Huge props to KTM.

zac967
Posts
13
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11/16/2015
Location
USA
11/16/2015 12:33pm
RPM68 wrote:
A few weeks ago I had a catastrophic wheel failure that resulted in multipe broken spokes, bent rotor, and a few other parts casualties. The bike...
A few weeks ago I had a catastrophic wheel failure that resulted in multipe broken spokes, bent rotor, and a few other parts casualties. The bike had exactly 4.5 hours on it, and I know how to maintain spokes and my bikes.

After bringing in the bike to the dealer I bought it from (www.houstonyamaha.com), the service manager immediately got on to it and opened up a Warranty Claim.

My wheel assembly was fixed and ready to ride in 4 business days. 4! That is unbelievable time. The amount of support they offer their customers is uncompareable to any other manufacturer I have ever worked with. I made a post about the damage done to the bike and wanted to give a HUGE THANK YOU to KTM, our rep Ty Howard, Houston Motorsports, and all the folks that made it possible.

It is very important to me that the public understands how much customer service brings back business. Not only is the 2016 KTM 450sxf the best bike I have ever ridden, but when a random failure happened, KTM supported me as a buyer and previous dealer representative. Again, Thank you KTM.
zac967 wrote:
Was your bike still under warranty period? (I believe 1 month?) I just had this happen this last weekend, mine is no longer under warranty period...
Was your bike still under warranty period? (I believe 1 month?)
I just had this happen this last weekend, mine is no longer under warranty period but is a 2016 with low hours and like you I had tightened the spokes before this ride. I am hoping that KTM will take care of me the way they did with you? Any advice?

mx_phreek wrote:
Same thing happened to a friend of mines new ktm but worse. He got pretty well bent up over it. Front wheel exploded, Hub broke, blew...
Same thing happened to a friend of mines new ktm but worse. He got pretty well bent up over it. Front wheel exploded, Hub broke, blew spokes out and bent axel when hub grenaded.
Wow! I guess I am lucky to have only blown out 8!
Do you know how your friend dealt with the issue and if KTM warrantied the wheel?
RPM68
Posts
1595
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11/18/2006
Location
DFW, TX, USA
11/16/2015 1:23pm
zac967 wrote:
Was your bike still under warranty period? (I believe 1 month?) I just had this happen this last weekend, mine is no longer under warranty period...
Was your bike still under warranty period? (I believe 1 month?)
I just had this happen this last weekend, mine is no longer under warranty period but is a 2016 with low hours and like you I had tightened the spokes before this ride. I am hoping that KTM will take care of me the way they did with you? Any advice?

Bring it to your local dealer and let the service department do their job, if they dont warranty it...which they should..Call KTM direct. They literally get pissed off when they find out their machines fail, and will go pretty far outta their way to resolve the issue.
zac967
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13
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11/16/2015
Location
USA
11/16/2015 1:32pm
zac967 wrote:
Was your bike still under warranty period? (I believe 1 month?) I just had this happen this last weekend, mine is no longer under warranty period...
Was your bike still under warranty period? (I believe 1 month?)
I just had this happen this last weekend, mine is no longer under warranty period but is a 2016 with low hours and like you I had tightened the spokes before this ride. I am hoping that KTM will take care of me the way they did with you? Any advice?

RPM68 wrote:
Bring it to your local dealer and let the service department do their job, if they dont warranty it...which they should..Call KTM direct. They literally get...
Bring it to your local dealer and let the service department do their job, if they dont warranty it...which they should..Call KTM direct. They literally get pissed off when they find out their machines fail, and will go pretty far outta their way to resolve the issue.
Thank you for the advice RPM68 I appreciate it! I will go that route. This is my second KTM and now that I got the suspension dialed I am absolutely in love with this bike!! Good to hear they do right by there customers, I just have never been in a situation like this before.
RPM68
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1595
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DFW, TX, USA
11/16/2015 1:58pm
I dont always break stuff, but when I do...

