocks and edges that would have pushed my forks left and right on the WR and the back end gave consistent, good traction regardless of the surface. Given the low end torque of the engine, the bike just goes and goes, in spite of poor throttle - clutch coordination on my part. With three hours on the engine now, it is definitely showing its muscle. I did pretty well on throttle control through the day except for lap three. I was getting tired, lost good body position in a whoop and grabbed a handful of throttle. Needless to say, I rode through the next whoop or two on the back tire. ::025::

I can't say enough about how much I like the bike after yesterday's ride. That is the the tightest place I've ridden and I was able to keep it on the trail and consistently make it go where I wanted it to go. If the weather will cooperate (and we avoid the snow and rain in the forecast), I'll get another ride within the week. ::012::

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I was getting tired, lost good body position in a whoop and grabbed a handful of throttle. Needless to say, I rode through the next whoop or two on the back tire. ::025::

Been there, done that. ???

Sounds like a great place to ride. You'll enjoy the hell out of that bike. Have fun, stay safe.

 

[True Grip]

Looking good FRR! Throttle control is something I haven't mastered on my little 2 stroke.

 

[greg the pole]

Looking good FRR! Throttle control is something I haven't mastered on my little 2 stroke.

speaking of thottle control.
I just installed a 10% faster throttle cam and tube on my xc300. Amazing difference from the stock set up.
In the lower power map (the only one I ride, as I couldn't use the full balls of the 300) the front end picks up on throttle alone.

this is great for logs, and tight stuff where I can't be bothered to worry about the clutch. That said, you have to cover the clutch and rear brake, as the thing wheelies everywhere..

Last June, I had a bitch of a time with this section on my 450 exc. Doing much much better now
https://www.dropbox.com/s/b1zr8zux87zdb41/2016-04-10%2021.06.45.mp4?dl=0

 

[FrontRangeRider]

Nicely done!

 

[FrontRangeRider]

Congrats...it's a beast. Years ago I had the KTM520 EXC. Watch out for those unexpected 4th gear wheelies. They do sneak up on you sometimes.

Enjoy, and hold on tight.

Amen, Brother. After 400+ miles, I can confirm that this thing is a beast. I survived a couple of single track rides and decided I needed some help with throttle control. My learning curve was not going to spin up fast enough to prevent bad things happening. I added a Rekluse clutch and a Throttle Tamer; it is still very much a beast, the monster just comes out at a different spot in the throttle spin. Getting over the log obstacles on my neighbor's enduro track just requires a slightly heavier hand on the throttle. The throttle tamer increases the pull later in the throttle roll so that you still have full range of throttle. When you hit that spot in the throttle roll on, if not careful, the back end breaks loose or the front end gets very light very quickly. It is truly a beautiful thing...

The only downside I have found to this bike is that now the S10 feels heavy when I am turning it around in the garage when going for a ride.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Glad you are enjoying it. I promise it's a bike that will never leave you. Every bike I've ever owned since my EXC is compared to my EXC. There have been untold countless times that I've nailed the throttle on some other bike and dreamed it would just lift up and fly the way the EXC did. They never do. It's true I remember both the good and the bad about that bike, but I really, really miss the good.

Keep enjoying while it's in your inventory. It truly is a great bike. ::008::

 

[decooney]

Amen, Brother. After 400+ miles, I can confirm that this thing is a beast. I survived a couple of single track rides and decided I needed some help with throttle control. My learning curve was not going to spin up fast enough to prevent bad things happening. I added a Rekluse clutch and a Throttle Tamer; it is still very much a beast, the monster just comes out at a different spot in the throttle spin. Getting over the log obstacles on my neighbor's enduro track just requires a slightly heavier hand on the throttle. The throttle tamer increases the pull later in the throttle roll so that you still have full range of throttle. When you hit that spot in the throttle roll on, if not careful, the back end breaks loose or the front end gets very light very quickly. It is truly a beautiful thing...

The only downside I have found to this bike is that now the S10 feels heavy when I am turning it around in the garage when going for a ride.

FrontRangeRider,
Congratulations. Yep, the perfect combo 500/1200 for the best of both ends of the spectrum. Just gotta love it. Every other weekend is either Husky 501S (KTM 500) for dirt or 1200 Tenere for road. A few guys I ride with also have the 500 EXCs or Husky 501S and Tenere or 1200 combo. We ride the 500s on single track and open stuff but use the Tenere's for mild offroad and more for multi-day paved road trips. ie.. keeping knobbys on the 500s and more road oriented tires on the 1200 Tenere's. Most of the guys in our group who were true dirt riders are back to splitting the difference with 800 ADV solo bikes and since moved to the same 500/1200 two bike combo. Note: once your 500 breaks in a little more, try the 400 cam on the G2 throttle tamer and get the euro remap on the ECU (smooths out throttle even more) and with that Rekluse you will be set. The amazing thing about the 500s once you get use to it is they have so much torque it can just chug right up steep loose stuff and sort of like cheating. ::001:: Enjoy!

 

[FrontRangeRider]

decooney - You are right on the money. The S10 and the 500 cc dirt bike are the perfect combo and (for me) the closest I'll ever get to the perfect stable. Tenere for the highway and mild off-road; KTM for everything else. I put the 4.1 gal tank on the 500 so I can easily do the various backcountry discovery routes and plan to over the next few years. If I pack light, it even works as a lightweight dual sporter.