'14 KTM sx 125 broken Crank

mnomis484
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mnomis484
Edited Date/Time 4/7/2015 1:32pm
Hey guys,

So i was just cruising along that straight, when my Motor suddenly started making a loud knocking noise.

I tore it apart to find this



Anyone ever had a problem like this? What was it caused by?
I Already contacted KTM, this definitely cant be normal wear after just 38 hours on the whole bike.

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Markopolo400
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Markopolo400 3/15/2015 2:06pm
3/15/2015 2:06pm
I would stay in touch with KTM and your dealer. That is not a normal failure mode, and most likely caused by a manufacturing defect.
Flex
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Flex 3/15/2015 2:08pm
3/15/2015 2:08pm
holy crap!!!

Get into contact with KTM and the Dealership you bought the bike from
markit
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markit 3/15/2015 9:06pm
3/15/2015 9:06pm
Wow never saw that.
sandman768
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sandman768 3/16/2015 5:13am
3/16/2015 5:13am
my 2012 xc 300 had main bearing failure at around 30hrs. I heard it coming apart & shut it down asap. wiped out top, bottom & cYlinder. I could see the bearing cage & ball bearings in bottom end, I only took top end off, brought it right to the dealer. It was not the dealer I bought the bike at, I was not confident in their ability to rebuild my bike. Brought it to top level ktm dealer, they agreed it was bearing failure but did not want to fight for me, I told them to diassemble & wait. I then called Ktm, have your vin# ready, dont be a dick, it may take some neogotiating with ktm rep. The dealer should provide photos to rep or you can send photos, if it is indeed a failure and not, something you did, like suck dirt or forget mix oil ect. they will offer to help, dealer has to back up the failure. I called rep discussed, he then called dealer to discuss with them, he did not call me back, I had to call them again, but we agreed they would cover all parts & I handled labor cost, my bike was almost 1 calender yr old, so I was satiisfied with offer. I think they had bad batch of main bearings on my model. be realistic, get what you can.

The Shop

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sandman768
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sandman768 3/16/2015 5:19am
3/16/2015 5:19am
forgot to add that I have put over 100 hrs of mx use afterwards with no problems at all, at the time I was all set to go all ktm in my garage, that kind of soured me a bit, so I bought another crf 450, but when the crf is gone, I will buy another ktm and not a honda.
hellion
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hellion 3/16/2015 11:05am
3/16/2015 11:05am
Good luck talking to a Honda rep in a similar situation. KTM, being smaller and more enthusiastic is way more accessible than any of the Japanese brands.
mnomis484
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mnomis484 3/16/2015 11:16am
3/16/2015 11:16am
I emailed my dealer and he told me that he had contacted KTM. He said the chances are not good, because i never had my bike serviced by them. Of course i dont want to spend 100$ for a simple oil change, so i do all kinds of maintenance by myself. Even if i would (!) have never done any maintenance, after just 38 Hours a crank simply shouldnt break!

I just took a closer look at the cylinder, and it doesnt look good also (small metal pieces from the crank are everywhere).
But i dont think i have good chances on getting a new cylinder, or should i try it?
reded
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reded 3/16/2015 12:00pm
3/16/2015 12:00pm
Swing for the fence and hope to just get on base.
mxtech1
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mxtech1 3/16/2015 2:13pm
3/16/2015 2:13pm
You need to be ready to put up a fight. I would guess they won't want to warranty something like this. They dealer may have already said in the email "this guy hasn't had the bike in for service"

If I were you, I would get on KTM's website and start making calls. Tell your story to anyone that will answer your call! Be pushy and don't take no for an answer!
Jakes Dad
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Jakes Dad 3/16/2015 3:11pm
3/16/2015 3:11pm
Buy a crank and move on, BUT that's a metallurgy issue and does need to be addressed by KTM. Whether your dealer helps or not keep searching. I've seen and heard of many of the KTM mini's breaking cylinder studs. Take a bolt or stud out of a KTM and one from a Yamaha hold it against a grinding wheel for half a second see which one sustains more damage.
Flex
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Flex 3/16/2015 3:17pm
3/16/2015 3:17pm
Jakes Dad wrote:
Buy a crank and move on, BUT that's a metallurgy issue and does need to be addressed by KTM. Whether your dealer helps or not keep...
Buy a crank and move on, BUT that's a metallurgy issue and does need to be addressed by KTM. Whether your dealer helps or not keep searching. I've seen and heard of many of the KTM mini's breaking cylinder studs. Take a bolt or stud out of a KTM and one from a Yamaha hold it against a grinding wheel for half a second see which one sustains more damage.
I actually did the grinder test, with some random bolts and nuts. They pretty much were the same in all tests but for case bolts and things like that KTM seemed t have a bit less damage.
FGR01
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FGR01 3/16/2015 7:21pm
3/16/2015 7:21pm
mnomis484 wrote:
I emailed my dealer and he told me that he had contacted KTM. He said the chances are not good, because i never had my bike...
I emailed my dealer and he told me that he had contacted KTM. He said the chances are not good, because i never had my bike serviced by them. Of course i dont want to spend 100$ for a simple oil change, so i do all kinds of maintenance by myself. Even if i would (!) have never done any maintenance, after just 38 Hours a crank simply shouldnt break!

