ktm 540 big bore project!!

[RT]

just bought this
ktm 540 2 stroke - eBay, Trail Bikes, Motorcycles, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 08-Sep-10 13:56:47 AEST)

I'm really excited! This one is going to be a long term project and want to get it looking to the same condition as this one!! and this nasty thing it going to have full road licence!!

ACFA7.jpg

first thing to do is get it over to perth

stay tuned!

[Donza]

Nice mate, classic Kato, keep us posted!

[Rocket]

Awesome mate.

I had a 2002 CR500E derestricted and road licenced. To have an open class motocrosser for the road was a dream since my YZ490 days way back when.
But if you have visions of riding this bike around town, you may be unpleasantly surprised.

The CR used to pig root at steady speeds, oil up, idle like crap at the lights and was a slut to start in a hurry if it stalled and was as loud as all hell.
Complete and utter fucking mental thing on the bitumen though, I self imposed a ban on riding mine around Perth after nearly fourth gear wheelying past an parked unmarked police car. Luckily they were focused on filling out their paperwork, musta had earplugs in too !!

You'll enjoy it on the street, but possibly only for a very short time if your not carefull.

[Phildo]

I bought mine back in 2000, after it had been sitting out the front of Kawasaki Northside for well over a year. The shop owner wouldn't take less than $3,500 for it and I wasn't going to pay more than $2,000.

In mid 2000 the shop changed hands, so straight away I went and spoke to the new owner.

Me: "Do you wanna dump that piece of shit or keep it?
Gary: "Dump it!"
Me: "How much then?"
Gary: "Make an offer."
Me: "$1,500".
Gary: "I've got a made who's offered that, so you'd have to go at least a bit higher."
Me: "$1,750"
Gary: "Done."

*handshake*

I actually sold a Suzuki van to pay for the KTM and didn't have a car for a few days (until the replacement van got licenced). The van was sold to someone only a few streets away, which was handy, but meant that I didn't have a way of getting the KTM home.

Then it occurred to me. It's got a compliance plate. Which was one of the reasons why I always wanted one.

Before I dropped off the van to the buyer I went to a licencing centre and got a temporary movement permit. I rode the KTM home and kept riding it around for the next two days on the permit.

Bloody insane thing. At 60km/h there was so much vibration that I couldn't even see road markings properly. The ride home from Osborne Park to South Perth was amusing - I'm pretty sure the bike had previously been in Kalgoorlie because it had desert racing gearing (ie very small back sprocket). Cruise along at 80 then turn the throttle. It would hit 140 within a few seconds and I'd back off to 80. Rinse and repeat.

My plan was always to get it road licenced. Never got around to it. It's sat in the shed untouched for most of the last decade. Some day I'll pay someone to restore it to brand new condition, get it road licenced and do the occasional social ride on it with sports bikes.

I rode a handful of enduros on it in 2000 and 2001. It was possibly the most evil handling, unco-operative bike that I've ever (tried) to ride. Despite getting the forks and shock serviced, it just didn't want to go around corners. KTMs at the time were actually quite good handlers so there's definitely something that needs sorting out.

There were only a handful of these things in the state so some day I'll do some homework and track down who the original owner was.

Back in the early 1990s, Rob Twyerold (now manager of KTM race team) and Scott Staines (WA enduro champ throughout the 90s) each had one of these. These guys could certainly ride them to their potential.

There was a pony express event at New Norcia in August 1990, where Rob and Scott teamed up together with their respective bikes. Yep, that meant at any one time there was a KTM540 out on the course. Naturally, I got passed by either rider regularly. I can confirm that being passed by a KTM540 that is being ridden by a top rider is an extremely painful experience. Having one of these things throwing gravel at your face at full power is not something that you'll ever forget.

I have video footage of Scott Staines doing wheelies across the paddock that day at 100-120km/h.

I rode the Lake Lefroy Desert Race in 1991 on my 1990 KTM250. Rob Twyerold and Scott Staines were also there on their KTM540s. Rob was favourite to win but managed to snag his hand on some barbed wire fence at high speed, causing major damage to his hand.

They are a pig to kickstart. Having the kickstart on the left side is one of the most masochistic things of all time. Scott Staines used to start his easily when sitting on the bike. Bastard. I managed to start mine each time by standing next to it and getting my right leg up high enough. I would then jump up and put my entire weight onto the kickstart. You need to be a tall and heavy person to do this. Often at enduro events I would have trouble starting it and others would walk over and volunteer to have a go. There wasn't a single time ever that anyone else managed to start that bike.

Riding one of these things is quite an experience. They will basically belt you into submission. Riding one is like trying to have a constructive conversation with a crocodile; no matter how polite you are it still wants to destroy you.

There is a thread for old KTMs on the KTM Talk web site - http://ktmtalk.com There are a lot of old-school guys in the US that love these things.

I'll never sell mine. Some day when I finally own a house, it will reside inside the house, along with my 1990 KTM250e/xc that I will also get restored. Both bikes are antique classics now.

RT: How much did you pay for yours? You did well, if I had have known about there being one on eBay I would probably have bought it myself. Gimme a call some time on 0418 922 500 and nag me a few times and I'll possibly dig out an old ADB magazine to scan the article that was a comparison between the KTM540 and CR500 back in 1991.