It's on brand new shit.

The Shop

J.Saunders144
Posts
1216
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4/1/2008
Location
St. Clair, MI, USA
11/16/2015 4:22pm
BobPA wrote:
$100 pre prints? Do they have gold inlays or something?
bob567 wrote:
No shit right? DeCal works 79.99 plus shipping.
BobPA wrote:
I went the Attack route and came in at under $60 shipped to my door
Unreal. My buddy owns a graphic business. He has $15 of monetary cost in a full kit. I guess your paying for fancy overhead. You can argue this all you want to, difference is my buddy owns one.
22Ryann
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834
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11/29/2010
Location
AU
11/16/2015 10:30pm
Isn't this an issue directly related to over-tightened spokes?
RPM68
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1595
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11/18/2006
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DFW, TX, USA
11/17/2015 6:31am
22Ryann wrote:
Isn't this an issue directly related to over-tightened spokes?
yes, however I checked my spokes to see if they became loose. Who would think they're over-tightened from the factory...

I own a spoke torque wrench but dont use it until I gotta tighten the spokes...I guess this just became another part of going over the bike from the factory.
Beast666
Posts
682
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8/13/2013
Location
Englewood, CO, USA
11/17/2015 7:21am
Most manufactures will try to take care of the customer that have issues with a new dirt bike. It all boils down to the dealer going to bat for you as well as you acting in a professional manner as well. Calling up a manufactures consumer hotline bitching and badmouthing the product does not help you one single bit. If you give them the honest facts and just asking "Is there any possibility you might be able to help me out?" works wonders.

At the last dealership I worked at we had a customer that serviced his 15 KX450F for the first time. He went and put the oil filter in backwards and locked up the motor. I asked Kawasaki if there was any possibility of good will and they paid for all the parts, crank, piston, cyl, head, cams, gasket seals, Etc. That were damaged all the customer had to pay was for the labor. On a failure that was in no way Kawasaki's fault.
JeepnMike
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2525
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Location
Enumclaw, WA, USA
11/17/2015 7:42am
keith101 wrote:
STFU and GFY.

What a fucking idiot.
nytsmaC wrote:
Sorry that I hurt your feelings, Sheila.
His name is Nancy. Get it right you insensitive prick.
zac967
Posts
13
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11/16/2015
Location
USA
11/17/2015 7:52am
22Ryann wrote:
Isn't this an issue directly related to over-tightened spokes?
RPM68 wrote:
yes, however I checked my spokes to see if they became loose. Who would think they're over-tightened from the factory... I own a spoke torque wrench...
yes, however I checked my spokes to see if they became loose. Who would think they're over-tightened from the factory...

I own a spoke torque wrench but dont use it until I gotta tighten the spokes...I guess this just became another part of going over the bike from the factory.
I used a spoke torque wrench the morning that i blew the wheel up. They were to spec.
Bottom line for me however is I have over jumped or come up short on jumps far, far worse then this on supposedly weaker wheels and never had this happen! I know it is weakness in the spokes (look at the size!) In this case I landed a little short rear wheel first and when the front slapped down all 8 spokes broke in the exact same spot. I didnt go down, i didnt even bounce I just accelerated out of a hard landing then realized my front wheel was all over the place. I have bent hoops before but never seen 8 in a row snap like that. I know it may look like they were over tightened like crazy but I know for a fact that they were right where they were supposed to be. I am taking it by the dealer where I bought it Northland Motorsports up here in Flagstaff AZ. Hopefully they go to bat for me!
rmgsxr
Posts
547
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Oak Grove, MO, USA
11/17/2015 8:12am
nytsmaC wrote:
Kawasaki, I had the personal displeasure of discovering how they do not stand behind their product. Cylinder plating flaking off on a brand new bike, kickstarter...
Kawasaki, I had the personal displeasure of discovering how they do not stand behind their product. Cylinder plating flaking off on a brand new bike, kickstarter broke before 2 hours, their response: GFY.