I just took a closer look at the cylinder, and it doesnt look good also (small metal pieces from the crank are everywhere).
But i dont think i have good chances on getting a new cylinder, or should i try it?
You live in Austria, right? Load up that bottom end and drive over to the KTM factory with it. Demand a new one and camp on their front lawn with a big sign that says "KTM Screwed me over!" until they give you one.
Markopolo400
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Markopolo400 3/17/2015 4:44pm
3/17/2015 4:44pm
I would put money on an engineer at KTM wanting to see that first hand...
sandman768
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sandman768 3/17/2015 5:39pm
3/17/2015 5:39pm
mnomis484 wrote:
I emailed my dealer and he told me that he had contacted KTM. He said the chances are not good, because i never had my bike...
I emailed my dealer and he told me that he had contacted KTM. He said the chances are not good, because i never had my bike serviced by them. Of course i dont want to spend 100$ for a simple oil change, so i do all kinds of maintenance by myself. Even if i would (!) have never done any maintenance, after just 38 Hours a crank simply shouldnt break!

I just took a closer look at the cylinder, and it doesnt look good also (small metal pieces from the crank are everywhere).
But i dont think i have good chances on getting a new cylinder, or should i try it?
The dealer that facilitated my rebuild never saw my bike until I showed up with the engine in a box. its not a road bike, most off road guys dont bring their bikes to shop for normal maintenance. Their first line of defense is deny any wrong doing. My dealer did not contact ktm rep, I did, then the rep will contact the dealer for their opinion on failure. forget text & emails, pick up phone & call ktm customer service and start a claim. I worked auto claims for a major Ins carrier for 20 yrs, The rep has the authority to say yes or no on alot of issues, its all about how you present it to them. I paid for plenty of things we likely did not owe in liu of " customer service" which means: Were going to help you out on this and in return, you buy another ktm & tell everyone you know, what a great company ktm is.....The rep has a job to do, that job is to keep claim/ warranty payments to a minimum, I gave my rep an easy solution that made him feel like he was doing his job but making me happy too....
the rep was hemming & hawing about what to do, I said: if ktm pays the dealer for parts, I will pay dealer labor, rep said" deal" . Now , dealer is happy, he is making money on labor, Rep can say he kept losses to minimum still offering customer service & I was happy becuase The parts were the big expense and I knew, legally, they owed me nothing.









mnomis484
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mnomis484 3/18/2015 1:44am
3/18/2015 1:44am
Tanks for all the replies.
I talked to my dealer and brought him the broken crank, as well as the cylinder and piston. He said i will get more information by monday, when ktm has taken a look at the parts.
imoto34
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imoto34 3/18/2015 1:00pm
3/18/2015 1:00pm
Markopolo400 wrote:
I would put money on an engineer at KTM wanting to see that first hand...
You would sure think that is the case.

I have a 14 ktm 125. Its not been ridden much but healthy at 45 hrs. The girl just rides it around the field but when i can ride it i ring its neck around the track. Now when i did buy it new, rode it from the garage at the dealer to my trailer and loaded it up for the two hour ride home, i got home to a flat front tire. The bead was loose and it somehow tore the valve stem. I was seriously upset to be changing a tube on a bike that had about a hundred yards on it

Good luck twostroke, hope all ends up well for you. Bummer deal
mnomis484
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mnomis484 3/18/2015 1:37pm
3/18/2015 1:37pm
Thanks man!
the plan was to ride the 125 till september and then buy a ' 16 250 sxf. But if i have to buy the crank and cyl. by myself, i dont think ill buy another ktm (i also wont have enough money to do so haha Smile )
garagedog 3/18/2015 2:17pm
3/18/2015 2:17pm
mnomis484 wrote:
I emailed my dealer and he told me that he had contacted KTM. He said the chances are not good, because i never had my bike...
I emailed my dealer and he told me that he had contacted KTM. He said the chances are not good, because i never had my bike serviced by them. Of course i dont want to spend 100$ for a simple oil change, so i do all kinds of maintenance by myself. Even if i would (!) have never done any maintenance, after just 38 Hours a crank simply shouldnt break!

I just took a closer look at the cylinder, and it doesnt look good also (small metal pieces from the crank are everywhere).
But i dont think i have good chances on getting a new cylinder, or should i try it?
sandman768 wrote:
The dealer that facilitated my rebuild never saw my bike until I showed up with the engine in a box. its not a road bike, most...
The dealer that facilitated my rebuild never saw my bike until I showed up with the engine in a box. its not a road bike, most off road guys dont bring their bikes to shop for normal maintenance. Their first line of defense is deny any wrong doing. My dealer did not contact ktm rep, I did, then the rep will contact the dealer for their opinion on failure. forget text & emails, pick up phone & call ktm customer service and start a claim. I worked auto claims for a major Ins carrier for 20 yrs, The rep has the authority to say yes or no on alot of issues, its all about how you present it to them. I paid for plenty of things we likely did not owe in liu of " customer service" which means: Were going to help you out on this and in return, you buy another ktm & tell everyone you know, what a great company ktm is.....The rep has a job to do, that job is to keep claim/ warranty payments to a minimum, I gave my rep an easy solution that made him feel like he was doing his job but making me happy too....
the rep was hemming & hawing about what to do, I said: if ktm pays the dealer for parts, I will pay dealer labor, rep said" deal" . Now , dealer is happy, he is making money on labor, Rep can say he kept losses to minimum still offering customer service & I was happy becuase The parts were the big expense and I knew, legally, they owed me nothing.









That right there is a gold mind of advice.
-thanks

Pit Row

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mnomis484
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mnomis484 4/6/2015 2:14pm
4/6/2015 2:14pm
Got some good news - Ktm is willing to pay 80% of the crank, bearings and gaskets Smile

It took a while but in the end it was worth the wait, tomorrow im going to pick up the parts and put her together, cant wait to go riding again Wink
Thanks for your help guys
Markopolo400
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Markopolo400 4/6/2015 4:07pm
4/6/2015 4:07pm
Kudos to KTM for helping out at all
HenryA
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HenryA 4/7/2015 1:32pm
4/7/2015 1:32pm
Woah, never seen anything like it. Great that KTM stepped up and gave you a sweet deal.

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