Any issues with 98/99 KTM 200's

kadman

Member
Mar 14, 2000
25
0
Am looking at used KTM 200 EXC's and was wondering if the 1998 and 1999 bikes had any known problems. Are the engines still basically the same? Thanks in advance for the help.
 

GlennP

Member
Jun 6, 2000
311
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'98 PDS suspension was very harsh and hard to fix completely, forks were over sprung. '99 PDS was redesigned and much better.
 

JEFF SAND

Member
May 24, 2001
21
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Jetting

I bought a 98 and the jetting was so bad that the both original owner and the second owner hated the bike. It worked out good for me because the bike was only ridden 4 times. The stock jetting can be atrocious. Check holeshot's jetting forum for advice there
Suspension was off, but was upgraded to better than the 99 by AFTERSHOCKS in Palo Alto
If the price is right you could have a diamond in the rough. Make sure you get a discount for inevitable mods
 

haloboy

Member
Dec 4, 2001
19
0
99/98 exc200

I had a 99 exc200 the jetting was not so good off the bottom. what I did was replace the stock slide (#6) with a#7.It was toooo rich I also raised the clip one position (leaned it out.) from what the chart recommended .this made the bike run great! the forks were a little soft I put one .42 in and one .38 (stock) this stopped the diving and under stearing.the head shake was cured by a dampner.from 98 to 99 the engines were the same.
I hope my 2002 exc is just as good.
 

GBKTM

Member
Nov 13, 2001
22
0
I have a 99 and really like it. no problems at all to speak of.
the dents in the pipe I put there myself:)
my jetting seemed to be way off when it was new but improved after break in. I dropped the needle one clip and thats all. never have fouled a plug even. best bike I have owned yet.:)
 

cww

Member
Jan 30, 2001
2
0
dont buy a 98 or 99 200; there were factory defects in the cylinders in many of these bikes; both myself and another rider i know hadd the same mysterious cracks appear in the cylinder walls that could not be repaired. We both had to replace the cylinders which was big $ and a big wait. In addition, the piston on his split completely in half with 2 hours on the bike;. the pistons were known to have casting flaws as well. buy a 2000 or later, apparantly they are nickel coating the cylinders now; and dont ever buy a KTM oem piston as they are still cast; wiseco ones are forged.
 

Strick

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Nov 8, 1999
1,782
2
Originally posted by cww
dont buy a 98 or 99 200; there were factory defects in the cylinders in many of these bikes; both myself and another rider i know hadd the same mysterious cracks appear in the cylinder walls that could not be repaired. We both had to replace the cylinders which was big $ and a big wait. In addition, the piston on his split completely in half with 2 hours on the bike;. the pistons were known to have casting flaws as well. buy a 2000 or later, apparantly they are nickel coating the cylinders now; and dont ever buy a KTM oem piston as they are still cast; wiseco ones are forged.

Stop It!

I have a buddy with a '99 200 that has close to 3000 miles on the orginal top end. Another 'top ten' desert racer here ran his 200 two full seasons of racing; two top end replacements - no cylinder issues.

The only issue I am aware of is the '98 recall on the rear shock. They are great bikes and LOTS of fun!! Good LucK
 

Wolf

doooode
Jul 31, 2000
2,487
1
Originally posted by cww
dont buy a 98 or 99 200; there were factory defects in the cylinders in many of these bikes; both myself and another rider i know hadd the same mysterious cracks appear in the cylinder walls that could not be repaired. We both had to replace the cylinders which was big $ and a big wait. In addition, the piston on his split completely in half with 2 hours on the bike;. the pistons were known to have casting flaws as well. buy a 2000 or later, apparantly they are nickel coating the cylinders now; and dont ever buy a KTM oem piston as they are still cast; wiseco ones are forged.

I have a 99 (250)with no problems, a few riding buddies have 98/99 200's with no problems.
 
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KDX220rm

Uhhh...
Jun 3, 2002
782
0
Examine the heim bearing housing to see if the ridge in the mudflag has cut a deep groove in the housing which ends up knocking the bearing out.
 

lawman

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Sep 20, 1999
764
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my '98 200 is going strong with its 5th owner; it's had numerous top ends & 1 top & bottom rebuild after MANY thousands of hard miles, with numerous races. the jetting was rich off the bottom, the #7 slide cured that. the shock valving was bad, but no big deal to fix. the conv. fork is great at low speeds, but flexes some & is not as good as the usd at hard, hi-speed hits. for really tight, low-speed woods work, the '98 is prob. better than a new 1. i read that the internals should be hard anodized (pretty cheap), but i don't know much about that. i liked the '98 so well, i bought a 2000. i've put 2 oem pistons in it. i've never had nor heard of any cylinder or piston problems with either bike, exc. maybe the occaisional defective part, as you'd expect on any mass-produced item. ktm is imo very good about warranty claims, even on older bikes. they fixed my '98's shock under warranty even tho there was nothing mechanically wrong with it & even tho i bought the bike used.
 
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cww

Member
Jan 30, 2001
2
0
Re: have a buddy with a '99 200 that has close to 3000 miles on the orginal top end

That's imposible with this bike. it's basically a 125 motor and no motor that size has that kind of durability.
 

Strick

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Nov 8, 1999
1,782
2
AND the compression in July '01 was 182!!!

I am not asking you to believe it. The owner is mid 50's and does not race. Good rider, but never abuses the bike.

Impossible Huh?
 

JEFF SAND

Member
May 24, 2001
21
0
Not possible? With KTM it is

My wife's '99 KTM 200 easily has 3000 miles on the original top end. and it still has good compression. I know what you are talking about, my CR 125 it would start to feel weak 4 rides after a top end job. KTMs are in a whole other league in terms of miles before needing a top end. Sure if you want absolute peak performance...rebuild
 

marcusgunby

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jan 9, 2000
6,450
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KTM pistons vary between years-the 99 125sx had a cast piston/the 00 had a forged but the 01 cames with a vertex cast-you cant say all KTMs come with a cast or forged because it is not the case.
 
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