KTM 530 exe

North

North

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I have been looking at a 530 exe. I think that I am in love.:thumb

Does anybody have any input about them. Are they as reliable as the jap bikes, ect...? Anything that I should know about them?


Thanks

Rick
 
Depends

It depends on your mileage (hourage?) A mate of mine had one on order until he found out what the recomended bottom end rebuild intervals were!!
Might be worth some checking if you are are going to do a lot with it.
Otherwise, YES.
 
Super Enduro R said:
530 ? is that a new model ?
Click to expand...

Yes, new for 2008, and all bikes (4T EXC's) now have two seperate sumps. But the same oil in both, or so I understand.:confused:

Nice looking bike, I was dribbling over over one last weekend, the downside is the maintainace. They recomended oil & filter change after every other trail ride I was told.:eek:

£5650 OTT, plus handguards, plus bashplate:spitfire
 
get a 300 exc instead (without the e-starter) - lighter, cheaper to service...

and quite a bit more crazy :thumb2
 
BTBR said:
Yes, new for 2008, and all bikes (4T EXC's) now have two seperate sumps. But the same oil in both, or so I understand.:confused:

Nice looking bike, I was dribbling over over one last weekend, the downside is the maintainace. They recomended oil & filter change after every other trail ride I was told.:eek:

£5650 OTT, plus handguards, plus bashplate:spitfire
Click to expand...


Who is 'they' ?


I used to 'race' an EXC450 in motocross,in the Enduro class and I had the oil/filter changed at the beginning and end of the season.

Cost about £30 each time with labour,so it really is a myth that only seems to crop here on UKGSER that KTMs need alot of maintenance.

My current EXC250 F has had one service and 2 oil/filter changes in 12 months use.

Total cost about £100 !!!!

North,
ref the EXC530,have you ridden such a bike offroad ? Do you plan to ?

The 450 was quick,the 525 was bloody daft,and the 530 will no doubt be even more bonkers !!!

But KTMs are very reliable-I've had 9 inc 3 EXCs and the build quality is superb and the EXCs are very tough and rarely go wrong.

Many tossers here slag off KTMs as expensive and unreliable.But that's probably because they have never even seen one let alone owned one.

If you like the 530,get it.It will be a stunning bike.But if you plan to use it offroad a fair bit,be prepared to hang on !
 
Manny Fagnet said:
Who is 'they' ?
Click to expand...

The two KTM dealers that I called in at last week while looking for a suitable steed.

Both dealers recommended oil & filter change after every other trail ride and after every enduro.

"They" both also said that tappets should be checked/adjusted at least four times a year.
 
BTBR said:
The two KTM dealers that I called in at last week while looking for a suitable steed.

Both dealers recommended oil & filter change after every other trail ride and after every enduro.

"They" both also said that tappets should be checked/adjusted at least four times a year.
Click to expand...

Well they would I suppose,and some suckers will be willing to pay for such maintenance.

As my local KTM dealer also happens to be a very good mate,I don't get fed such crap.
 
BTBR said:
Don't shoot the messenger. :nenau
Click to expand...


sorry,didn't mean to.

Obviously if you race an EXC every weekend in organised Enduros then the bike will need more fettling.

But then so would any bike,and any jap stuff such as a DRZ prob wouldn't be up for it anyway.

But if you only compete now and then and ride off road for fun like I did,then the bikes don't need much more attending to than ANY bike.

It's a bit like the Aprilia SXV 550 twin.

They are supposed to have an engine rebuild every 90 hours !!!

But if the bike isn't raced,it is extended to 6000 miles,which is quite alot of mileage for an offroader,and this bike is HIGH MAINTENANCE !!


All I can say is,I've had 3 EXCs and many mates have had loads and in all that time I've hardly had a thing go wrong.

A few years back the fork seals were dodgy but they were replaced even out of warranty (you only get 31 days on a comp bike).

Buy they soon fixed that and EXCs are pretty much bullet proof.

And bloody fun !!!!
 
As a matter of interest what is the score with the frequency of rebuilding bottom ends - I've heard all sorts of stories of comp KTMs (as well as Honda CRFs and Yam WR's) needing a new big end every 50 hours (or whatever). I know of a couple of folk who have had supermoto'd WR's and CRFs that have had catastrophic bottom end failures and feeling was that they get a bigger hammering on road than off as there is more sustained high revs. Just wondered what the folk on here's experiences have been?

I've often fancied a KTM 250 exc for a general purpose trail bike but have always been a bit wary because of the potential for big bangs. (As well as the fact as I don't often have a spare £5k lying about....)
 
Manny Fagnet said:
Who is 'they' ?


I used to 'race' an EXC450 in motocross,in the Enduro class and I had the oil/filter changed at the beginning and end of the season.

