KTM 500 what to avoid

If all I rode was jersey single track, I would have bought a newer 300 instead. I was prepared for the 500 to be more work than my old 300. It isn’t, at all. I’m sure the newer ones are better. That’s not the point. If the 500 can be 95% as good in the gnar and technical, but way better in anything more wide open or on road. I’ll take the 5% hit in the gnar for the versatility.

 

I did the same decision making with the 500 when I was looking years ago for something that was capable of 150+ miles... after being able to ride them back to back the descision was clear.
If youre not <160lbs then the boingers will need work. If just riding fire roads, double track, or surface streets you would likely not notice how jarring all of the xplor forks tend to behave after a few mins of rough terrain.
For me the 2T platform had less cons vs the 500 since I rarely ride street.
I still spent a bunch of $$ getting it to where its currently at for comfort, controls, crash protection, fuel range, & power on my 2019 & 2023.
Also I probably should have waited 6 more months for the 2024s to be incentivized like the 23s were last spring ($2000 off msrp)...then I could have gotten the latest spring forks and TBI.

 

I’ve got a LEADERbike, a 690, and a 350 as my plated bikes. If I needed to take those down to two, I’d have little issue swapping the 690 and the 350 for a 500 and there’d be minimal compromise in either direction.

But I love my bikes, so I’m not doing that anytime soon

 

I'm wondering why the Honda CRF450L is rarely mentioned when discussing street legal dirt bike options. Most are only about the various different KTM / Husky models. Does the Honda have some major or inherent flaw?

 

It's a Honda joking.
It's only a 5speed,
KTM has 6

 

It makes a hair more horsepower than my 150R kart track bike.

 

The KTM 500's are one of the best all around bikes on the market. Depending upon what you want and how you set it up it'll do ADV lite riding, single track trails and possibly enduro racing (not ideal but it's more about the rider if you are getting into it than the bike), SuperMoto, etc.

2013-2016 people like because of the internal gear ratios, kick starter, durable subframe, and just general long life with little maintenance.
2017+ have a bit more performance but you really need to put a pipe/end cap and a good ECU/Tuner on it to reach it's full potential (GET, Vortex, etc). Suspension varies but better with some aftermarket attention.

If you plan to SM, the wear and tear on the motor is higher (not too many folks hold them wide open in the woods for long), as is the drivetrain, etc. But performance is there, unless you really want snap/fun, then look at a dedicated 450SM or even a 690/701.

The facebook EXC group is one of the best groups out there, and very helpful with questions and answers and Mike @ Taco Moto in Las Vegas is the go to guy/shop for EXC/FE stuff.

I have a 2015 with 12k miles on it, runs great and very happy with it.

 

The 450L weighs a sold 30lbs more, while making a good bit less HP. Ballpark 40hp vs 60hp (uncorked) on the 500?

 

My buddy has a 2020 500 I've ridden a fair amount both on trail and on the street, and the difference between a 500 vs a 350 on the trails is significantly smaller than vs a 500 vs 690 on the street.

My 2020 SMCR with quickshifter, dual counterbalancers, etc., isn't really comparable to riding his 500 as a sumo.

 

I ride with a fella that bought a 250 & 450RX. The 250 & 450 have a really tall seat height. I have a 35" inseam and its hard for me to flat foot let alone swing a leg over.
Also they have 2 gallon tanks. Neither lacks power but they flame out like crazy for some reason.
The only reason he bought them was because he was "used" to Hondas. Of course like any off road bike we all gave suggestions on what to do first...lol
He was doing suspension setup on the 450 New Years Day when we last rode. Has had the bikes a few months and is still not "comfortable" on either just yet.
Ive never seen an 450L out in the wild. Saw a bunch of guys that had the 300L up in the GA mountains.

 

After 2016, oil capacity dropped from 1.6->1.2 liters or something like that. Some prefer those 16s and earlier for dual sporting because of having more oil to wear through when putting in lots of miles.

Some year they removed the kick starter, but left an access hole in the case where you could add it. After 2020 or so they removed the access hole. To me this requires either a battery backup and or a capacitor so you can roll start the bike if you kill the battery.

I had a djk piggyback ecu on mine which gave me plenty of power but still experienced flameouts that were really infuriating. I would highly recommend putting a vortex or aim full ecu on instead. You also need to open the exhaust with either a new can or a pmb end cap.

I had a weird starting problem that didn’t seem to be experienced by anyone else. I think the new owner said it was fixed with a valve adjustment. That was my next step, but I didn’t have time to get to it as I was moving out of the country so I sold it off.

When I come back I’ll probably buy another. I may try a Beta also. I rode a buddys 300 and really like the seat height being a little lower. I think it might give me a little more confidence in technical sections.

 

My weird starting problem was fixed with a fuel pump.

 

What year was your bike?

I have a 2015 and the JD tuner is fine on that year but after 16 (?) I would recommend a full ECU swap to really make the bike run right. I know, ready to race and all but not really.
From riding with mostly friends that ride KTM's, a LOT of the issues were found to stem from the fuel pump. Hard to start? after checking the valves, check the fuel pump. Running like crap? Fuel pump. etc. One of the first things I recommend for a new KTM owner is to buy or have a friend with the fuel pump pressure testers. Takes 2 minutes to check the pressure but if it's not 50psi+, that causes a LOT of issues with the bike. Hard to start, flameouts, rough running, etc. Replace pump with a Taco Moto unit and a good filter (Earls metal in tank filter for me) and you should be good to go for a very long time. Carry the OE as a spare if needed.

Kick starter on the bikes till 16 I think and you are correct you could retrofit a kick starter till 20 or so. After that it's jumper cables or bump start only.

 

Loved my 2012 500. roadraced and raced supermoto with it. also had a 2017 husky 501. I would not heitate to buy another. Great bikes!!

 

Also, make sure its street legal so you can rip the # plate off and hoolgan around town when you want.

 

16 still has a kickstarter, and a PC5 mapped has mine running beautifully, no flame outs/etc, still on the stock ECU.

 

What wheels do you have on your 500?

 

Marchesini. I run them on all my motards. Street or track. I hoard them as I have 7 sets. LOL

 

Get some ice tires on those things. Finally going to get some hard water here in the next couple of weeks....hopefully.