05 550 First ride

AKA, "05 550 Berg vs 06 KTM 450 EXC" or, "why is nsman trying to kill me?"
Anyway,here goes
Temp-60'F Elevation 200-700' asl.Ride-too much fireroad with some snotty singletrack and mud and rocks and roots.Less of the latter than intended due to the fact that I was unable to fid my way due to excessive clearcutting and new logging roads.
All in all the bike was amazing.I had heard that these could be intimidating but it didn't seem so at all.All kinds of power if you wanted it but enough torque to pull a taller gear at lower speeds if you didn't.
Jetting-close,but not quite.I can't speak for the stock jetting as this bike had the Lineaweaver jet kit installed from new.Bill,the mechanic at Valley Yamaha wasn't happy with the stock set up so that was good enough for me.I had a hard time kick starting it at these temps with my mx boots(e start worked readily enough)Also had a slight lean hesitation off the bottom and slight popping on closed throttle.However,I can kickstart it easily in the basement with my slippers on(wife takes exception to this for some reason)where the temp is about 70 degrees.For now I plan to richen up the fuel screw slightly as the weather is cool and I expect as soon as it warms up to the usual summer riding temps the jetting will be spot on.I may end up going one size larger on the pilot for spring and fall but I'll wait and see.Having the accelerator pump hooked up would have no doubt been an aid for cold starting but given how it starts at a slightly warmer temp I expect this won't be an issue with some minor adjustments.Not that I doubt Mr. Lineaweavers credentials or abilities,but having been an auto mechanic for 20+years and being well familiar with the old days of carburetors and accelerator pumps and the purpose of the pump as well as the resulting problems when they went bad(and also coming off a two stroke)I had my doubts that you could disable the pump and still be able to whack it open at low rpm to clear a rock or log without having it bog.As it turned out,it has no bog whatsoever.Even the slight lean hesitation is no issue as it blows past this point and puts you straight up in a hurry-and this is from second gear at a rockcrawling pace.I guess I should have known.Sorry Dale
Suspension-pretty good but seems to have a tendency to wash the front end out.The first time it did this I made a heroic attempt to dab with my head but this proved less than effective.After that I was prepared for it and managed to compensate.This may be my own doing as I have the rear sag set at 105mm so may have to jack this up a bit.I took a few hard hits at speed as well as a few slap down wheelies and small woods type jumps and still had about 2.5" of unused front travel(I have o rings on the lower tubes)so I may have some adjustment range here as well.
Handling-seems good but slower than what I'm used too(02 KTM 125SX)
When weighting the pegs for a left,right,left transition to go around rocks or whatever it takes a little more time to initiate.Given the engine size and weight this wasn't unexpected.I think a little fine tuning is in order but all in all it seems to work very well and tracks straight over the crappiest of terrain.
Engine- :shock: :shock: :shock: Yahooooo..all kinds everywhere.What more can you say.I now have 118km/2.7 hrs on it so I changed the oil and filter.Oil looks slightly dark with some sludge on the magnet.The screen has a dozen small chips on it and the inside of the filter has just a couple small chips in it.Nothing at all like the scary looking long slivers I used to get off previous KTM's.
Misc.-I love the adjustable brake pedal.For some reason,my toes always hang down past the front of the pegs when sitting or standing and I've never been able to position it in such a way that I don't have to ride with my foot pointed out or dragging the rear brake-until now.It seems like a small thing but it makes a big difference to me.
As for a comparison of the two,I couldn't get over how soft and cushy his seat was.My previous KTM's(an EXC and an SX)were hard as a board.The Berg seat is better than those but his seat is better than that.Soft and cushy but you don't feel the base.It reminds me of a Honda seat.Not a big issue but definately noticeable.
The other thing I noticed when getting on the EXC was how low it sat.The suspension hardly sagged with my weight(I'm 160,he's 210)I could flat foot it with a slight bend in my knees.This was good for getting your foot down to save it at times but it was also a much more scrunched up riding position.I have bar risers on the Berg but even allowing for this the EXC position seemed much more compact.The KTM is also more plush in the slow going rocky stuff but it is also more prone to goat dancing,head shaking,deflecting and god-seeing when you pick up the pace.I think a slightly more harsh ride is excellent trade off here.
Power wise there is really no comparison.The Berg seems to chuck more rocks as he informed me of getting numerous rock showers even when following from what he thought was a "safe" distance.I found this quite amusing untill we switched bikes and I got nailed in the nose by a rock from my own bike
At one straight stretch he took off and pinned it while laid down over the tank.I motored on by fully upright and waving at my indicated top speed of the day-153km/hr(no doubt the speedo is slightly optimistic but I was by no means topped out here nor did I have it to the stop)The Berg is also very stable at these types speeds such that your actual speed seems a little deceiving.
At about the farthest point from home he had to go on reserve.He limped his way back home in a high gear at low rpm's while I rode back and forth,wheelied past him and generally made an obnoxious pain in the A of myself.It seems odd that,even through a helmet,you get the impression you're getting dirty looks
Regardless,we both made it back-him with about a cupful to spare and me with,as near as I can judge,about 1/3 of a tank remaining.
His certainly isn't rich off the bottom at least as it generates a horrendous amount of lean backfiring on the overrun.
We were discussing the obvious economy differences and I mentioned about the Lineaweaver jet kit and the disabled accellerator pump no doubt helping here.He wanted to know if you could get one for his.I said I didn't think so but I'd check.Dale?
Another interesting note;he asked what the red knob on the carb was.I told him the same as his-hot start.He said his didn't have one so I looked and sure enough,it doesn't.The port for it is blocked off.I know the older RFS KTM's had them but wasn't aware the new EXC's didn't.
After switching off he was going on and on about big power,torque etc,etc and said"I should have bought a 525" :roll: I said,or maybe a 550 After everything he said about the Berg I though I sould say something I liked about his but all I could come up with was"your's has a nice soft seat"It sounded kind of lame and generated a bit of a look but I think that was honestly all I preffered on the KTM.

