So I've just done a load of servicing on both of our bikes & thought I'd pop some of the info down on here for a reference...
Oil change for the KTM 250 EXC-F 2007...
There are 3 oil
filters, 2 mesh ones & 1 paper paper one.
The paper one, (HiFlo HF655), is on the left side above the footpeg, there is a mesh one below
the gear lever, hidden behind a bolt. The other mesh one is underneath,
behind the sump guard & uses an 8mm allen key. The sump drain plug
is at the rear of the engine block, facing the back wheel & is a
13mm socket.
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| Paper filter just below carb, Mesh filter is behind bolt at the back of the gear lever |
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| Oil Filler & Window |
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| Paper filter home |
The oil needs to be changed regularly,
(KTM say every 15 hours), The paper filter I change about every 30 - 45
hours as it doesn't have such a hard life that it would have if it was a
race bike. The mesh ones get taken out & rinsed through with clean
oil & any debris cleaned off as advised by our KTM dealer.
I do change the O rings though as they perish fairly quickly along with the copper sump plug washer.
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| Bottom mesh oil filter |
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| Sump drain plug |
This bike takes 900ml of oil at a straight oil change &1.1L with a paper filter change. I make
sure to measure it accurately as the gear change becomes stiff when it's
not the right level. I use fully synthetic at 10/60 weight. I also make sure the oil is warm before I try to drain it.
Wipe everything out before you replace anything then check the torque settings for all the bolts as you replace them.
Look them up in the
KTM Online Manuals
Chain & Sprockets for the KTM
We also changed the chain & sprockets this time too... Lucy opted for the the KTM Powerparts version, with the standard sprockets of 52/13. The
rear one has steel teeth & an alloy body, so best of both worlds weight vs wear... the front is a standard steel one & the chain is a Regina gold O ring version. We had to take out 1 link from the change to get it to fit but otherwise it was a doddle to fit. especially with the split link option.
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| The knackered old chain & sprockets |
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| A muddy looking KTM!! |
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| I cooked the dinner!! ;-) |
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| Lucy cleaning the back wheel |
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| Bit of grease for pudding! |
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Shiny new chain & sprockets
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Update: 10/04/2015 - We just had a bit of a lucky escape with the chain on this... the split link wore through & popped off. Lucy managed to stop in time before any damage was done to her leg, which is the good part. Upon further investigation, the chain had banged into the clutch slave cylinder, which was protected by an aftermarket chuck on aluminium, this & the chain guide are pretty heavily scarred up now. The chain has wear all along it's top face of each link, the link, being slightly softer metal wore through. I think this maybe due to the tension in the chain & the fact that the front sprocket is very heavily worn, so it's allowed the chain to bounce around. This & the rear wheel bearing have gone at the same time has produced some interesting & dangerous results.
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| 3 months old!! |
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| Wear on the top of chain & the slave cylinder damage |
Answer at the moment: change the front sprocket asap, (Tick), check all around the chain run for any dragging , (Tick) now monitor it all!!
Air Filter
So after a few hours, several river swims & plenty of mud, it's time to change the air filter. The design of the air box on this bike is one of it's really more stupid things. It sucks in water like a sponge, straight into the engine & you have to stop to drain & clean it out. Again we used the recommended air filter from Triple D, no worries to change, it is pre-oiled & takes about 5 minutes, which is a good thing!
Pop off the panel, unhook the wire, pull out the old one & reverse the process.
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| The new one... |
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| The old one... |
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| Looking at the air filter from under the seat |
Coolant Change
Lucy's bike blew a load of steam out of it on our last ride, so we headed down to Keswick to top up the water & a refuel to get us home. Because of this I decided it was time to give the radiator a flush & replace the coolant plus check all the hoses.
There seems to be a small amount of wetness around the junction of the Y piece that comes out of the top of the radiators, otherwise I can see no other leaky bits, so I'll need to replace that sometime soon. Triple D says around £20 for the replacement KTM part or I've looked at the
Samco racing hoses which have not got the Y connector in them but are a complete tube, these are around £70 +, so it might have to go on a wish list just now!!
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| Standard KTM hoses |
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| Samco racing hoses |
For the coolant, the manual states a 50/50 mix of coolant & distilled water, then fill it up to 10mm below the overflow cap, that's pretty difficult to judge, so I made up a litre of mix & slowly poured it in, then soaked up the extra with a rag. Using the tap water at the garage can damage the alloy in the radiators so I also did a bit of a flush with the coolant on a 70/30 mix, ran the engine until it was hot & drained the fluid back out to refresh it with the correct mix levels.
The drain point for the 2007 model is the lowest bolt on the bottom of the water pump, it's a 6mm bolt so go easy on the re tightening of it!!
A radiator fan & a temperature sensor would be a good purchase for this bike, as it's not used for racing & it gets to idle at gates etc, it would keep a lot cooler if a fan kicked in every now & then. Simon's 400 has one he fitted to it, the temp sensors are notoriously faulty apparently, so he wired his into his indicator switch, so every now & then when you ride behind him, he suddenly starts indicating & in reality his bike is just getting too hot!!
Trailtech seem to make one for £160 ish with a built in temp guage, there is a KTM one which I don't know the price of as yet, so again another wish list bit of kit for this bike.
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| Trailtech Radiator Fan |
So a couple more jobs ticked off for now, replace the tyres next as they are looking a bit worn now. Lucy wants a job in a bike garage next if anybody is looking for mechanic chick!! (Especially if the lead mechanic looks a bit like Ben at Triple D... ;-)
