New Rider Q's

bjager87 · May 23, 2006

I just purchased a 2002 KTM 125sx, I have never ridden before and it is my first bike. I didn't get an owners manual with it so i dont know how often i should chnge the oil and any other maintinence i should do. I dont ride hard right now cause I'm just learning everything. So if any one can help me out and maybe give me some advice and what to do to improve and not kill myself it would be rad.

Bryan F · May 23, 2006

Practice practice practice, this is the only way you will get better. I too own a ktm 125, these things are rockets. The best thing you can do if you don't know where the bike came from is start your maintanence schedule before you take it out. You want to change your air filter every time you go out, its always good to have a spare to put on when needed. Also you wil want to change your tranny fluid every ride.........well atleast i do. Fresh gas is a must and i find my ktm prefers a 40:1 mixture of full synthetic oil and a fresh plug, i believe br9es is called for with a 0.060 gap. If well taken care of that bike will fly!
Good luck and congrats on the new bike!

bjager87 · May 23, 2006

...

thnx... but i dont know what your talking about with your .060 gap. And when i change the oil and tranny fluid, do I just remove the drain plug and let the old oil run out and then refill it or do i have to flush it out with something?

Bryan F · May 23, 2006

oil and tranny? this is a two stroke right? you only have transmission fluid, your engine oil is mixed in your gas. Yes just let it run out into a drain pan and fill it back up with the new fluid. I believe your bike calls for 700ml. make sure you are pretty close on that one. The 0.060 gap, is the gap between the electrode on the spark plug, this can make a huge difference on the life of your plugs. If you go to canadian tire and get a set of feeler guages ($10.00) this will save you from changing plugs every couple of hours or so, but this also depends if your bike is properly jetted. By the way where are ya from man?

bjager87 · May 23, 2006

thnx again, but the guy i bought the bike from gave me some motor oil(10w-40,synthetic) with the bike and then some synthetic oil that i mix with my gas so i'm not sure what i should put in the tranny. is there a proper tranny fluid i use like ATF? :bang:

Also, how do I adjust my carb so that my bike will idle better. It starts easy, but only idles for seconds before stalling, unless i keep reving it. is this normal for bikes or is it the altitude difference from where i bought it( sea level) to where i live(mountains).

As for where I am, i live in Merritt B.C. the country music capital of Canada.

Bryan F · May 24, 2006

Well, I use motorex gear oil 10w30, when i can get it, but its hard to find sometimes. Its a little pricey, but i really notice a difference between that and the other brands. You can use Belray gear saver, this is the other brand I prefer in the absence of the motorex. Its about $10.00 a litre, as compared to the motorex stuff which is about $18.00 a liter. As for your idleing question, there is an air screw on the chain side of your bike, a good rule of thumb is turn it all the way in, (clockwise) and then turn it out about 1.5 to 2 turns, this is a good starting point and then you can tweak it from there. If you need to turn it out more then 2 turns its a sign that your jetting is off.
****NOTE***** your bike will NOT idle if it is not warm enough, so its a good idea to make sure its warm before you attempt any changes to the air mixture.

Hope this helps, good luck with your new investment
By the way what brand of pre mix oil are you using?

bjager87 · May 24, 2006

oil

For mixing with my fuel I am using Motul 600 2t full synthetic.

crf450infla · May 24, 2006

You should be able to find user manual online. That will help alot. Also there is another site called Ktmtalk.com you can find any and every thing you would want to know about your bike.

jefpel_1213 · May 24, 2006

If you ride casually change the oil once a month, also clean the air filter and keep the chain oiled. These are the 3 most important things

Little CR450 · May 24, 2006

Hey my advise to change your oil is about every 6 rides, or 15 hours, due to low oil capacity.

bjager87 · May 24, 2006

the oil u speak of, its my tranny fluid(oil) right? Imy bike is a 2-stroke so i mix my oil in with my fuel.But thnx for the advice anyways. :cool:

Buckholz · May 26, 2006

I think the electrode gap should be .6mm, not 0.060"

.024" = .6mm

dezryder · May 27, 2006

Changing gear oil every ride is overkill IMO. Buying high priced so called "motorcycle specific" gear oils is a waste of my money too. I use dexron II (ATF) in my forks, and Castrol 30W in my gearboxes. Works for me. BTW, a dealer friend told me about using ATF as fork oil about 20 years ago. (Has to be dexron II type, not Ford)

dezryder · May 27, 2006

Ps...

You should be able to turn the idle up quite simply. My Katoom has a Keihin The choke lever is also the idle adjustment up down for choke, turn it for idle adjustment.

Jeff Siegel · May 30, 2006

hey i own the same bike. i suggest changing the oil every 6 hrs. it still looks fine after that. and after you let the oil drain, dirictly on the other side of the the bike there is a bolt larger than the rest in the case, take that out and wipe the metal off of it. its a magnet to catch the metal shavings of the gears an clutch plates. also, i wouldnt be too worried about the spark plug. if it runs fine, leave it alone since your not a hard rider. ktms come with good spark plugs in them.

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