ktm250 exc

[jpracer63]

What could or would a person do to make a 1995 ktm exc 250 more moto friendly for an old overweight guy who wants to race in the vets or old timers class?What about that big olod sparkaresstor?suspension?motor? thanx

 

[DEANSFASTWAY]

Maybe start by going over the bike to be sure its in proper condition , and maintained . You can self re-evaluate the suspension and tell a tuner what you think should be done stiffer maybe , springs maybe, you could get a less restrictive MX pipe& silencer or maybe just silencer. Maybe check out some gearing sprocket issues .You should leave the lights on and the bark busters for 2 .reasons: the barkbester handguards may come in handy in a first turn bumper car episode and the lights and stuff can be an excuse if your results are not up to par . Then theyll say not bad for a woodsbike . Sounds like you should just go out and have fun .

 

[2smoke]

Ive never had the 250 only the 300 but based on that Id drop the gearing to 13 tooth front 50 rear and fit a shorty silencer (ie Pro Circuit/FMF) both of these mods will make the bike hit a little harder down lower in the power. If you have the money a aftermarket pipe will change the power curve (note not more power) to hit more like a MXer than the stock but the silencer option on its own is cheap and noticeable. Other than that get the suspension set up to your weight............and most importantly.............. run some laps around your local park........Im gonna start.......one day.......soon......maybe!!!!

 

[2smoke]

Just thought I clarify my statement to run a shorty silencer....I dont mean the little noisy "Shorty" just a regular MX silencer

 

[Okiewan]

Seems it made to much sense.

:silly:

 

[70 marlin]

flywheel weight.

 

[jmics19067]

I wouldn't do too much, take it out to a track and adjust your suspension to handle MX as best as it can. Write down the settings you use for trail riding/enduros and MX. so depending on what you are going to ride the next day you can just change with a screwdriver. I would take off the headlight for a race . That is like giving some guys a bullseye for roosting. That is if you ride mostly trails and an occasional/rare novice motocross.

Setting the bike up for mostly MX and then an occasional trail ride would be a different story but I would still start off with the suspension maybe getting a little bit more involved than just settings. I am asssuming that you are a beginner in MX racing itself and in the beginner classes I would think that a properly suspended bike that you can handle well would be more important than horsepower<at this point anyway>.

Being in the old-n-slow club I found out from my personal experience that it is easier for me to take a woods bike out on the MX track than it is a full blown MX bike out in the woods. If the power delivery is soft you can always learn how to abuse the clutch on a track but having a midrange monster engine on the side of a snotty greasy root infested hill witha lot of switchbacks can be quite the handful.

 

[2smoke]

Id have to agree with jmics 19067 in that setting up your suspension is the most important thing to do. But the silencer change is a good option and I like it for woods work which is where I ride the most I am old (36 next month), slow and gumby too and I still feel it was a good change. The pipe.... well I never would have fitted an aftermarket pipe if I hadn't crunched the stock one so bad. The stock pipe with the silencer was very nice, still smooth as but a little more toey down low. I fitted a Fatty and it made some more mumbo low to middle but overall not that different to stock. The gearing option I offered is good for the short straights on MX tracks but 14/50 (woods gearing) will let you get around changing gears less thus allowing you to concentrate on just riding the thing.

 

[jmics19067]

I like 2smokes ideas on the silencer. I wouldn't know how much the exc silencer is corked up compared to the sx silencer but it is a simple change from woods to mx. Gearing would help tremendously I would assume but to switch gearing from woods to mx and back again every other weekend sounds like to much work for me. I could /would do the screwdriver on the suspension clickers and the silencer change as a part of my weekly ritual, but I hate changing the chain and sprockets unless I need to. Heck I went out and bought a second bike to avoid this exact same scenerio.

 

[2smoke]

You guys who are allowed to own two dirt bikes........you kiss your wives.......the rest of us are lucky if she lets us get one!! Unless its a super MX track tight the woods gearing will work fine. Less changing gears more time to think what the hell am I doing here.

 

[CO Dan]

In the last couple of weeks I've watched some local Vet racers on KTMs on a local track.

It was evident that the #1 difference was rider skill, but very closely related was the suspension. One rider had apparently left his suspension at full woods soft, perfect for climbing over rocks and roots, but all wrong for jump. Anytime he got air it was frightening because the landing was a iffy thing - huge front end dive and lots of wallowing.

I don't know squat about suspension, but I know that this guy really needed to stiffen his up. Saw the same thing on some XRs brought to the track by the way.

I'd tell you to get as much practice time as possible, learn to rail the turns, which is where the races were won and lost.