Few KTM 300 Questions...

[Bill Hibbs]

Just a few questions:

1. Is it true that they somehow cut back on some of the vibration on the 00 models? If so how did they do this? The vibration doesn't really bother me but is it possibly a sign of worn engine mounts or crank bearings or do they all vibrate a little more than most?

2. When I put my bike on the kickstand overnight oil is seeping out of the counter shaft seal but not when it's on the stand. Is this something I should be concerned about? How involved is it to change this seal?

3. The bike is running great and the plug appears to be jetted properly but the air screw is almost all the way in. It needs to be there for it to idle correctly. The only reason I'm asking is because I've heard these things a little hard to jet. Do you think a little bigger pilot jet would help? It idles pretty good now, it may want to "race" a little when I'm idleing down a hill or something. What pilot jets are you guys running? Do you have your air screws 1 1/2 turns out?

Other than these little things I'm loving the bike.

Thanks,

 

[Strick]

1. Define 'most', but yes they do vibrate, including the '00.

2. On some bikes you can carefully remove the seal from the outside of the bike,and replace, others you can't. I have never tried it on my 300. Maybe someone else can help here.

3. Sounds like a lean - run on condition. Could be pilot, could be needle. Bill, jetting is altitude, temperature, and humidity specific. You will need to let us know what YOUR current jetting specs are, along with the above info. in order to comment. I repeat this all the time, I rejet my bike 4 times a year!

 

[PaulXR]

Bill Hibbs, The vibs are just a way of life on ANY big bore 2 stroke, check the motor mounts just to be sure, the one near the top of the engine can get loose.

2. The oil leak is due to the fact that the front sprocket has a rubber "O" ring to seal it and this ring is either worn, dirty, harded, or you have replaced the front sprocket and the thickness is not the same as a stocker. KTM's have a very close tolerence here and there are shims to take up the slack. Get the stocker front sprocket of a RENTHAL, or SPROCKET SPECIALIST one as they work great. Take off the front sprocket and clean the o ring and check that also.

3. Jetting search/ask James Dean posts as he is the Jett Man!

These are great bikes!

 

[TexKDX]

Bill -

Vibration: my '99 seems to transmit a bit more vibration than a bud's '98. I have PTs and he runs renthals. The main place it is felt is thru the hands on mine.

Jetting: Yea, I'd go up a size on the pilot so you have some leeway for cooler weather if nothing else. I have run mine down at 1/2 turn out, but it was 38 degrees that morning! Most of the time it is between 1 1/4 and 2 1/2.

Can't help ya on the CS leak, sorry.

Have you considered letting EE grind your slide? Mine is stock, has the burble down low, but I live with it. I should send it off right now before the next event.

 

[GlennP]

They are all paint mixers. Mine would dance around the garage on the sidestand. It wasn't too bad in the tight woods, because you were just below the big midrange hit anyway. If I kept mine, I would have looked into getting the crank bluprinted and balanced. KTM also uses a roller bearing for the left side crank, which has more internal clearance than a ball bearing. This may also contribute to the vibration.

If its the seal, it CAN be removed with a seal puller by just removing the sprocket and collar, but its probably just the o-ring. Remove the sprocket and if the oil appears to be coming from between the shaft and the collar, its the o-ring.

 

[DanS]

My '99 300 is as smooth as the boys '01 CR250. It's got a lot less vibration than my XR600 or CR500.
For the oil leak, I just replaced the seal, bushing, and o-ring on mine. You want to check the outside of the bushing and make sure it's not grooved. Mine was grooved and needed to be replaced. If it is grooved the seal is probably bad too. The seal, bushing, and o-ring were about $35. The seal can be removed with a spring puller and the new one tapped in with a socket the same size as the outside of the seal.
Sounds like your pilot jet might be a little on the lean side. The worst that could happen by going to a richer pilot is you foul a plug or the bike is a little sluggish off the bottom. If you have to turn the airscrew out more than 3 turns then the pilot is too rich. If the aircrew is all the way in the pilot is too lean. Anything in between this should be good.

