KTM 300 Database

[ricsrx]

well it looks like the top end is shot on the 300.....again, i think that he did not get the filter sealed before his last race, and then it stopped running and would not start, he let the bike sit for a few months then pulled it apart. afraid to see what it looked like .the piston and cylinder look bad, very bad

Hunter is going to Lindsey machine tomorrow to get the bad news.....

should we get the big bore kit this time around?

 

[anderson750]

That sucks. ALWAYS run your hand around the edge of the filter to feel for a gap. This air box design is the best thing since sliced bread but yet leaves zero margin for error with filter installation.

 

[glockman]

I need to improve the handling on my 2016. I don't have the cash right now for valving but I figured springs for a 210lb guy would help and it will reduce the cost once I have the money to revalve it. I've heard that racetech springs for the 4cs are too short and require a spacer. Slavens says not to use them. Anyone have any knowledge on what springs to use?

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[anderson750]

Correct springs will help with certain elements of the way your bike is currently handling. On stock springs, you probably feel like the rear end is riding high and not settling while cornering because the forks are to low in the stroke. This will aslo contribute to deflection and general feel that the bike is pushing in the corners.

The guy I use for all of our suspension has his springs wound for him to his specifications, that way he always has the final say on quality control. He will sell you the springs. www.nostsuspension.com 951-858-9890. When you get ready to do the valving, Pete has developed some pretty interesting solutions to the mid valve problem on the 4CS. He is not the cheapest, but I have always been happy with his work. He has the Suspension off the 2014 150XC I bought for my daughter right now. Tell him I told you to call him if you get the springs from him.

 

[glockman]

Good info Paul. What got me thinking about this is actually the opposite. My shock is super soft. With 100mm of race sag I have zero static sag which if I'm correct means my shock spring is too soft.

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[anderson750]

Makes sense. Yes, no static sag means there is to much pre-load on the spring. However, if you just change the rear......which I don't think you are......you will then suffer what I was talking about.

 

[glockman]

Ya, I'm going to change both.

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[glockman]

I have been reading the racetech suspension bible. If you ride and don't have this book, you should. I had so many misconceptions about how to adjust suspension.
Went out to test some things today and the adjustments made so much difference. Tested through whoops, small chop and corners. I was doing everything wrong before. The bike feels so much more planted now.



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[anderson750]

What were you doing wrong before and what changes did you make?

 

[glockman]

I had things backwards. I thought high speed compression would be big hits such as whoops so I had that cranked up and low speed backed way off to help small chop. As you'd expect that sucked.
So I went back to factory settings for the fork and shock which helped the front/rear balance a ton. Then I tuned the high speed for square edged small stuff and stiffed the low speed a couple clicks that really helped bottoming in the whoops. It is way better.
The other issue was I have been turning the compression down on the forks trying to get the small chop to be less harsh, these forks just aren't working there. So the small stuff is still harsh but then they were blowing through the stroke on whoops and washes. So turning them back to stock helped there a lot too.
After rhino Jesse is going to respring and valve it for me to hopefully help the fork on the small stuff.

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[anderson750]

I was never able to find the balance between plushness in the rocks and bottoming resistance until I started running suspension from NOST. His N10Z compression valve is incredible and is a truly progressive valve that uses fluid dynamics to create resistance instead of the traditional shim stack resistance that has a linear resistance. I am very particular about the way that I want my bike to feel and Pete nails it for me. I had his suspension on my 300 and it was great. When I got my 350 with the 4cs forks, it was the worst set up I had ever ridden. I was getting head shake on the motocross track. Since I am not going to race anymore, I decided to get my suspension done locally and Jesse made it much better than it was stock.....but I just did not have the same comfort level as I did with Pete's stuff. Jesse was great to work with me and make changes.....but I still never found that comfort level with a balance between deflection and bottoming resistance. Last fall I decided to send my stuff off to Pete and have him add is his compression valves to it and I am finally comfortable on the bike again.

I am not trying to sway you away from Jesse since I think he runs a good shop and stands behind his work. His settings will work for many riders out there. I just encourage you to have a clear idea of what you expect out of your suspension and make sure he can get it to you for the price. There are some things that I could have had him do try and make it better but it was going to cost more $ without a clear idea of what I would have. I know what I would get with Pete's work and had him re-do it. So, in a nutshell, I am about $2,200 into suspension I could have only been into about $1200.

 

[glockman]

That's great info and I totally agree with knowing what you're getting up front. That has kept me from doing suspension to this point. This is also the first bike where I felt like the suspension is limiting me. Not sure if that's because I always rode yamahas prior to my last two bikes or if I'm actually getting faster. I'm all for doing things right the first time but, I'm also racing/riding on a pretty tight budget. Last time Jesse quoted me was around $1500. That is a little out of range for me. So I called him to see what a respring would cost and he gave me a price for valving too. It wasnt much more than new springs and oil so I figured I can't lose for the price which is less than half what it was last time, which I think is due to him not doing huck valves anymore. So I'm going to cheap out. I may regret it it later but I plan to trade this bike for a yz250x in the next two years. For that amount of time and my limited skill I'm hoping it won't be a big let down. I don't think it will be though. It's only a few hundred bucks and just adjusting clickers correctly made me way more comfortable.

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[Gravy]

Did a power valve rebuild for Russ today.


If your bike feels sluggish it might need this. If the powervalve is stuck closed you can ruin a piston pretty fast when your air fuel ratio goes too rich at top rpms and washes the cylinder walls.
Or if it's stuck open like this: you'll have very little bottom end power and the transition to top end will not be smooth.

As you can see in this photo the grooves that direct air to the side powervalves were completely filled with carbon

The cleaning process is pretty rudimentary: I soak the thing in acetone but it doesn't really help.
You just spend the next lifetime scrapping carbon with a disposable snap-style razor knife and then polish it with a scotch-brite.

and here is what the valve is supposed to look like with these channels smooth to direct air to the outside powervalves.

 

[Gravy]

Cylinder got honed too.

All 8 new o-rings in the powervalve and lubed everything up.
It'll be like a brand new bike!

Definitely switch to a synthetic pre-mix if your already don't run one, and don't be afraid to rev it once and a while to blow out the carbon a bit.

 

[glockman]

Agreed on the power valve. Mine was super sploogy and I rev mine on occasion and run Klotz R50.

 

[rholbrook]

Thank You Stratton.

 

[anderson750]

Agreed on the power valve. Mine was super sploogy and I rev mine on occasion and run Klotz R50.

Klotz while it smells good is actually a very dirty burning oil.

 

[Greg]

Saber FTW!

 

[glockman]

Klotz while it smells good is actually a very dirty burning oil.

What does NITB run?

 

[jeeper]

Ipone. Always run Ipone

I can’t see the pics.. is it just me?