[out_in_front]

Dammit I want one now... Never realised KTM did a 500+cc 2 stroke

BTW that swingarm has a much smaller profile than a CR500's etc... suprised it hasnt broken, it looks tiny. I am guessing that tank lasts about 10sec at full throttle?

[RT]

You'll enjoy it on the street, but possibly only for a very short time if your not carefull.

hahaha i never seem to hold my licence for long with the toys in my shed Thats one of the great things about licenced dirt bikes, when you lose your licence you can still ride them in the dirt!

phildo I paid $2200 + $700 to transport it over to perth. Think I paid I little too much, but i have been looking for a while and these things are hard to find in half decent condition these days. I check almost every day trying to find one of these for sale, and when i saw the ad this morning a rang the guy straight away and made an offer! I cant wait to get stuck into this project!

I still have my ktm 380 to keep me entertained so i wont get impatient and rush the rebuild. I want to do a proper job on this one.

[RT]

oooooo i think i know what colour sceme i'm going to give it

Brochure_10_0.jpg

[Rob]

Yep like the others have said, pleaty of fun on the street is a open class ADR'd 2 stroke bike.

I dont think I have been out for a ride once on my 500E that I havent been pulled over. Get used to that!!

[Mizer]

Nice bike

I have an 1988 KTM 600 GS and get all my KTM goodies from this guy

André Horvaths KTM Klassiker

[RT]

There is a thread for old KTMs on the KTM Talk web site - KTMTalk Home Page - The Absolute BEST Resource on the Planet for KTMs There are a lot of old-school guys in the US that love these things.

heres one of my favorites Board Message

[Marty MOOSE]

Hey Phildo Robs was only the 500 as he had a 540 and got pinged in M/X as it was over the max engine size. I think that became Staino's bike. Your right they are a pig

MM

[Phildo]

oooooo i think i know what colour sceme i'm going to give it

Brochure_10_0.jpg

That's the 1990 colour scheme, which appears to be what your bike is. They basically never changed, except for graphics and name (ie it became the KTM550 in 1993). The images in the original post are 1992. KTMs were all red and white in 1990, and went to green/red/white in 1991 (ie known as "peppermint").

Found the Scott Staines wheelie video clip today:

YouTube - New Norcia.mov

Note: these things are VERY hard to balance on the back wheel. I managed to flip mine over backwards on limestone track back in 2000, resulting in a banged up knee and fractured bone in my left hand. It hurt... LOTS. Knowing how bloody impossible that bike is to balance makes me fully appreciate the genius talent that Scott Staines had on a bike.

Some day I'll get mine going again (needs a base gasket at the moment) but I am well aware that about 20 seconds after getting it going the novelty of owning one will wear off. Like I said, it's like trying to have a conversation with a crocodile.

RT: when you get yours going, have a play around doing some wheelies, but when it wants to flip there's no stopping it. Don't even think about getting on it will ALL off-road riding gear (including knee guards for when you flip it over).

[Christo]

Did I hear someone say S U P E R M O T O.....

[Phildo]

Did I hear someone say S U P E R M O T O.....

Nice idea, in theory. That was one of the intentions for my bike.

However, reality...

Motard bikes need to be able to go around corners. KTM540s completely, utterly fail at this concept. Dismally.

[out_in_front]

Did you try to ride yours with smaller rims and decent tyres on it? its the only way to be sure. The rim size change will have a massive impact - they look quite large in the photo - I would guess the std 20-21" front & 19" rear, just the centripetal forces alone at speed will make the bike hard to turn. Stability is one of the reasons some Enduro bikes have the larger rims (usually back wheel) compared to the MX bikes.

[renjie456789]

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

[RT]

Well it has arrived! And I have finally got around to having a look at it. I have only managed to kick this thing over once, as after my foot was sore. This bike is an absolute beast to kick over compared to my ktm 380, I have to jump so high i almost hit my head on the roof just to get it to kick all the way through......maybe I’ll have to look into this a bit more. But judging by the compression, I’d say the top end is healthy, but will pull the cylinder off and have a better look later....
This is how she arrived

bit dirty

gave her a quick wash and degrease and had a closer inspection




what I am amazed about, is that, most of the parts are still original, including the seat screws, panels and fixings, the type of stuff that normally breaks or rattles off first. I'm not sure if this bike has been restored many moons ago, or just had someone who had loved it for most of its life. Anyway this is good news for me, as it means I can restore some of the orginal parts instead of replacing them.
so far I have already got the graphics and badges, but have heaps more parts on the way for this baby!
Can anyone recommend someone who can do a good job on removing and repairins exhaust pipes?

[Jamathi]

Where are you?



How very similair they are other than the engine, this being a 1988 LC4 540 diesel

[RT]

Where are you?

karrinyup

[RT]

Ok well after doing the ring around, I found out that it will cost me almost as much to restore the rims, including new rims, relacing and powdercoating the hubs and swapping wheel bearings out, as to buying a set of motard rims.....If I go the motard rims i'll still have the original dirt rims to throw on when I'm wanting to go off road. Not sure what to do. What things do I need to consider when changing over to motard rims? do i need to change the brakes or update suspension?

I have added a poll, should I motard or just put new dirt rims on the bike

anyone know where to get some rims, or if I should consider relacing the rims myself. I've never had to change rims before

cheers