KTM 625SXC

 

 

 

oh yeah, wiring hell, when i got the bike i didn’t check the horn or turn signals for function as i knew i would switch them out anyway…once i was doing a few tests found the horn did not function, turn signals were intermittent at best but i found this one out once i had done my set up then had to source the internet for an exact replacement (there’s a week including shipping)

anyhow once done and rewired with deutsch connectors the finished article

for those of you unfamiliar with them here’s a few photos

so if you asking why use these and not the molex connectors that come with your bike, these ones…

well, in the field the deutsch are are a lot more user friendly, you can isolate one individual wire without cutting it, remove it from the circuit, fix repair and replace easily, with the molex you can’t do this as easily, also the deutsch is waterproof (resistant) the molex isn’t creating possible shorts

they are standard equipment on Harley Davidson and Cat powered trucks amongst others, easily sourced on the interent and a few spare pins is all you need for a repair (very unlikely the pin with break)

the ‘almost’ finished article

using these i can take off my fairing simply undoing three connectors and three nuts

as i had changed from standard incandescent bulbs to LED’s, there is a problem…the LED is ‘just on’ it runs on full power, so to make it switchable for high beam and low beam using the stock switch you will need one of these

its a Skene IQ170 controller Jerry is an inmate on here and he has put together a very good product, it allows the use of the stock switch and make hi/lo function work without having to add anymore switches, there is also an upgrade on there to custom brightness you can look into

here’s the instructions

but for basics this is what you get

lo beam

hi beam

another useful thing i have added is a 12 volt digital voltmeter, useful to know where your system is at, at all times especially if you add heated vests, gps, heated grips, spot trackers, hardwired cameras etc

i got this from adv monster here and quite simply connect it to a key 12 volt power wire, black to ground and red and blue combined to power, i had one of these on my XT for thousands of miles and its works great, also the ‘power on’ orange bulb in my system pops very ofter so this basically replaces it, i used 3M double sided tape to mount it on top of the steering dampner

my finger is pointing at a 12 volt power connector that i added

as you can see there is also a GPS on the bars now as well, make sure you have this to keyed power otherwise it will constantly draw from your battery even when your bike is off, then you get to use your kickstarter

while waiting on the new flasher to arrive it was time to mount a few things, to make my life more comfortable/ safer/ easier for working on the bike etc…

my bike (not sure about yours) doesn’t have a front brake pressure switch, so no brake light activation when its used and we all know that front brake gets used a lot…so i added a pressure switch into the system

the pegs on my bike are the same ones for the mini bikes, so tiny and not many options so a post on here and ‘gunnerbuck’ stepped to tell my to change the left side mount so i could use any pegs

i had this problem with my peg extenders

difference in mounts and saved almost a pound in weight

another inmate ‘motomark39’ contacted me with a stock set of pegs unused from 2004

now my new extender fit, they are from zipty racing…yes i know they are huge but i am not riding solely on sigle track so this is more of a comfort upgrade

here they are mounted and in the background a dreaded Touratech piece!!! The only compnay i could find who made one, or i would have to resort to cutting the plastic piece up…i took the TT route

the horn had failed so a replacement from sickspeed and 124 db output

the front turn signals were a joke, cheap Chinese crap so i mounted some hi output LED’s onto the fairing….i will deal with the same junk on the back once i get my luggage situation worked out

the cross member for the tank is made from aluminum and Safari suggest you call them for a new one if this bends in a fall…not a problem if you are going home every night, i’m not so i made a more substantial one and also changed out the 60 cent pipe clamp out and replaced it with a U bolt

seat concepts made me a seat, gripper top and carbon sides with orange stitching

a thermometer from a fish tank store for a $1, mounted on the inside of the fairing

i filled the tank, got the stated 27 liters in it …took the bike for a quick test ride and had some carb issues, back home carb rebuild and now its all good

rode 75 miles today and everything seems to be where i want/ need it to be, just need to change the gearing to 16 or 17/42 for more streetable riding, right now its at 15/45 which is wheelie territory in every gear

headed out to Calico Basin this afternoon and here’s the finished article

the graphics were done by a company here in Las Vegas called 702 hydrographics

the plastics are coated with a hydrographic ‘real fire’ film over a special paint and then clear coated for durability, might not be everybodies ideal color scheme but i like it, and thats what counts….and it make me visible to the crazy car drivers here in vegas…but don’t be surprised if the bike turns solid black when i’m heading into a country where i need to blend in as much as possible

i’m heading to Overland Expo this weekend so if you are there stop by and say hello

todays delivery

i have left this build thread dormant for quite a while, i got a few messages from various inmates asking if it was complete, well no its not so i’ll fill in some of the gaps right now….

