hints & tips –bike preparation

HINTS& TIPS BIKEPreparation

How to go about turning a KTM or Husqvarna into a dedicated trail weapon. David Strachan from Trail Riders Warehouse provides some fine tuning advice

There ’ s good reason that in the UK the KTM EXC and Husqvarna FE/TE models are some of the most popular trail bikes. Starting with the competition prowess of these bikes means that they are a great platform to start with as they are powerful, lightweight, there ’ s abundance of spares and performance parts available and most importantly they are designed to be fixed quickly at the trackside. This also means that some carefully selected tweaks can turn a great bike into the perfect trail weapon ready for any adventure.

For those of you who are considering these bikes we would recommend thinking about what you are going to use it for and avoid the hype around any particular engine size or variant as they each have their pros and cons. When making your choice consider how much road riding you will be doing or if you are planning on doing hardcore trail/enduros. This will help narrow your search straight away to maybe one or two different models.

Here is our guide to offer you some starting points. If you ’ re new to riding trails the EXC-F or FE 250 4t is a great platform to learn, it is light, agile and will grow your confidence rapidly. They might be an entry-level KTM but the ‘ ready-to-race ’ mantra is so very obvious. In the hands of an experienced rider these bikes can leave any novice gasping in disbelief.

For more experienced riders wanting to get into the tight technical extreme end of trail riding and enduro events you will probably be best suited to a 250/300cc 2t thanks to the lightweight and zappy 2-stroke engines.

Those of you looking to go further, try rally events or weekends will likely steer towards the KTM EXCF 500 4t for that little bit extra weight, power and gear ratio making it more practicable for the road sections.

And if, like us, you are looking for a good all-rounder that is capable at all of the above – the KTM EXC-F 350 is your choice! It weighs the same as a 250 but has heaps more bottom end torque to make it easy to ride at low revs, open the throttle wide and you ’ll need to hold on tight! Whichever you choose, everything shown here will help you focus these bikes for your riding style, making them more personalised for the demands of UK and foreign trail riding trips such as the Trans European Trail.

Road Riding Upgrades Like many modern bikes, these do not come with a key ignition, adding one is a cost-effective way to protect your bike from opportunist thieves while you are stopped for lunch or

fuel. Just as important is ensuring you bike is road legal. If you plan on tackling any trails in Europe, you will need to ensure you have indicators and often mirrors when travelling across Europe. When purchased new a “ road legal” kit is supplied with mirrors and indicators and loom, but these were obviously a cheap afterthought. To solve this, we recommend keeping it simple with the SICASS undertray with built in number plate light and flush mounted indicators that are tucked out of the way and less likely to get damaged in the event you drop the bike.

The standard indicator switch gear is also an afterthought and upgrades are available like the SICASS multifunction switch which is a lot more intuitive to use. For rides where there are lots of gates and start stops, getting an “ over/under ” kill/start switch makes this effortless as both controls are right next to one another.

We have tested heaps of mirrors and the ▲

HINTS& TIPS

ones we use time again are the Double Take Enduro or Scrambler. They mount neatly onto the brake or clutch clamps and having a RAM system means they can be easily flicked in and out when on the tough trails. We prefer the Scrambler model as its smaller, we find you do not actually need to move it in when on the trails.

There are plenty of GPS and phone mount systems available that can be mounted to handlebars, we prefer the type that mounts directly in the centre as its less likely to take a knock in the event of a crash. Key Ignition £60 Indicators and loom £250 Upgraded multifunction switch £50 Over under kill switch £50

Performance upgrades Straight out of the factory these bikes are lighter and have more power than any road bike of a similar capacity. This means you won ’t need to fork out for expensive exhaust systems, or power mods and unless you ’ re a pro rider you wouldn ’t tell the difference anyway.

To truly get the best out of any off-road bike you need to get the suspension set up to your weight and riding style. This is often overlooked but this is the single most important upgrade as it will make the bike perform how the factory designed it to and in turn will help your confidence and ability.

As a general guide, the factory settings on new bikes are for a 75kg rider, which includes the gear the rider is wearing. Now that is probably only around 10% of riders that use these bikes for trail riding, so if you are buying a used bike be sure to check if the suspensions been altered, and if in doubt get it set up professionally. Pound for pound this is the best place to improve performance. Suspension setup £200- 500.

If you plan on hitting the loose gravel or rocky ruts, a suspension damper can really help the front wheel to track where you point

it, they can also reduce fatigue and arm pump. They are adjustable and you can change the settings on the go to explore how they work. The industry standard is the Scotts Damper but these are expensive and a complete kit from an unbranded alternative will cost less than a 1/3 of the Scotts damper on its own. They will still offer all of the same features without the premium price tag. Steering Damper £250-750.

Comfort There isn ’t a bike that fits every ride, so making some changes based on your height and ergonomics when riding can make a massive difference on how confident and comfortable you feel. I’ m 5’9” and 90kg, our KTM EXC-F 350 has been set up for my weight, but because I only have a 30” inside leg I’ ve added a Seat Concepts comfort low seat. This is not only far more comfortable that the standard 4x2 wood seat but its also 15mm lower to combat my short legs. We also have wider foot pegs and thanks to the steering damper and 25mm taller handlebars – no need for bar risers to suit my riding style. Custom seat £100-350. Handle bar risers £20-100. Rally pegs £25-150.

Protection Parts Again, protection parts are proportionate to what you want to use the bike for. We have stuck with the OEM plastic skid plate. So far, it’ s never let me down and the bike doesn ’t get used for Hard Enduro so adding a heavy metal one just isn ’t worth it. We have added Polisport swingarm and engine covers. These parts offer protection from wear and impacts, whilst not adding much weight.

Wrap around handguards are a must, they protect your levers (and hands) in the event of a crash and we really like the SICASS ones as they have the option to have LED indicators built into the deflectors. It’ s a smart feature, and one you can add at a later date using the replacement light kit. When viewed from the front they give a really positive message to oncoming traffic. When you consider a crash that damages a radiator is a day-ender and is likely to be around £100 for a replacement radiator, a good set of radiator guards is an obvious solution.

Fuel tanks Our bike has the standard 9.5L Fuel tank. Its plenty big enough for trail riding in the UK and we top up normally at lunch breaks. If you are going to be travelling to areas where fuel is restricted there are many ways to increase capacity. You can either take fuel cans or cells such as the Fuel Friends available in 0.5/1.0/1.5l variants that can be strapped to the fenders or you may want to consider a larger fuel tank.

Its important to understand that increasing the fuel tank capacity will have an impact on the bike ’ s centre of gravity, the suspension and performance. Consider carefully actually how much fuel you need to carry before buying the biggest fuel tank available. Common upgrades are 11.5, 15 & 20 litre fuel tanks and the 11.5 is the only one that uses the existing radiator scoops. Larger Fuel tank £200-300.

Emergency fuel can £20. ■ Trail Riders Warehouse can supply many of the parts mentioned within this article and TRF members get a 10% discount using code TRF10. www.trailriderswarehouse.co.uk