- Joined
- May 4, 2005
- Messages
- 196
- Location
- Sacramento California
I picked up this bike in 2014. It was in rough shape because it had fallen out of the previous owner's truck at freeway speed. It had a SPES racing exhaust that was bent beyond recognition and the handlebars resembled a pretzel. I was ok with that because I just wanted the engine...which turned out to be a saga because the crank bearing seized moments after I got it running. Here it is shortly after I bought it.
I embarked on turning it into a cost-no-object beast of a machine. I had Thumper Racing rebuild the engine using a 100mm piston originally intended for a KTM 560 SMR. Since the original piston was 95mm, this new setup punched it out to 660cc and ended up at 12.5:1 compression! We went with bigger valves, a titanium wrist pin, manual cam chain tensioner, Keihin FCR41, and plenty of other trick bits while the balance of the crank was accomplished with only removal of weight. I didn't want any added heavy metal because I was looking for the most responsive engine I could get...and Thumper Racing nailed it!
Since the factory 40mm WP forks leave a lot to be desired, for a while, I switched to a set of KTM 250SX closed chamber forks. Here's the bike with that setup and new graphics from Taffy.
Here it is today with Excel A60 rims, Flexx Bars, and a set of 2022 KTM Air forks (because apparently the front wheel doesn't spend enough time in the air so I needed to lose 2.5 lbs from the front suspension).
This bike is downright explosive to ride and is an absolute hoot. I call it "Daisy".
I embarked on turning it into a cost-no-object beast of a machine. I had Thumper Racing rebuild the engine using a 100mm piston originally intended for a KTM 560 SMR. Since the original piston was 95mm, this new setup punched it out to 660cc and ended up at 12.5:1 compression! We went with bigger valves, a titanium wrist pin, manual cam chain tensioner, Keihin FCR41, and plenty of other trick bits while the balance of the crank was accomplished with only removal of weight. I didn't want any added heavy metal because I was looking for the most responsive engine I could get...and Thumper Racing nailed it!
Since the factory 40mm WP forks leave a lot to be desired, for a while, I switched to a set of KTM 250SX closed chamber forks. Here's the bike with that setup and new graphics from Taffy.
Here it is today with Excel A60 rims, Flexx Bars, and a set of 2022 KTM Air forks (because apparently the front wheel doesn't spend enough time in the air so I needed to lose 2.5 lbs from the front suspension).
This bike is downright explosive to ride and is an absolute hoot. I call it "Daisy".