the Safari 27 liter gas tank DOES NOT bolt straight on the 2003 SXC with the BST carb, unless you do something along these lines

put a blob of grease on the top of the carb to determine the exact point where it touches, it is only a very small area…

once you have located that you need “to move it” what i did was using a heat gun, heated the tank slowly and then using a metal working dolly press down on the tank…

by doing this multiple times i created a small indentation in the bottom of the tank and it slipped right on, photos below, it was difficult to take a good shot but hope fully this will give you an idea of how to do it…the bottom of this tank is very think and it took a lot of pressure to get it to even move slightly, there is a slight ripple in the surface area but the integrity is still good as new

here it is mounted

if you remember i hat a rats nest for wiring, but found out later it was normal, it looked like this after previous owner/s had spliced in and butchered it all

well after clean up and changing all the connectors to Deutsch fitting (look earlier in the thread for details) now its cleaner and more workable, if there is an electrical issue i can disconnect a certain wire or circuit and fix it there and then or ride to somewhere i can, a lot more difficult to do with the molex connectors

also keep in mind here that i have added a lot more wiring as on the SXC its minimal, so changing and adding new lights, GPS additional 12 volt power sockets also adds to the connectors

Deutsch connects are on quick release mounts to make them easier to work on

i added a Loobman chain oiler, it is very basic, virtually nothing can go wrong, uses any oil, simple push of a button creates enough lubrication to more than double chain life…see his website for more detail, Oh, and very cheap, i mounted it up by the bars

basically fills about a thimble full of oil that will drop on the chain with gravity

the cross brace for the Safari tank is made from Aluminum, i contact them to see if they had anything better/ stronger, i figured a couple of drops it would bend out of shape and one you straighten it a few times the strength is now compromised…i was told they are super cheap so if it breaks “and it will” call us and we’ll ship a new one to your house (for a price of cause)

as i won’t have a home and shipping it to Siberia or Patagonia is not really an option i made a new one from mild steel and powdercoated it, if it does break at least i can weld it back together

a couple of do dads i added

louder horn but still reasonable small not like air horns but close to db level, $20 from fleabay

more secure oil cap needs to be removed with an allen wrench NOT some kids little fingers or vibration

everyone hates touratech, me included but i compromised as they were the only place i could find with a counter sprocket open guard, just somply for ease of cleaning and/ or checking the sprocket…and yes i know i could have filed down the plastic stock one!!!

seat concepts seat, all i can say is perfect…i rode back from OX to Vegas the long way 420 miles, not an issue, next day i could have done it again, can’t say that for the stock seat, but what i can say for the stock seat is it fits with the 27 liter tank when its cover by them

1 3/8″ steel washer welded on the kick stand foot for stability and to stop the bike sinking in sand or soft ground. two minute job and then it went out with the rest of the stuff for powder coat

welded the rear gas tank mount bolt in place, it is a press fit so eventually it will come loose and just spin, quick weld and it now solid…this is a shot of the under side

changed the stock hosing out for silicone hosing, better quality, durability and flexibility, but if you do this make sure you get the right hose clamps as the stock ones will cut into the side of the hose over time…you need to get these from this company LINK

i think everyone knows these guys with there folding mirrors THREAD LINK

added some raditor guards from Bullet Proof later on they got powdercoated

added additional brake lights and a mount made from some home depot shelving material

new led turn signals from Tuff Lites, inmates thread HERE

the round reflector at the bottom is also a running light and a brake light from fleabay HERE

frictionless chain slider from BRP, you need the Husaberg 2005 to 2008 version which fits

Midwest mountain engineering clutch lever, amazing reduction in pressure of 50% LINK

the stock sub frame is great if you are just riding with minimal luggage but long distance or RTW like me it needs to be strengthened, one side is already done at the factory, here how to do the other side

remember if you EVER weld on you bike, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS disconnect your battery

get all the crap out of the way and clean the sub frame and grind off stock powder coat where welding is required

get some 1 1/4″ by 1/4″ thick steel strap, home depot sells it for about $8…and cut it to a rough size like the other side the factory made

two pieces are going to be crossed in the corner for additional strength where the subframe does a “Y” split

once you have your pieces cut to size tack weld the longer piece on first

centrally locate it on the frame rail, you will need a very slight arc in the material to make it follow the line of the sub frame

here’s the first piece in place

and now with the second piece added

you now need to weld the whole thing, i TIG welded it because i have the equipment but it could also be MIG welded

once you are done obviously let it cool, mounted to the bike if possible because as it cools it will try an deform itself a little as it wasn’t welded in a jig

once its cool try your plastics on there, mine DID NOT fit so i had to trim the insides down a little and this can be done with scissors…now you can carry a decent load with out fear of a sub frame crack

