Brakes are complete, just need to add fluid and bleed them. Right now I'm waiting on a fork slider that's held up in customs. The right fork leg slider has a chip in the chrome that is sure to cut the seal immediately. So I'm holding off on bleeding brakes so the handlebar and reservoir isn't flopping around with fluid in it. Fuel pump wiring is complete, fuel line is on and not leaking! I put the tail on and decided to relocate the battery to the tail. KTM was using a "proprietary battery system" that they could not provide details on. But it was located just forward of the shock in a custom box I don't have. So instead of fabricating a box, I just extended that part of the wiring loom and I plan to use an Antigravity 4 cell. The bike has no starter so it's just to power things while it's running. Got some takeoffs put on so I can do some testing. As soon as I get the battery and put the front end together, we can start it up and do a couple of pulls on the dyno to check that there's a viable map in the ECU. Moto2 spec fuel is pretty mild so I think we'll start out with purple Sunoco, MGP, or VP C12 just to see what the air /fuel looks like. It does have some compression in it so I don't want to use pump. Of course I have to work the next 2 weeks so it will have to wait. It's blazing hot out anyway, so I'm shooting for September for the first track day. It's starting to look like a proper motorcycle instead of a pile of parts finally!
No. I attacked this problem on 3 fronts. 1, find a new one. 2, have the old one repaired, and 3, contact KTM/WP. The conversation with the KTM/WP customer service was kind of funny. They kept asking for make and model of the bike. It does have a VIN which I provided them with. Finally they gave up and told me to take it to one of their service centers. There's one about an hour from my house. But I guarantee they have never seen anything other than dirt bike forks so that was honestly the last resort. We have good suspension people down here. So Re-chroming was a possibility. But when I found out there were spares available, I just went with that option. I'm still not sure if I'm getting the bottom bracket along with the slider? I"ll see in a few days. Separating that bottom bracket from the slider seems to make suspension guys cringe for some reason. And the bottom bracket looks expensive. You would think there would be plenty of spares floating around Europe, many of the Moto2 bikes used these forks before the mandatory spec Ohlins.
It shouldn't. With the right tools, it's not a problem. Most fork designs these days require separating the slider tube from the stanchion to install aftermarket cartridges. I've seen the higher end aftermarket stuff come both ways (separate and as an assembly) for replacement sliders, but most come as an assembly of tube and stanchion, like OEM stuff.
I've seen dozens of dudes do it on Ohlins forks with little guff. I dunno why anyone would kick back about it. I was thinking this recently on my Ceracarbon ones under the guise of, "what if I find some real trick/cool fork bottoms?" but those I'm actually afraid of. I'm not sure of how the ceramic stanchions are secured in there and I'm afraid to even ask the dudes. Might just be stuck with them if they're apoxied in or something. I've found YEC titanium fork bottoms before from an Endurance R1 that I should have snagged for my RG43's that came off a 06' R1. I could have anodized them all sick. Those super dope billet MotoCorse ones are also an awesome look. Its nice to know you can just deal with it. I bet a place like Fast Bike wouldn't even blink to service them. They've sent stuff out for me before to get TiN coated, cool dudes there.
I have a set of WP's on the 125 and back in the day I called WP , they were like huh? What forks do you have ?? Apparently they weren't supposed to leave the hands I got em from. Eric just found a set of Ohlin seals that matched up and some other parts.
I'm waiting on the forks to come back from the shop- they have had them since September. Supposedly they will be done in 2 weeks. WMR performance in Stuart, FL has them. They sent the tubes out to be re-chromed, and the place they sent them is taking forever. It's driving me nuts because I can't ride right now (shoulder injury) and I'm dying to tinker with all the bikes and get everything tip top so when I get the green light, I can get moving!
I just noticed your shop floor...Niiice. Did you have it done or a PO? Looks like they did a good job on it.
Thanks. I had it done by a company here in So Fla. I did my own at the old house, with the Home Depot stuff, but it wasn't nearly as nice. My Parents built a brand new house, so they had a fresh concrete floor, and I did theirs with the Home Depot stuff and it worked out pretty good. The guy who did mine used a real pour on epoxy, it's very durable. It has some chips in it where I've dropped heavy items, but it has held up pretty well.
Got the forks back yesterday. WMR Performance in Stuart, FL. Mostly a dirt bike shop, but they have a beautiful facility with CNC machines, and most importantly, a Fork Dyno! The chrome job on the sliders looks factory. I was getting nervous, so I'm glad to have them back. Anyway, they are back on the bike. Next step is to take it to the dyno and start it up, do some pulls and check the following: There's a map in the ECU The Air / Fuel is ok- we're going to try VP MGP since it's basically an FIM spec fuel, which is what the Moto2 fuel was anyway. Backup will be VP 110 or something similar. No leaks, etc. This will all have to be after Daytona of course. Getting pumped to ride this thing!
Maybe go for the MGP-R. I would think the extra octane will be a little safer just in case. Maybe even just some VP100. Can’t exit to see it all together and hear about riding it!
What kinda $ do you have wrapped up in this thing? Is spare bodywork even available for them? I'd be a nervous wreck on the track if not.