Suzuki, multiple cases of fork tubes literally breaking in half, their response: GFY.

Yamaha, well known electrical demons and complete engine failures, their response: GFY.

Honda, _____________. Anyone care to fill in the blank?

KTM has integrity and, well, most of the Japanese brands if not all simply do not. They won't stand behind their defective products, so they'll never see a penny from me. With the age of the internet they can't get away with crap like this anymore.

Japan had better wake up, quick. They're doing just about everything wrong and KTM is now big enough to show everyone that it doesn't have to be that way.
Suzuki, multiple cases of fork tubes literally breaking in half, their response: GFY.


They didn't say that to me.
RPM68
Posts
1595
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Location
DFW, TX, USA
11/17/2015 8:16am
zac967 wrote:
I used a spoke torque wrench the morning that i blew the wheel up. They were to spec. Bottom line for me however is I have...
I used a spoke torque wrench the morning that i blew the wheel up. They were to spec.
Bottom line for me however is I have over jumped or come up short on jumps far, far worse then this on supposedly weaker wheels and never had this happen! I know it is weakness in the spokes (look at the size!) In this case I landed a little short rear wheel first and when the front slapped down all 8 spokes broke in the exact same spot. I didnt go down, i didnt even bounce I just accelerated out of a hard landing then realized my front wheel was all over the place. I have bent hoops before but never seen 8 in a row snap like that. I know it may look like they were over tightened like crazy but I know for a fact that they were right where they were supposed to be. I am taking it by the dealer where I bought it Northland Motorsports up here in Flagstaff AZ. Hopefully they go to bat for me!
I landed a small triple on the night track at rio and she shattered right then and there. Bike came to a quick stop at the berm and I just jumped over the handlebars. I was very very lucky.
zac967
Posts
13
Joined
11/16/2015
Location
USA
11/17/2015 8:25am
zac967 wrote:
I used a spoke torque wrench the morning that i blew the wheel up. They were to spec. Bottom line for me however is I have...
I used a spoke torque wrench the morning that i blew the wheel up. They were to spec.
Bottom line for me however is I have over jumped or come up short on jumps far, far worse then this on supposedly weaker wheels and never had this happen! I know it is weakness in the spokes (look at the size!) In this case I landed a little short rear wheel first and when the front slapped down all 8 spokes broke in the exact same spot. I didnt go down, i didnt even bounce I just accelerated out of a hard landing then realized my front wheel was all over the place. I have bent hoops before but never seen 8 in a row snap like that. I know it may look like they were over tightened like crazy but I know for a fact that they were right where they were supposed to be. I am taking it by the dealer where I bought it Northland Motorsports up here in Flagstaff AZ. Hopefully they go to bat for me!
RPM68 wrote:
I landed a small triple on the night track at rio and she shattered right then and there. Bike came to a quick stop at the...
I landed a small triple on the night track at rio and she shattered right then and there. Bike came to a quick stop at the berm and I just jumped over the handlebars. I was very very lucky.
Yes, we got very lucky indeed! I read a post from a friend of a guy who had the same thing happen and it sent him to the hospital with some pretty serious issues.
Spokes are not the appropriate place for "weight savings"!!
752dad
Posts
601
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11/24/2014
Location
Hartland, MI, USA
11/17/2015 12:41pm
This is NOT a random issue and although KTM replaced the wheel there is a much bigger problem. There needs to be a recall on these wheels before someone gets seriously injured.
I am aware of an electrical issue that can cause the 2016 250SX to quit randomly that needs to be addressed with the same urgency.

