Static Impressions - 300 Race

Sat on one of these tonite at the local dealer. I'm only 5'8" with short legs & I could just touch the ground both toes & the bike hardly sagged under my weight.

Once the suspension is broke in and the sags all set, I don't see this bike being overly high. The rest of the ergos seem perfect for me & the bike looks awesome in person.
 
I saw a '12 in person today. I actually can't tell a difference in height?? I know it's taller, but I can't tell by sitting on it.

I like the new subframe and the way it connects. Like all of the 8mm heads. Not at all a fan of the KTM copy under fender seat bolt. What in the heck were they thinking? Stupid. They also missed the mark by putting that big ass battery box right in the way of the air filter. If the bike is a kick model, why is that box there? Can we remove it? It is not going to make for a quick filter change, that's for sure.

Seat is feather light! Love the new brake pedal! Frame looks super cool.
 
I never lost one, but was never a huge fan of the under seat bolt either. My concern was more structural than anything else. I look back to the time I did a minor cross rut and stepped off the bike. The bike fell rather gently into a 4" sapling and knocked the seat off my bike, ripping the aluminum insert right out of the base pan. It made for an interesting ride home trying to hold the seat on with my rear end.
 
roostafish said:
I saw a '12 in person today. I actually can't tell a difference in height?? I know it's taller, but I can't tell by sitting on it.

I like the new subframe and the way it connects. Like all of the 8mm heads. Not at all a fan of the KTM copy under fender seat bolt. What in the heck were they thinking? Stupid. They also missed the mark by putting that big ass battery box right in the way of the air filter. If the bike is a kick model, why is that box there? Can we remove it? It is not going to make for a quick filter change, that's for sure.

Seat is feather light! Love the new brake pedal! Frame looks super cool.
Click to expand...

They were thinking that the battery box would not interfere with anything when they planned to do the cartridge air filter. When that idea fell apart and they had to go back to the conventional air filter set up they were committed to the battery box being there. The battery box is a structural part of the plastic subframe so it can't be removed. There is a French company who has made a quick release unit to go in place of the box on kick only models. There are some guys here working on the same thing. How often do you do a quick air filter change? The only time I can think of doing a quick change is in a 24 hour type race.
I don't see a problem with the seat bolt. KTM has been doing this since 2003 I think? I didn't like it then but it has proven to not be a problem. If you're going to be in a muddy race, put a piece of tape over it.
Hey....the bike can't be perfrct, can it? Then we couldn't complain and talk to each other about the great "fixes" we came up with. :)
 
roostafish said:
I see we still have to deal with that stupid itty bitty oil fill. Anybody found a good funnel?
Click to expand...

I have found the best one to date at Princess Auto in Canada. Harbor freight in the US may have them. It is graduated to 1000 ml. Has a shut off so you can fill it before you pour. Comes with a cover to keep the dirt out. And the tip on the hose is sized perfect to press a piece of 3/8" copper tube into witch fits the fill hole on the motor perfect! It also comes with a filter screen witch I removed for better flow.

001-M.jpg
 
If you look at the parts manual its easy to see how the box helps tie the subframe together. No problem for me at all and actually a good place to stash a spare lever(s) and a small oil bottle if proprrly packaged. Filter skins work good in place of a quick change filter too.

For the underseat bolt, I'd consider doing what I did on my '07 and Ducati with top seat bolts: replace it with a knurled or wing bolt for no tools access.
 
On the small oil fill hole deal I took an ink pen apart and attached one end to a piece of hose the other end of the hose to the funnel and it works great. It looks alot like the one you can buy in the pic above. Small things for a great bike.
 
I like the funnel shown above!
Clay, the only time a quick filter change is in order is for the ISDE. I have a hard enough time changing tyres, the filter should be easier.

In all, it is a great bik.e. There is a reason I have owned four of them, and likely a fifth this year
 
I like the under seat bolt better than the in the middle of the seat bolt. I sat on a 12 and liked the feel of it a lot but I wanted to ask about the forks. They seemed super stiff like supercross forks when I bounced them - anybody else notice this?
 
My 2011 48's were the same way in the shop. The first thing I did when I got home was loosen the pinch bolts and reset the forks. Whoever installed the front wheel had the forks all bound up.
 
singletracker said:
My 2011 48's were the same way in the shop. The first thing I did when I got home was loosen the pinch bolts and reset the forks. Whoever installed the front wheel had the forks all bound up.
Click to expand...

Same, seems like the apprentice gets the pd job the world over
 
Did about 30 miles of single track and some 2 trackers yesterday on my new 12 forks felt stiff in the show room and almost felt like they had a clunk in them. All that went away real quick, waiting on springs front and rear right now the bike is way under sprung for me. Although it tracked very well and handles like a dream. Just getting used to this two stroke thing. Love the motor!
 
tnktm said:
I like the under seat bolt better than the in the middle of the seat bolt. I sat on a 12 and liked the feel of it a lot but I wanted to ask about the forks. They seemed super stiff like supercross forks when I bounced them - anybody else notice this?
Click to expand...

If the pfp valve is turned in too much that can make the forks stiff. Mine are 1 and 1/3 turns in.
 
I'm a big guy 6'5 300:eek: Thats why I need the new springs. I'm coming off a 525. Will be getting lower pegs and a taller seat as well, I have allready put some taller bars on which brought the bar height to what the 525 was.
 
Wimpy525 said:
Did about 30 miles of single track and some 2 trackers yesterday on my new 12 forks felt stiff in the show room and almost felt like they had a clunk in them. All that went away real quick, waiting on springs front and rear right now the bike is way under sprung for me. Although it tracked very well and handles like a dream. Just getting used to this two stroke thing. Love the motor!
Click to expand...

FWIW, my dealer says to ride the bike for 10 hours and let the suspension "loosen up." He said he has seen a lot of guys go out for a ride, say "too stiff," and immediately send the forks in to the shop (for revalve, etc.) His opinion is that for a number of these guys, it may not really be necessary.
 
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