Cost about £30 each time with labour,so it really is a myth that only seems to crop here on UKGSER that KTMs need alot of maintenance.

My current EXC250 F has had one service and 2 oil/filter changes in 12 months use.

Total cost about £100 !!!!

North,
ref the EXC530,have you ridden such a bike offroad ? Do you plan to ?

The 450 was quick,the 525 was bloody daft,and the 530 will no doubt be even more bonkers !!!

But KTMs are very reliable-I've had 9 inc 3 EXCs and the build quality is superb and the EXCs are very tough and rarely go wrong.

Many tossers here slag off KTMs as expensive and unreliable.But that's probably because they have never even seen one let alone owned one.

If you like the 530,get it.It will be a stunning bike.But if you plan to use it offroad a fair bit,be prepared to hang on !
Click to expand...


Thanks

I have never ridden one. I want a bike for off road use, but one that I can also drive on the road to the trails. (I do not want a 300 lb dual sport.) I would also be carrying the bike in a bike rack when I go camping. (There are alot of 4X4 only access camp sites here.and thousands of miles of goat paths.)

I have read that on a couple sites about changing the oil every 15 hours etc, but I am not going to be racing the bike. I want I bike that is going to be a blast to ride and one I will not out grow.

I have been looking at the Suzuki DR-Z400E and putting a baja kit on it to make it road legal, only because of what I read about KTM's. On another note, I have always heard over here that KTM's are the best dirt bikes going.
 
Here's mine

complete with temporary home made bashplate as my dealer hasn't got them for the 2008 models yet.

This bike replaces my 450 Sherco which was good but spares were difficult to get.

I've only done about 2 hrs on it so far. I like the instant throttle response and power. The silencer does actually work but there is still plenty of noise when you open it up. Suspension is much too hard even with the 'confort' settings but I think this is because it's new. The riding position feels odd but I'm sure I'll get used to it but I've made some adjustments to the controls to suit me.

Recommended service schedule is oil changes every 8 hours if racing, 15 hours for leisure use but KTM are always over the top. I'll change the oil every 10 hrs or so and hope that will save the recommended engine rebuild at 90hrs (45hrs if racing)
 

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Here's mine

North,

I bought an 03 450 EXC four months ago and have found it to be a fantastic bike in terms of reliabilty and for sheer excitement and enjoyment.

The manual recommends oil and filters to be changed every 15 hours which I do for piece of mind. It takes no time to do and is relatively inexpensive.

So far the bike has not missed a beat and not a single thing has gone wrong with it. The build quality is very good and the only problem I have had is two indicators snapped off when the bike inevitably lands on its side.

I would agree with Manny Fagnet's comment about the power, they certainly can move and I feel a smaller engine may be more appropriate for anyone who just wants to do a bit of leisurely trail riding. Having said that I would not swap the 450 as it suits me. The bike has great low down grunt and is certainly far more capable than I am.

Richard
 

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I'm in love too

When i told my local dealer that i wanted to trail ride and not race he recommended the 530 as it's power is less snappy than the 450,
i'm looking forward to having a go on the dealers demo :clap
 
530 test ride

I've never ridden a proper KTM enduro before i once owned a 950 Adventure
but that's a wet fart compared to the 530,
the acceleration was unbelievable the tiny speedo was upto three figures in no time :D and as steady as a rock, the sixth gear meant relaxed 70 mph cruising.
The 530's about as high as my KLX300r and felt about the same weight,
but there the similarity ends, the 530's in a different league :eek:
I took it down a small lane and it was quite happy just bimbling along
with the odd blip to lift the front wheel over the puddles, as i didn't want
to get it too dirty.
After an hour of fun i took the 530 back to the shop as my hands were starting to freeze...
A big thanks to Sideways KTM for putting a 530 on demo :thumb
 
The 2008 owner's service manual says that the oil and filter should be changed every 15 service hours.....likewise the gear oil.
Sparkplug 30 hours, valve clearances 15 hours.

:rob

PS Bloody hell...it's orange in here isn't it!! :eek::eek
 
BTW, completely off topic but how on earth do they justify claiming the lc4 engine as fitted to the 640 adv makes it an ideal, nay, perfect rtw machine when it needs oil and filters changing every 5k KM ??:confused:

Sorry, I'll go back to the safety of the blue and white roundel area ;)
 
I think 5000km or 3000 miles sounds pretty reasonable to me. I'd change the oil on anything at least that often on an overland trip.

On the Exc models Ktm seem to be very cautious - they say that a race engine needs a complete rebuild every 45hrs (90hrs for leisure use) but there are lots of bikes out there with 500hrs on them and no problems.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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