Crawdaddy 96 Posted September 19, 2015 Hobiee's 2013 KTM 500XC-W was becoming a garage queen......so I drank some Koolaid and took it off his hands You can ride the rest or you can ride the best......you tell this guy you'd prefer a Japanese bike......I wouldn't dare.... Current line up in the CDaddy stable is now 09 KTM 300XCW (I've made no effort to sell it.....It's a unique/fun toy....different from the 4 bangers), 2012 KTM 350XCF-W (THE bike of choice for trail riding), and now a 2013 500XC-W for the bigger/longer/loaded dualsport trips in Baja/Arizona/Utah/etc. Maiden voyage "by me" last night. Can definitely feel the power difference. The big dog pumps it out. You can definitely be a little lazier with shifts. Kinda "buzzy" compared to 350. Not pleased about that since this is the long range rig for Baja/AZ./Utah camping. May have to try some handlebar inserts? Beefed up suspension feels good/familiar. I think the stock fork springs/rear shocks on the 350 & 500 are something like .44 in front 6.(?) rear spring. Bottom line, I am NOT a 150lb Austrian and I know I need beefier springs. I have .46 springs in the front of my 350 and stock valving. The 500 has .48 springs and valving has been redone by George of Suspension 101. Replacement rear spring on both the 350 and the 500 is a 7.6. I'm ~265lbs loaded with gear/tools (~240lbs + 25lbs?.......here's a novel idea - LOSE ~30lbs!!!). I'm told I should consider moving up into the ~.50-52 range on fork springs and maybe as high as 8.4 in the rear spring. I could definitely feel the improvement of going from the .46 with stock valving on my 350 to the .48 George put in for Brian with some valving rework. I didn't expect to even notice the difference at my skill level but I did. I definitely prefer the .48 set up in the 500. So .50 front springs might be even sweeter. We'll see, I'll ride it "as is" for a while. I have a replacement 7.6 spring on the rear of my 350 so the rear setup on the 500 was not new to me. Need to reset Sag on the 500. May also be experimenting with beefier rear springs down the line. We'll see. All in all the suspension feels better than my 350 (and I wasn't dissatisfied with my 350....but it seems clear beefier is likely better given my weight.....I just don't want the bike set up too stiff.....I'm an old/slow/fat trail rider....you won't see me out jumping triples anytime soon ) I'll be throwing the 5.3 gas tank on the 5-Hundo and skinnying the 350 back down again (which will be awesome)..... Forgot how shitty the stock headlights are.....coming down the Mtn last night was waaaay dimmer than I'm used to since I've gone aftermarket with HID/LED for years.... I plan on talking to the GPR boys. This bike came with a Scott's but I have GPRs on my other bikes. I'd imagine they'd like to see the CORE fleet dressed in 100% GPR. Will look into their shock absorbing/isolating bar mount at the same time. I'll also be contacting another CORE sponsor, Baja Designs. I've been spoiled with my Squadron XL. That POS stock headlight has to go bye bye.Speaking of necessary farkles, I had a Seat Concepts seat with me when I snagged the bike. My ass has no interest in sitting on that stock 2X4 KTM identifies as a seat - Ha! A Seat Concepts seat is always mandatory equipment on all my bikes. Took a spin again this morning.....across Santa Ysabel TT and over to Lake Henshaw for breakfast...... Front tire is a brand new Golden that everyone is talking about. I'll be throwing on a rear 120/80 Kenda Parker DT next week because I don't think the current Golden 140/80 rear will hold up for a weeks worth of Bullhead/Primm/Bar 10. Brian wore it down pretty good already. Thanks for the offer/deal Hobiee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bp619 107 Posted September 20, 2015 Sounds awesome surprised its buzzer than the 350. I wonder y. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagstr 288 Posted September 20, 2015 Crawdaddy, Your gas cap is crooked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted September 20, 2015 Nice little arsenal my brother! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagstr 288 Posted September 20, 2015 Chris, we can get together after the rain for you to check out my GPR Isolating Triple. The bike feels like I'm running flat tires, but it's smooth. It could be the Dunlop AT 81s . Also, These bikes have rubber drive dealys that where out, according to Chilly W. At 16hrs that should not be an issue.. D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crawdaddy 96 Posted September 22, 2015 Getting used to vibes after putting on ~300 miles Friday - Sunday. Now I barely notice.... Just a 350cc to 500cc adjustment in feel... Got the first flat out of the way yesterday. Added some flash tonight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amgems 79 Posted September 22, 2015 Vibration could be the rubber dampers in the clutch Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crawdaddy 96 Posted September 22, 2015 Vibration could be the rubber dampers in the clutch Bike is basically new......I think it's just more thump from the bigger thumper...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