In the end though I think the KTM is a great bike.If your thing is slow,sit down type trail plonking in an XR400 sort of way,the KTM would be hard to beat.For everything else,I'd take the Berg.The usual minor setup things but other than that I think this is definately the right choice.Besides,I love all the noises from the intake,exhaust and engine-mechanical music-sort of like the Ducati of dirtbikes :lol:

Amazing machine for sure nsman.A little minor carb fiddling is nothing serious.What do I win Kelsow?A lifetime membership in the NSPCA or PETA? .BTW,this was the abridged version as I could have went on at length. 8) A few little things though.There is insufficient steering lock for tight woods-same as both previous KTM's so I'll have to do a little rad and shroud mods to get it in a little-no big deal.Before I rode it you could see where the rear tire would rub the mudgaurd(had the shock off to put it through the whole range of motion)so temporarily mounted it on the front of the mount(after elongating the holes)this appeared to leave it dead centre throughout and after the ride there were no swingarm or tire rub marks on it so I'll fix it there permanently.The only other thing I'd like to do is install a fuel filter but this is impossible with the fuel line setup.It appears that the carb inlet is movable and locked with a set screw?If so,I think I'll move it back and relocate the "T" to the right side.This should allow one to join in at the right side and bring a line from the left over to it then run a longer line back to the inlet from the "T"This should allow lots of length for a filter that would do both sides.Sounds good in theory anyway-we'll see.As I said,minor stuff.Can't wait to get out again.One KTM down,two YZ's,a CR and a CRF to come

Stoveguy said:

P.E.T.A......... People Eating Tasty Animals

Click to expand...

