I am taking a 1998 KTM RXC 620 around the world in MAY. I will be gone for about 5 months. At least half the trip will be on gravel/dirt. I have been working up a spare parts list and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions or knew a good place to order them? Thanks.

www.dualsportdiary.com

I've had good luck ordering from www.ktm-parts.com
I would start with a basic collection of parts that are most likely to fail:
-spare spark plug (prone to fouling with bad gas)
-spare jets, and a few carb parts (diaphram, and assorted o- rings).
-spare fuel filter,and fuel line
- at least one oil filter (K&N Brand)
-valve cover gaskets (prone to leaking, although you could always improvise on most of the gaskets.
-countersprocket oil seal
Have the bike fully serviced before you leave.And most importantly, go for a test tour before you leave. This will help to de-bug your gear. I have found that a good toolset, and spare parts box is well worth the extra weight and space used up (one half of the left side pannier is set aside for tools/parts).

Thanks...We are going to range in elevation from sea level to at least 12,000. Do you think I should get different jets for higher elevation or just let her run poorly?

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000213.html

At very high altitudes you can remove the side cover for the air box. Of course this is just a quick fix, but it will help you make it over the pass.I have found that the engine will run fine over an altitude difference of about 5,000 feet, assuming that the main jet size is correct.I live at 7,000 feet, and the correct carb settings are good down to about 2,000 feet.At sea level I would install a jet two sizes up, and lower the engine idle speed. The vast majority of your trip will most likely be at sea level, since this is where most people live, and build cities.

Get Ultra Heavy duty inner tubes and take a bag of spare chain links.....

I think you will find your engine runs fine even up to 12,000 ft. I have taken my '00 640 Adv. to over 3,000 m (10,000 ft) without any noticable loss of performance.

Ian's list is very comprehensive - about the only thing he missed is the essential KTM bottle opener! I would also recommend that you take lots of electrical tape. It does wonders in fixing your luggage, mirrors, panels etc when you crash.

It all fits in Touratech tail rack bag, with a little room to spare.

I've got by in the past without some of the items on my list.

I'd include the trick KTM bottle opener/13mm wrench but my Swiss tool and the 10/13mm combination wrench do these two functions.

Gaffer tape is the fixer for me.

I'm currenly working on the idea of making my own multi-tools by welding bits of tools together e.g. spark plug wrench on one end of a tyre lever, wheel wrench on one end of the other tyre lever.

I'll post when I've got somewhere or rejected the idea completely.

Willis: let us know how you get on with your RTW.

Cheers.

[This message has been edited by Ian (edited 07 April 2006).]

since u r riding a 620, uuuuhhhh lots of loctite?

get to know ur bike, do all the servicing yourself... this is especially true in africa

[This message has been edited by gozell (edited 07 April 2006).]

__________________
Amsterdam-Australia 2007-201x Amsterdam-Capetown 2002-2003

lots of good advice , my 1 cents worth:

i think there are 3 issues here - preparation, spares and tools:

prep:

there are many things you can do to reduce wear, make failures safer and reduce the need to carry spares.

- zip tie spokes together so a broken one hopefully avoids a blowout
- slime in bridgetsone extra heavy duty tubes
- put a front inner tube over the rear shock to protect it from dust etc
- fork gaiters to protect seals (mine have never failed)
- fit a scotts steering damper - the only 'toy' id have if i could only have one.
- foldable mirrors that dont break when you drop it.
- fit a scottoiler - doubles chains life. turn flow to max on dirt roads
- travel light.

- er, the second thing is to decide what work you'll do on the bike yourself, do it and list what tools you need to do it, then take them with you id suggest you should be doing your own services if on a rtw.

er, i have a page showing what i wanted to do and what tools are required - www.fowb.co.uk - bike - tools & spares - tools.

i also have a page listing whats failed and why. 30% were dealer **** ups, 40% wear and tear. i list what ktm dealers to avoid.

- spares:

- spare clutch cable already in place and ends sealed

- reusable filters http://www.dual-star.com/index2/Bran...oil_filter.htm if they fit - im still using them after 90,000km, so never have to lug new ones around.

- zip ties

- tie downs

- assorted nuts and bolts - very handy even with loctite.

- re jets - depends on your exhaust system. i had full akrapovic and couldnt overtake alorry at 80kmh at 4500 metres - on a 160. they are tiny. suggest 5 smaller ones and screwdriver 1/4 drive to remove main jet without removing carb.

- length of (same!) chain, splitter and joiner - see sommers site.

- 2 lengths of wire and a small bulb to use as a continuity tester.

- metal hand guards and spare levers (never used but just in case)

- tyre levers and valve remover - practice at home first, not in the desert.

- maybe an inlet cam follower but check for your model. they fail at 40,000 km ish on 640s. i now replace them before they fail.

- gearbox output shaft seal - the orange one - lasts a long time if installed with oil and seats correctly!

- er, id suggest a service before you leave is not good advice - i did it once on a guzzi before going to france - the rear wheel seized at 120kmh in nowheresville because the drain plug fell out. i was lucky not to crash. do it yourself.

- oh, and an account at sommers and fedex.

good luck!

__________________
Jerome

fowb.co.uk

Does this not depend on which 620?

I thought the 620s that do have a counterbalancer have the same counterbalancer as the 640s.

Not sure if Willis' bike has a counterbalancer?

Jerome's great reply raises some questions:

I'd guess you'd have to be careful using zip ties so as not to over tension the spokes.

I saw some clips on the KTM website to hold the spokes in place. On my shopping list.

Can one still readily mend a puncture with puncture preventative in the tube? Be interested to know.

Is there then a danger of the shock overheating?

I wouldn't do this in the Sahara. The sand mixes with the oil and...

Just changing to rubber bands from zip-ties holding the spare cable in place to prevent the spare cable from flexing too much with original.

Do metal handguards always save the levers?

Anyone know of any on-line guides for lock-wiring the drain plug in place?

Cheers.

4 hours to go before the ferry loads...

- it doesnt need any care - the zip ties go over the 'x's' where the spokes cross each other, so they dont affect the spoke tension at all.

Ive never had a puncture with slime so i dont worry about it (and have a spare front tube anyway). I started using it after seeing a motorcoss tyre with 5 acacia thorns sticking through the tyre into the tube. the rider never even knew they were there.

how would you know if it did? ive never noticed anything - today was 9 hours fast riding and it was still damping at the end

ive not done sand but loads of dirt roads. the high oil flow makes the dirt fly off so the chain is always clean and has a covering of oil. this is what scott recommend and they do lots of off road stuff.

yes, if they are fitted properly - so when the handguard bends it doesnt hit the lever . ive dropped my bike so many times (at least once a week at one point) and they've never even bent. I just bash the handguards back into shape.

__________________
Jerome

fowb.co.uk

Cheers.

I realised where the zip ties were, but if they were really tight they'd be pulling on the spokes so potentially over tensioning them.

Regarding the shock overheating, I guess you'd lose damping and soon realise.

Hey,
as original parts for the KTM are not so easy to get, pack the oil filters, chains and sprockets (the originals will last around 20000 KM) and some crash parts just in case.
Look at Jeromes website, he got quite some experience on the trip. Best dealer on spare parts shipping is KTM Sommer from Oberhausen Germany www.ktm-sommer.de they also speak English.
Cheers

__________________
Rasmus
www.panamericana.info