 

[Bill Hibbs]

Thanks for the tips guys. I am pretty familiar with jetting bikes. I've just heard too many stories about these being hard to jet and just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I picked up a couple pilot jets today so I'll fool around with it. Hopefully there's not an air leak. The vibration isn't really a problem. I just wanted to hear some other opinions on it. Your comments were very helpful. It's true that when you're lugging around in the woods it's as smooth as a 4-stroke which is 80% of the riding I do.

Thanks again.

 

[shawn sharp]

counter shaft seal

I changed the countershaft seal no problem in my '96 300 exc. Just make sure you lightly grease the outer surface. I used a large socket to lightly tap it in place. The leaking sounds like the O-ring. Also, the collar that the O-ring is on can have a slight groove from wear which will make it leak a little. I don't worry about it. Think of it as an automatic chain luber. My bike vibrates when I first crank it up but seems to smooth out when warmed. It doesn't vibrate as much as my GG 250 xc.

 

[GlennP]

The older KTMs seemed to vibrate less than the new ones. I'm very familiar with 4 different KTMs ('96 300 EXC, '98 200 EXC, and 2 '99 300 EXCs), and the '96 was the smoothest. The 200 was terrible at high revs and would numb my hands. I'm very surprised you say your GG is worse than the '96 KTM. My 250 is very smooth stock, and I just installed the crank balancer that is stock on the '01 bikes. I havn't ridden it yet, but bar vibration seems even less now just reving the bike.

 

[shawn sharp]

GG vibes

Glenn,

You're right! My GG is smoother. The perception of it vibrating more is because the seat on my GG is much harder than on the 96 ktm. I had to think about, when that ktm hits I think my whole body becomes numb with fear due to uncontrollable acceleration. You have to really have good throttle control riding a thin line along side gully ruts & rocks or the hit makes the bike want to throw you. On the other hand the GG could probably cross a creek on a tightrope with no problem. By the way, the GG seems to have gotten smoother the longer I have owned it (2 months). It is the first new bike I have owned.

 

[PhastPhart]

I'm not sure why they have a bad reputation for jetting. I dropped my needle 2 notches after break in on my 99 300 and have not touched the jetting since. I race desert and and occasional hare scrambles at 3500 feet. Never fouled a plug either.

Mine was doing the oil leak too. Thanks for the info.

 

[GlennP]

KTM 300s can be a bear. It depends on a lot of factors. I think some riders just give up and accept them as is. The power delivery also gets nasty when the low end is rich and the midrange is lean. The key is using the correct the needle. Before anything though, check the float height.

 

[Bill Hibbs]

I think the pilot jet was a little lean. I pulled out a 45 and installed a 48. I've got the airscrew 1 1/2 turns out now and it started up fine and is idleing perfect. I didn't get a chance to ride it yet. It's been raining here all week. Before it wouldn't idle at all with the screw out more than 1/2. Of course now the weather's going to go into the 90's with humidity and I'll have to put the 45 back in.

I removed the sleave around the counter shaft and cleaned up everything. I think some dirt got behind the O - ring. It's not leaking now. The seal was totally dry. That's kind of a goofy design. I thought about putting a little silicone around there. Maybe next time.

As far as vibration, I've got the Magura bar on it now. I'm not experiencing any numbness or anything. Just an observation. It's just something my buddies pick on me since their 4 strokes are so smooth. I've always ridden 2-strokes so I don't know any better. ;)

I had to put on a new shift lever on the other day. He sold me one for a 00' model (I've got a 99'). I actually think the 00 model shifter works better. It sticks out a little more and is a little longer. My old one would touch my sprocket guard when upshifting into 2nd. Something you may want to keep in mind.

Thanks,

 

[TexKDX]

Originally posted by Bill Hibbs
It's just something my buddies pick on me since their 4 strokes are so smooth. I've always ridden 2-strokes so I don't know any better. ;)

I had to put on a new shift lever on the other day. He sold me one for a 00' model (I've got a 99'). I actually think the 00 model shifter works better. It sticks out a little more and is a little longer. My old one would touch my sprocket guard when upshifting into 2nd. Something you may want to keep in mind.

Thanks,

Two comments, Bill. One, my WR400 made my hands numb far faster than the 300 does. Two, the EE hydro clutch guard clears the stock shifter just find and gives you some protection the stock plastic one does not.