New tires

Saturday Ride

Gratuitous Photo

New...

New Rubber, new chain and sprockets, new jets. Next week new oil, new filters and a new KTM roadbook holder.

 

New jets and clean carb

With the help of my good friends John and Steve, we took out my carburetor this weekend and installed a new jet, drilled out the slide and cleaned everything up. I also installed the KTM Racing Airbox Cover which is a stainless steel plate with a mesh opening. It allows better airflow to the engine replacing the stock cover which completely seals the left side cover of the airbox.

The carb looked in very good shape when we got it apart. Very clean and no real wear on the moving parts. I replaced the stock 142 jet with a 160 and drilled out the two outer holes in the slide, just slightly bigger than stock.

Once the bike was back to together, the power difference was immediately noticeable. Smoother at low speed riding and a great surge up to 7000 rpm. A real improvement to the bike. 

I couldn't have done any of this without the help of John and Steve. Especially the parts donation from John. Thanks to both of them.

new and old

Here's my KTM next to my last bike, the BMW 1150 GS. It never looked this good when I owned it. Theo Glorie worked his magic and is slowly restoring the bike to its original glory. This is the second bike I have sold Theo and each time I want to buy the bike back after he gets done with it.

Mileage check

2,287 miles on the bike to date.

ride, sting, fall

A couple photos of the 640 at Bahia Honda and the old bridge separating the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico. 

What's interesting about the photo is just as I took the last photo there was an intense pain in my wrist. I had a bee in my riding gear and it had just stung me. At that moment, my bike's centerstand sunk into the gravel on the right side and the bike fell down the small hill, landing on the gravel with a thud. My helmet went rolling toward the water, gloves following and I scrambled toward the bike with my suit half off trying to get the bee out of my suit.

Gas was dripping, helmet rolling, wrist searing...a comedy of errors.

down she goes....first time

Labor Day Weekend

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Labor Day Weekend video

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epic ride and one month with the 640

Took a great ride Saturday with John Baltzell. We rode from Key West to Palmetto Motorsports, did some shopping and headed back down to the Card Sound Road riding area. Total trip was about 340 miles. John was on his BMW 800 GS for the trip. At Palmetto, we checked out the new Husabergs, the KTMs and John bought a KTM jersey and a Thor Impact Rig SE Chest Protector. A great piece of protective equipment and it's on my list of wanted gear. You can wear it on the outside or under a jersey. In the photos below, John has it on under the KTM jersey.

We hit an amazing rain storm on our way down the trails, south of the Homestead Motor Speedway. Helmets fogged up, puddles getting deeper as the rain kept falling and it was a blast. We got to the South end of the trail and decided we would turn around and head back in. The rain cleared and we had an epic time, flying up the trails, slowing for water crossings, then hitting the throttle again for blazing runs in the wet gravel and mud.

It was a great day and a great ride. It has been almost exactly a month riding the 640 and this was the best day on the bike so far and a great test in multiple conditions. We rode 60 miles or more on Florida turnpike and freeway, where the speeds average 70+ and exceeding that on occasion. The bike was steady and I never felt down on power. On the trails it's a revelation after a couple years on the BMW 1150 GS. Light, fast and with an amazing suspension, I was able to ride much faster and with more confidence than ever before.

I have put about 1400 miles on the bike in the first 30 days. In the next month, I will be switching out the tires for the knobbies and doing the first oil change. Looking forward to that.

Sunday Ride

Tech Day

Today was Tech Day, working on my old BMW 1150 and John Baltzell's KTM 640 Enduro. New tires all around, some repainted body work and lots of misc. work.

14,000 miles

Card Sound Road Ride

10 hours, 296 miles.

4 litres of water, 2 Red Bulls, 1 16 oz. Gatorade, 1 Gatorade Prime 4 oz. pouch, 1 Starbucks Double Shot, 1 Latte, a glazed donut and a protein bar.

Left Key West at 6am, back home at 4pm.

Lots of trails, lots of heat and lots of fun.

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More from Card Sound

Aftermath

In the woods off Card Sound

First short ride

About 60 miles today. What a great bike. I managed to hit some muddy trails, some pine needle covered back woods and then a fast run along the ocean. Click to enlarge any photo...