adding additional oil capacity to the SXC

i could not find a cooler with volume i liked or was useful also the stock oil pump is not really high pressure so i decided not to add additional oil to the system just to carry it, not wanting to carry plastic oil bottles in my luggage i made a auxiliary stand alone oil tank to the same size as the capacity of the bike 1.6 liters

first of all i made an extremely technical drawing of what i wanted to do…i really should have gone to the local kindergarten for this level of expertise but i took on the challenge

after a quick calculation for volume V = π· r2· h

i found that although i needed 10 inches of length 3 inches was not big enough so had to find some 3 1/2″ material

as the volume was 1.15 liters and i needed 1.6, here’s the example

i bought an aluminum fill cap off ebay and made the unit, mounted it to my newly reinforced subframe

if you do this make sure you have enough clearance for full range of motion of the swing arm

i also added a security feature so the cap cannot come off with vibration or inquizitive hands, the bolts aren’t visible when the side cover is on

once everything was done it was powder coated along with the sub frame

…hold on a dam minute – “how do you get the oil out?” on the lower front portion i have added a heavy duty petcock/ tap, this way as we all know you have to burp the system, i get what oil i need from this tank in a flat pack disposable container do my oil change in the required two stages, and with my old oil i top up my chain oiler on my bars (shown in an earlier post)

i had an issue with starting the bike, it would turn over maybe once then nothing, battery was good, very good in fact, so i went thru all the obvious, ECM, condensor, coil, relay, various grounds to the frame…nothing was consistant and i though i had somehow fried my electrical system

i order all new parts and waited for four weeks for a new ECM from Austria…once everything was here i mounted all the new parts, turned the bike over and it fired instantly…success

i go and get all my riding gear on go to start the bike and nothing…i literally rewire the bike trying to find the fault and did but it was not obvious

the stock ground strap from the battery to the to the subframe was tight but it is a pressed compression nut not a threaded boss in the frame itself…purely by fluke i spotted a spark jump when i tried to fire the bike one time, so this stock ground position was tested and it tested good, but just for shits and giggles i moved it, to the front frame, and the bike turned over like never before

so i have now added a second ground strap, i used to do this with big inch high compression v twin motors to get every last drop of juice out of the battery so here is what is added for much easier starts just incase you ever run into the same issue

on a positive note: i now have a complete spare set of new electrical parts for my RTW :huh

my suspension has been rebuilt by M Power, in Boulder City NV, Les the owner can be contacted at 702-219-9210, he builds every single set up to order, my rear was rebuilt and upgrade one off spring from Eibach to my weight specs, the front was resprung and valved and sealed with SKF seals…my bike now sits almost 3 inches higher and rides like a dream

putting it all back together all bearings and moving parts we greased

rear sprocket protector from Scotts

i added rear peg mounts for tie down points for my Giant Loop saddlebags

the rear luggage rack was a perfect fit for two sprockets held underneath it, test fit in photo with zip ties later replaced with steel hose clamps

i pulled 12 volt power to the bars and it can be tempoarliy held there with a computer velcro strap when no plugged in the powerlett adaptor mounted in my tank bag

little bit of vinyl for my website as you get asked so often on the road if there is a way of following the trip, in my website there is direct links to my ride report here on ADVrider

added a hi output stator

changed the oil filters (two) to stainless steel reusable ones

I added a new clutch slave cylinder, i had planned to use a Sigutech, i emailed them four times and after two months i finally got a reply, based on this i didn’t use them. If there was an issue this could leave me screwed in the middle of nowhere

little more looking around and found the Oberon unit with dual seals, they are based a few miles from some of my family in England and response time was less than 24 hours…based on this they got my business

you need to prebleed it off the bike with fluid and then mount it and rebleed in place

to be honest not easy to bleed once mounted, i ended up bottom bleeding it then vacuum bleeding it to get pressure, once i did the pull is very smooth, and combined with the Midwest lever i have a very easy pull now

bled with Magura blood

i had a look at my carb and found the choke nut, the plastic shitty one had split

i replaced it with the aluminum version from Warp 9

while the carb was off i replaced the needle jet for the easier accessible version

and also added slightly longer allen screws to the bottom of the carb, the ones the previous owner were only holding about one thread, that was a problem waiting to happen

carbon/ kevlar case covers came in from rally raid engineering in Australia

As the SXC has no oil in frame and i have added the auxiliary oil tank i will be doing regular oil changes, not wanting to be threading in and out of the case i added a bleed screw to the left side oil line

i found a 8/32 – 3/8″ long counter sunk stainless screw worked the best so not as to block the inner feed

as a back up i added a gas cap profill filter from Australia after reading on various ride reports of bad and dirty gas in far eastern Russia and Mongolia, this is cheap insurance

the petcock that came with my Safari tank, had a minor leak so i replaced it with a Pingel unit which is obviously a much higher quality unit, only wished it had a detent so you could feel it lock in place in each of on/off/res positions