Well, this is overdue. If I’m honest, I was pretty busy trying to get this whole thing together…
First the backstory:
I have been riding the same 2008 KTM 525 XC since I bought it new in March of 2008. It has been a great bike and by the end of 2014, had over 310 hours on the hour meter that I installed the day I brought it home. Unfortunately, time (and 6 years of GNCC racing on the same bike) has a way of getting to things, and most of the bike has been replaced over the years. This meant that every piece of it was a different age and it seemed like I was wearing out something different every race.
Eventually, I decided that I really needed to re-zero the hour meter. But that meant buying a new bike which KTM didn’t make. I did some math and came to a conclusion a lot of folks may find surprising. With my spare parts inventory and the sponsor relationships I have developed over the years, it was much more cost-effective to BUILD a new KTM from scratch than it would have been to do a whole-sale brand change. Especially when you consider that this approach would still leave me with 2 other fully built bikes for backup / practice purposes. Not to mention, I still wholeheartedly believe that this is the best bike our industry ever produced for XC racing.
So, in September of 2014, I bought a new frame and subframe and started laying out a plan and gathering parts. My goal was to build a KTM race quad that would be worthy of the Factory team if it still existed, complete with updated graphics to mimic the look of the current KTM factory race teams. Finally, last Thursday 3/5/2015, I finished it and loaded it and the backup bike up to head to the FL GNCC!
The finished product is all new except for the engine (which I had built from new parts only 16 hours before), the HiPer Wheels, the shocks, the carburetor (which is a low hour FCR MX41), and the Precision Dampener. By the end, leaning heavily on my amazing sponsors I was into the project for significantly less than the MSRP of a 2014 450 sport ATV!
The battery side of my wiring harness. I have a rough time giving someone money for something I think I could do better anyway. Rather than buy an OEM harness and race-gut it, I bought connectors, several crimping tools, and 14 colors of 18ga TXL crosslinked automotive primary wire and built a harness right the first time!
The rectifier side of my wiring harness. This actually runs the bike without the battery side even connected. Meaning even if I lose the key switch, a battery connector, or anything else on the battery side, I can still kick-start the quad and get it running!
A few in-process pics:
2/3/2015
2/14/2015
2/18/2015
And the finished product!
Some Specs:
Chassis | Suspension | Controls:
Frame: OEM KTM
A Arms: Walsh Racecraft Stock-Replacement XC geometry
Swingarm: Walsh Racecraft Strock-Replacement SX geometry
Steering Stem: Walsh Racecraft Stock-replacement +0
Stabilizer: Precision
Axle: OEM KTM
Carrier: OEM KTM
Locknut: Rath Racing Billet
Hubs F|R: OEM KTM / Durablue
Bars: Fasst Flexx
Throttle/Clutch Lever: OEM KTM
Grips: Oury
Nerfs: Rath Racing Competition Series
Bumper: Rath Racing
Grab Bar: OEM KTM
Front Shocks: OEM KTM Ohlins with valving by Rocket Ron Racing
Rear Shock: OEM KTM Ohlins Rocket Ron Racing-modified for SX swingarm
Brake Lines: Streamline Stainless Steel Braided
Rotors F|R: OEM KTM / Galfer Wave Rotor from a Polaris Outlaw 450MXR
Rims F|R: HiPer Tech 3
Tires F|R: GBC X-Rex / GBC Ground Buster II XC
Body:
Plastic: OEM KTM Polisport
Graphics|Seat Cover: Powersports Grafx 2014 RACE kit / OEM KTM SX
Number Backgrounds: Powersports Grafx 2014 RACE kit
Handguards: Cycra Bark Busters
Bar Pad: Fasst Flexx
Fuel Tank: IMS
Engine|Drive System:
Cylinder|Head: OEM KTM
Bore & Stroke: 95mm 12.5:1 Vertex Piston / 72mm stroke 2003 KTM 525 SX “Ultralight” Crank welded pin with Carillo Connecting Rod totale rotating weight reduction of 2.2 lbs
Displacement: 510.4cc
Cam: KTM 8/33
Carburetor: 41mm FCR-MX
Air Filter|Box: OEM KTM
Pipe|Silencer: Blue Annodized Ti FMF Factory 4.1
Clutch|Plates: Hinson Racing BTL Slipper Clutch / OEM KTM Fibers and Steels
Gearing F|R: 14 / 38
CDI|Killswitch: Vortex X10 / OEM KTM
Cooling: OEM KTM radiator with dual fans, custom oil-cooler setup with Jagg cooler and stainless steel braided lines
Other: Antigravity Lithium Ion Batteries, 8-cell primary and a 12-cell kicker, Schumacher Race Works Custom Wiring harness, Brembo Clutch master cylinder, slave cylinder, and rear brake master cylinder, with FASST brake return spring.
I REALLY need to thank all the wonderful people who had a hand in helping me put this thing together… I can’t adequately put into words how excited I am with how it turned out! Check out my Sponsors page for links to the websites for these awesome companies!
HUGE thanks to: Rocket Ron Racing for the amazing suspension work, Walsh Race Craft for the top notch suspension components, FMF Racing for the gorgeous blue Ti pipe, Rath Racing for the sweet and durable nerf bars and bumper, Motorex USA for every fluid I used in it, GBC Motorsports for the awesome tires that hook like nothing else I’ve ridden, IMS Products for the quick-fill tank that gets me in and out of the pits in a hurry, Twin Air High Performance Airfilter Products for protecting the engine, Hinson Clutch Components for the AMAZING BTL slipper clutch,FasstCompany Flexx Handlebars for saving my wrists, ktm-parts.com for getting me a frame and all the other parts to build it, Powersport Grafx for making it look ridiculous,Streamline Brakes for the awesome colored stainless steel braided lines to complete the look, Works Connection for levers and the hour meter, Leatt Protectives for keeping me safe, Towne and Country Real Estate, and Schumacher Race Works LLC.