spazegun2213

Yup, the chain ate the long bolt and just pulled it out without looking (I figured KTM would engineer and install the bolt of a correct length?) is there room? did you just "invert" the locknut so you nylon to engage first? I assume you just ground most of the rest of the nut off to make sure the chain doesn't eat it. I'd still love to have someone run a tap through the hole in the frame... just in case.

I'll shoot some tonight. The threaded part is the main steel orange KTM frame. The non threaded hole, is in the alu subframe. The subframe is relived for a coundersunk bolt. but its this bolt

Well as I tear into my 500 I get to see just how many interesting things the previous owner did. Including use a long bolt to mount the subframe on the chain side of the bike. Normally this isn't a problem, but would explain the new chain the bike came with, because the old chain clearanced this long bolt. I removed it (because I busted the subframe) and marred the threads in the hole. With some investigation I think the hole can be retapped but my experience doing that is less than positive. Given the frame is threaded I'd rather toss some coin at someone that knows what they are doing and confident they can fix it. So does anyone have a good mobile mechanic I can call up? I could probably bring it to someone as well, but most shops are booked up as I've found out. Thanks Spaze

If you haven't found anything in a month, let me know. I currently have an entire kitchens worth of cabinets in mine and I'm hoping in a month they'll have been put to use. At the moment my 500 barely fits!

eggzackry.... I'm in for sure. But where would one RSVP for this?

Alright, well it wasn't for the tiger, but I did take the rear shock off the 500 to be rebuilt by George at Suspension 101. While Cooper actually did the work (you rock BTW) I'm SUPER satisfied with the whole experience. I was trying to make a training class this last weekend and they fit me in without a problem. Because of this and george talking me through a few things I'll be using them again for the forks with some new springs. Thanks guys!

yup, its clear I'm blind. the trail runs so close to the 8 that zoomed out it looks like it was just a pavement cruise! Looks like I need to get my eyes checked again!

hmmm, this seems to be showing an all pavement ride out the 8, up over sunrise (mt laguna), To Julian, and back to SD.

honestly I'd even take a map location for the start and end. I'm quite capable of getting lost...... errr finding my way? don't worry I'll pack extra gas!

Is there a GPX/map for this? I'm looking for more fun "small bike" stuff.

Sorry about the bike, and I hope its an easy fix. I'll be waiting to sign up for next year as well. I have a feeling it'll become a yearly pilgrimage for me. Not a lot of the trails are BBF, but that doesn't stop people from coming along. A Boss named Jani took his 1290SAR along with us on Friday and was faster than me in most places, lol! He did drop it more than a few times, but he loved the ride. He was one of the truly hardcore guys, that rode in, camped, rode trails, and then rode home.

We should have coordinated! I didn't really think anyone from this group was going. Wait, you were French tourist dude? I was hanging out with one of the French riders and then suddenly we were drinking with a bunch French tourists that "rescued" a rider. HA! what an epic story! Sounds like you had quite a weekend and I might need to ask you for help changing tubes. I'm still not great at it. I'm actually going to be in Louisiana that weekend 😭 or I'd totally be down for another one! As soon as I get my rear shock rebuilt (sprang a leak late in the day on Saturday) I'm 100% game! This event makes me want to find some cool out of the way 2 track to explore.

Preface: Well, if you don't know me, that isn't a surprise, I'm a n00b.... Last may I bought a tiger and loved it on the pavement, and on fire roads. However, any time the dirt got even a little rough, my skills didn't allow me to stay upright on it. I learned very quickly its heavy and I had no right taking it to places *I* wanted to go. So I sold it and bought a ktm 500, which is a much better learning tool, partly because no tears a shed when I drop the thing... which happens a lot. The Rally: On ADV rider I saw the n00bs rally posted and since I love DV, and want to get better riding offroad I signed up, showed up, and had a BLAST. I knew no one when I arrived. Not a damn person. After 3 days, many rides, camp fires and beers I left having made some great memories and friends. This is my story. I ended up prepping the bike and taking it to "the pink gate" Sunday the 19th and enjoyed myself. The HF hitch rack was new, and I thought it worked perfectly for my little test run. So I packed up Thursday morning and set out. Not even an hour into the trip, a strap breaks nearly sending the bike off the rack at 80mph... Luckily I had more straps. But I stopped at a local Lowes, bought more straps, and ended up arriving at DV with what looked like a 5th graters art project attached to the back. To get the bike off the rack I needed a hammer, plyers and a few other tools which I procured from someone at an adjacent campsite tearing apart them Beta. The reason for the procurement? The bike had to come off the rack for me to access the tools I brought... file that under lessons learned. The first organized ride was to Lookout City, which was marked as an Easy, 30 mile out and back to watch the sun go down. Easy, as I found out was... a joke, misnomer, and maybe... a right of passage? This ride was never easy. No one in their right mind would say "Easy" and the rains made it crazy hard. It was my hardest ride of the weekend (and my life?). The first few miles were easy, then we made a turn into what must have been a mile of quarter sized rocks, which were still wet... traction was, shall we say, limited. I'm so thankful I could just lift the 500 out of the whole it would dig. Then there are "the Steps" which are a section of steep rocky steps. By the time I made it to that point there were 5 guys (one was the ride organizer) helping everyone lift and start their motos. Everyone fell... everyone. Just after that section... guess what... MORE small ROCKS! This was followed by a steep slightly muddy climb. But the end result was a beautiful view of Panamint Valley and the sunset. Turns out about half the riders turned around before the steps. But anyone that made it to the steps, made it up. We paused to take a few photos and enjoy the amazing view. This was about the time I realized I was gassed, and still had to ride back... in the dark. FML. The group stuck closely together on the way down and the only reason I could see anything was someone's high beam behind me. Friday I went on an "intermediate" ride with the same ride leader as lookout city. It amazing exploring Ballarat, Pleasant Canyon, Kopper Cabin, and a few other spots. I was the slowest rider, and was completely gassed when we got back. But everyone in the ride was cool with my pace and everyone offered words of encouragement and advice... it was awesome. This ride is also where I learned that the bikes previous owner was a forgetful mechanic and I am not as savvy checking out bikes as I thought. The chain tensioner nuts, were missing... and riding on the rocks out in DV meant I was readujsting my chain every time we stopped. When we got back to camp I procured some nuts, and solved that problem. I was invited to more than a few fires that night and had gotten to know quite a few riders from both rides. The fires were nice, and the company was awesome. Saturday was a ride (of unknow difficulty) organized out of a chat over a camp fire the night before. I was asked to sweep a ride to Darwin, up over centennial flats and over to boxcar cabin. I reiterated I was a noob, but the leader was someone I had ridden with and he had been watching me. We were also taking a GSA1200 on the ride, which meant we'd probably be stopping to pick it up a lot. I was honored, and accepted. The ride started a bit rocky and we were slow going, then sand.... A LOT OF SAND. The 500 is super easy to manage in sand and one of the best riders of the group was giving me pointers as we approached it. By the second mile of sand, I felt like a rockstar and could start, stop and pretty much pick my lines once I got going. We ate lunch in Darwin which is/isn't a Ghost town. Centennial flats was amazing 2 track through Joshua trees, and with the snow capped peaks framing it.... the scenery was epic. The hard packed dirt did give way to sand from time to time, but by then we were all enjoying ourselves and opening up the throttles. The day concluded with a raffle and more stories around camp fires. I had a blast, and if you like camping and bikes, I think you would as well. Lookout City: Centennial Flats