KC
Dtat720
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1588
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Flowood, MS, USA
11/17/2015 12:49pm
Watch what you say or the orange ss will come for you at night for dissing the greatest most epicist badassest bike known to man evar...
zac967
Posts
13
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11/16/2015
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USA
11/17/2015 12:58pm
Haha the Orange SS! Oh shiiit!! I agree they are the best bike out right now but 752dad is right. these bikes havent been out that long and it sounds like a lot of us are having the same problem... With coming off a serious injury recently if I had been hurt badly by this incident I would take legal action
RPM68
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1595
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DFW, TX, USA
11/17/2015 1:20pm
zac967 wrote:
Haha the Orange SS! Oh shiiit!! I agree they are the best bike out right now but 752dad is right. these bikes havent been out that...
Haha the Orange SS! Oh shiiit!! I agree they are the best bike out right now but 752dad is right. these bikes havent been out that long and it sounds like a lot of us are having the same problem... With coming off a serious injury recently if I had been hurt badly by this incident I would take legal action
thats pretty ridiculous. shit happens, they fixed it. Don't go saying that stuff.
zac967
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13
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11/16/2015
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USA
11/17/2015 1:32pm
zac967 wrote:
Haha the Orange SS! Oh shiiit!! I agree they are the best bike out right now but 752dad is right. these bikes havent been out that...
Haha the Orange SS! Oh shiiit!! I agree they are the best bike out right now but 752dad is right. these bikes havent been out that long and it sounds like a lot of us are having the same problem... With coming off a serious injury recently if I had been hurt badly by this incident I would take legal action
RPM68 wrote:
thats pretty ridiculous. shit happens, they fixed it. Don't go saying that stuff.
I know shit happens, and I havent had anything fixed yet! Il say what I want bro, if i ended up paralyzed because a wheel fell apart off a small landing i dont give a fuck, id do something!!
752dad
Posts
601
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11/24/2014
Location
Hartland, MI, USA
11/17/2015 2:13pm
Replaced with same same isn't fixed.
The spokes have less cross section than what anyone else uses.
I just don't want anyone to get hurt regardless of what they ride.

KC
11/17/2015 2:14pm
zac967 wrote:
Haha the Orange SS! Oh shiiit!! I agree they are the best bike out right now but 752dad is right. these bikes havent been out that...
Haha the Orange SS! Oh shiiit!! I agree they are the best bike out right now but 752dad is right. these bikes havent been out that long and it sounds like a lot of us are having the same problem... With coming off a serious injury recently if I had been hurt badly by this incident I would take legal action
RPM68 wrote:
thats pretty ridiculous. shit happens, they fixed it. Don't go saying that stuff.
zac967 wrote:
I know shit happens, and I havent had anything fixed yet! Il say what I want bro, if i ended up paralyzed because a wheel fell...
I know shit happens, and I havent had anything fixed yet! Il say what I want bro, if i ended up paralyzed because a wheel fell apart off a small landing i dont give a fuck, id do something!!
And I'm going to suggest that you only tighten them spokes up to E minor instead of A major. All metal is elastic to some degree before before yield (stretching) or failure (breaking). If you have got those suckers wound up like choirboy levels, there's not a lot of room for stretching on high loads before breaking. When you land from a jump, the bike and hub wants to continue downward so the load is transferred to the spokes with the underside spokes being applied a stress load (squashed and bending outwardly some) and upper spokes suffering a strain load (stretching in the elastic range).
Now think about when those spokes are so tight they're close to snap and you place an enormous impact load on them. There's no room for stretch and so failure occurs. The OEM would have an engineers failure analysis carried out and would most likely concur this, and you would be paying the bills for everything. Good luck with that.
zac967
Posts
13
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11/16/2015
Location
USA
11/17/2015 2:33pm
You probably have not read the whole thread but I know how to tighten spokes!! I use a spoke torque wrench and make sure there good every time I ride, If anything they were on the loose side! Like 752dad said above I have the strong feeling the failure was due to the decreased cross sectional size of the new spokes this year. I have been riding/racing for 20 years doing my own maintenance for almost as long, have had much harder impacts with no similar failure, maybe a bent hoop or some loose spokes but never 8 snap in the exact same spot!
zac967
Posts
13
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11/16/2015
Location
USA
11/17/2015 2:35pm
752dad wrote:
Replaced with same same isn't fixed. The spokes have less cross section than what anyone else uses. I just don't want anyone to get hurt regardless...
Replaced with same same isn't fixed.
The spokes have less cross section than what anyone else uses.
I just don't want anyone to get hurt regardless of what they ride.