Bahahaha.I think I'll use that if you don't mind stoveguy

Velosapiens-I just finished rerouting the fuel lines to accept a filter.What I ended up doing in the end was to position the "T" directly behind and almost butted up to the right side petcock.I connected this to the top of the tee such that it pointed straight back while leaving the 90 deg. part of the "T" pointing in towards the front of the carb.Then ran a line from the spigot pointing in tward front of carb to the left side petcock around the front of the carb.Then ran a line from the rear of the "T" around the back of the carb to the fuel inlet on the carb(turned the inlet to face rearward)I put the filter in the middle of this line.This seems ok as all lines are level and out of the way and not kinked or bent or interfering with anything else.Also ends up keeping the fuel line slightly farther away from the header.Hope this makes sense as my wife says I'm no good at explaining things...

PS, ended up lowering the needle clip one position to 5 from the top,backing out fuel screw 1/2 a turn,and adjusting Dale's air screw in another 1/8 of a turn.Seems good now,then again it was good before but it would appear slight hiccup is gone.I'll know for sure on the next good ride.

Unfortunately I'm digital camera challenged.If you need more clarification let me know and I'll try.

Great minds think alike Velo Thats the same hose I used on mine.Looks cool as a vent hose on the billet Berg gas cap too,IMO anyway 8)

Thanks,I'm with your brother.If you see that bumper sticker again,peel it off and send it to me

Part Deux.Don't worry,this will no doubt be the last"first ride"report anyway.Having read other threads where people seem to be concerned about saying something lest someone else starts ripping on them; I'm fortunate in that I've never been too concerned of what others think of me or my opinions.Just ask nsman Anyhoo, here goes,

The second ride was more along the lines of my usual so I was quite interested as to how the Berg would fare.The ride consisted of a couple hours at the practice track and an hour trail ride of tight walking pace type stuff as well as 3rd/4th gear sections that still had lots of rocks and roots.

Carburetion-with the Lineaweaver kit and slightly richer settings on the bottom and mid given our colder temps it was flawless.Usually one kick,choke when cold,hot start when hot,nothing in between.Fast warm up,no bogs,backfires,hitches or hesitations.Good strong pull from the bottom to top.

Suspension-too soft for the track at the stock settings.I ended up with 35mm of bike sag(95mm 160lb me sag)2 more on compression on the rear and six more compression on the front.The front still bottomed on the flatlander(now have a nice black tire stripe under the rear of the front fender)I think I'll go up two more on the front for next time before I start adding oil and a couple more on the rear.Regardless,it still handles amazingly well.It sucked up the jump faces and stayed low,hooked up very well and was very forgiving as I found out when I under jumped a small double and planted the front wheel into the face.Normally I'd be over the bars but it handled it easily.You seem to be able to adjust it for something without completely buggering it for something else as was the case with both my EXC ans SX before and after the revalve.On these if you tried to stop them from bottoming out they would punish you on the small stuff and vice versa.It did tend to want to stand up and drift out on tighter corners but I put that down to not adjusting the rebound at all with such large compression changes(one thing at a time).I should mention that even when bottoming out it didn't jar my hands and wrists like my KTM's always did-even when they didn't bottom.
I took it on the trail ride with the above settings and,oddly enough,it was amazing.Float over the trail garbage both fast and slow,stick in the corners without washing the front and very little harshness or deflection.By far the best suspended woods bike I've ever ridden.I've never managed to go at that speed with so little effort.
The gearing is a little high for very slow speed tight stuff as some clutch work is needed here.It's not a big issue as I never lost it or overheated but in longer sections or hotter temps it may need a tooth or two on the back but I don't want to make it too abrupt as it seems to work so well everywhere else.
Regardless of any of the above,by far the best part was when we came to a straight semi-rough section and my bro in law started pounding the gears to his YZ250.I upshifted from 3rd to 4th,pinned it and reeled him in like he'd thrown out an anchor :lol: I think I'm in love...............

Sounds good Marc.I look forward to it.I'll check into the springs if I can't dial it in.Thanks,
AF