KLE Fork Change help
 

Hey all!

I have hit a small bump in my project of swaping the forks on my kle. I bought a set of wp43 forks and clamps, I also bought anothe OEM lower clamp to get the stem out and put it in KTM Clamps. But today I noticed that OEM stem is welded in place .

Any Ideas how deep the weld is? Can I just grind it off and press the stem out?
http://shrani.si/t/1X/bP/2xg4wuu6/img36161.jpg

Thanks!

Mill out a new stem for KTM tripples which accepts KLE bearings. I did that on my conversion. If you want schematics of my stem, I can send it to you.

I would like those schematics please.

I ground down the weld and took everything to my local mechanic to press it out. He has a industrial 250t press. Well lets just say that the end result wasn't what I expected :(:(, there goes 50€ down the drain.....
http://shrani.si/t/3N/5B/5iXha4J/img3617.jpg

Thanks for the help!

Don't worry. KTM tripples and new stem made from quality aluminum and you are good to go. You just need new steering head bearings.

Btw, you've got new mail :) .

Thank you very much, hopefully one day we meet and I can repay this with some bierbier

I don't have a KTM stem as I got the triples without it. I will get it made from inox or 7075 alu.
http://shrani.si/t/7/jB/43LKfw8B/img35991.jpg

Thanks again!

Better go with 7075 Alu, if you can find it. Also, you will probably have clearance issues between upper KTM tripple and those false air intake pipes around dashboard. You can freely remove them, they are for show only anyway.

Well, I handed over the plans to my father to take them to work and see what he can come up with, only time will tell.

I checked the air intakes and was thinking of heating them up and moulding them out of the way, if it won't work I will remove them.

With the stem out of thy way, thanks to you svestenik:thumbup1:, I can focus on the next important task- making a calliper bracket and wheel spacers.

I will update as soon as I have something to show or tell.

I'm watching this thread with interest, hope it all works well for you.

Southern Cross

Geez, you stalking me Wardy? :rofl:

And you just bought the bloody KLE, why would you want to swap the forks?
I thought you liked how much better it was exiting your driveway than the Strom is.

These "little" bikes do get under the skin huh? :mchappy:

Even though the only riding I will be doing on mine for the next ten days straight is to and from work doh I'm loving mine. :clap:

When I get a weekday off maybe we will do a coffee run with some easy dirt and nice winding tar.

bier
Ock.

Oh, and maybe a set of Yamaha legs would be an option [if there is something in the right diameter that is] :blushing:

Well since you mentioned Yamaha, my first option was a wr 426 forks and trees. Forks are 46mm which looked it would be the biggest I would go on KLE, but I couldn't find a good set, so I opted for WP43's. WP48 would be a bit of an overkill on KLE in my opinion, though the best preforming option of these three.

My first impressions riding the KLE ( I have owned it for just over 1 week) in respect to suspension is that it is nice and plush, it reminded me of my R1200 GS. I want nice plush suspension that gives me a good level of comfort on both gravel and less than good bitumen. For the moment I have no intention of changing anything until I have ridden enough miles, say 1000kms, and then evaluate.
I can't wait for my first road trip I might just shoot off one day this week and do a few hundred KMS.
Southern Cross

Hey!

Things on this project are moving along very slowly. Slower than I would want it to move. I have still not found the material for making a stem. No company wants to supply such small amount of aluminium.

The good news is that I have managed to find a set of head barrings from my local engineering shop. I have talked to the Kawasaki seller and he wanted 31€ per barring, that's 62€. To much for my taste. At the engineering shop I managed to get both for 35€.

They are FAG barrings, here are the OEM part numbers and dimensions:
92116-1009 BEARING-ROLLER,HR320/28XJ 28mm x 52mm x 17mm
92116-1052 BEARING-ROLLER,HICAP 32005JR 25mm x 47mm x 16mm
http://shrani.si/f/G/8F/GpMx53m/img3678.jpg

Progress
 

Hey all!

I know this thread was dead for a long time now but hopefully that will soon change.

I have been riding quite a lot so there was no time for wrenching, but I managed to do a few things. Mostly designing stuff for the conversion.

I have remade drawings of a stem that svestenik has sent me, thanks again mate, I have also made drawings for axle conversion from KTM (20mm/24mm) to KLE(15mm), inserts for top triple clamp and for handlebar mounts.

I still have to draw up wheel spacers, calliper bracket and ignition holder, but these will have to wait until I mount KTM forks on the bike.

http://shrani.si/f/A/hZ/2iH729nU/img3939.jpg

Now I only need to do is give some of the plans to my father and some to a friend that has CNC equipment and wait for parts to be made.

Cheers!

Progress!
 

Well... After a looooong time I have made some significant progress. Today at work I managed to get the stem made to fit KTM Applied racing clamps and KLE barrings and nuts. Here is the result:
http://shrani.si/f/40/Q8/9MoUK6j/imag0580.jpg

Pressed and glued the stem in the clamps and pressed on the bottom barring with a new seal:
http://shrani.si/f/2G/m8/27ApBrkt/imag0581.jpg

Now I only need to wait for wheel axle reduction kit (from KTM 20mm to KLE 15mm), than I can mount the wheel and figure out what kind of wheel spacers I need to centre the wheel in the forks.

Till next time!

P.S.: Sorry for bad quality pics!

EPIC! nice work Ghosty!