KC
Exactly!! If they wont replace with stronger then stock spokes im going to go ahead and handle things myself.
lumpy790
Posts
11787
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9/18/2007
Location
York, SC, USA
11/17/2015 2:45pm
you guys seem tyo have missed it.

His local dealership went to bat for him. ALL of the manufacturers will fix a problem IF the dealer pushes it.
RPM68
Posts
1595
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11/18/2006
Location
DFW, TX, USA
11/17/2015 3:00pm
lumpy790 wrote:
you guys seem tyo have missed it. His local dealership went to bat for him. ALL of the manufacturers will fix a problem IF the dealer...
you guys seem tyo have missed it.

His local dealership went to bat for him. ALL of the manufacturers will fix a problem IF the dealer pushes it.
Thank you.
11/17/2015 3:12pm
Yep.Do it all the time
resetjet
Posts
2557
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3/16/2012
Location
Tampa, FL, USA
11/17/2015 3:18pm
Cygnus wrote:
To bad they won't do anything about my friends 250. This is most likely do to him running 60:1 that KTM recommends. He said its 32:1...
To bad they won't do anything about my friends 250. This is most likely do to him running 60:1 that KTM recommends. He said its 32:1 from now on.

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1088012887876912&id=1000000463468…https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1088012887876912&id=100000046346815&set=p.1088012887876912&source=47&ref=m_notif&notif_t=feed_comment_reply

60:1 with what oil? Motul 100% synthetic or some junk oil.

60:1 with a blend and no suprise, but yes, it it was lube, it would sieze near the exhaust valve, not have that crap all the way around.....Water and sand ingestion I say.
zac967
Posts
13
Joined
11/16/2015
Location
USA
11/17/2015 4:07pm
Yeah I dont doubt that KTM will do the right thing when pushed by the dealer, I just hope the dealer really goes to bat for me like they say they will! When i brought the wheel in today to show them they said bring the whole bike in because of a fuel system recall, I had read something about this but never received a letter from KTM so didnt think much of it but for 16' KTM owners it is worth looking into!
As for the above I ran 60:1 Motul in my 08 KTM 300xc for around a year with no issues... I thought i saw on another thread that this was most likely from air filter failure, maybe not tho....
zac967
Posts
13
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11/16/2015
Location
USA
11/18/2015 11:40am
In case anyone is still interested I just got a call from my dealer saying KTM is sending out a new hoop with 2015s thicker spokes to be laced up all under warranty!! Sending it out today should be 100% by next weekend! what an awesome company! Thank you KTM!! and also for everyone's advice and help!

Z
lumpy790
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11787
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York, SC, USA
11/19/2015 8:37am
zac967 wrote:
In case anyone is still interested I just got a call from my dealer saying KTM is sending out a new hoop with 2015s thicker spokes...
In case anyone is still interested I just got a call from my dealer saying KTM is sending out a new hoop with 2015s thicker spokes to be laced up all under warranty!! Sending it out today should be 100% by next weekend! what an awesome company! Thank you KTM!! and also for everyone's advice and help!

Z
And this is why you form a lasting relationship by doing business with your local dealer.
RPM68
Posts
1595
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11/18/2006
Location
DFW, TX, USA
11/19/2015 10:20am
lumpy790 wrote:
And this is why you form a lasting relationship by doing business with your local dealer.
that's right! can't buy a bike from BTO...

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