My KTM 300XC....A Year in Review

crowe176
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Spring Lake, MI, USA
crowe176 8/31/2019 12:42pm
8/31/2019 12:42pm
Buddy is selling his verrrry low hour 19 in West Michigan. He said he just couldn’t get into it and against my advice, decided to throw a leg back over his 16 450xc and decided the 2 stroke experiment was over and he’s a 4 stroke guy now.

I rode it for about 20 min and couldn’t believe how smooth the power was compared to my last 2 stroke (07 RM 250). If I was woods only I’d have a 300 for sure.

1
VetRider97
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Chippewa Falls, WI, USA
VetRider97 9/1/2019 6:51am
9/1/2019 6:51am
PTECH wrote:
They’re stupid good bikes. I would buy mine again in a second. Here’s my 19 I’ve had for almost a year now. The combination off the...
They’re stupid good bikes. I would buy mine again in a second. Here’s my 19 I’ve had for almost a year now. The combination off the counter balancer, electric start and 300 cc of 2 stroke grunt is hard to beat. I think I could improve my jetting in the 1/8-1/4 throttle area but it doesn’t hamper my riding or enjoyment of the bike at all. I’m very happy with my forks actually. I run less than the recommend air pressure and I’m way out on compression. I find it handles the rocks extremely well. It sounds like yours may have an air leak somewhere? I’m sure they’ll be a dream after FC does them.
They are great bikes. I have 2019 with 15 hours riding woods and some moto at 1000+/- elevations. Agree the counter balancer combined with stall-proof motor, electric start and narrow-light feel make the bike a blast to ride. Bike is very easy to change direction compared to the 350XCF I had.

As I understand carbs come set up to help KTM meet emissions. Bike did not not run well with stock jetting so I did the JD Jet kit ad Graham Jarvis carb mods and they cleaned up most the issues.

Similar comment on need for 1/8 throttle jetting that you made, still working on that. Trying to get more low end grunt....I see Slavens Racing states high comp head will help low-mid grunt. Anyone have experience with Slavens, SX or RK heads helping low-mid grunt?






.
hoodsmoto 9/1/2019 7:50am
9/1/2019 7:50am
Shockingly, I just sold my 18 300XC after putting 90 hours on it.

Mine ran perfect at Sea level with just a JD jet kit and Vforce 4.

Possibly the best bike I have ever owned. It will transfer from the motocross track to any hard enduro with just a few clicks.

I made the decision to sell it because it was almost too good. It had so much torque and power when you needed it that technique was barely needed. My local single track became boring to me and I got sick of lugging the 300 around in 3rd gear everywhere. I could go fast, be consistant and use little to no energy doing it, but the fun factor was minimal unless I was in some really gnarly stuff.

I really liked it when I was racing enduros but as a weekend warrior most of the time now, I just wanted a bike that was more of a challenge to ride fast and put my technique to the test. So I sold my 300XC and bought a YZ125...Crazy, yes. But I couldn't be happier with my choice for what I'm doing.

Also my advice for anyone interested in a 300XC. If you're a fast B or A rider. You may actually prefer the 250XC, it's happier at a higher RPM and favors faster riders who like to keep it up there.

2
Broseph
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Stevenson, WA, USA
Broseph 9/1/2019 10:43am
9/1/2019 10:43am
VetRider97 wrote:
They are great bikes. I have 2019 with 15 hours riding woods and some moto at 1000+/- elevations. Agree the counter balancer combined with stall-proof motor...
They are great bikes. I have 2019 with 15 hours riding woods and some moto at 1000+/- elevations. Agree the counter balancer combined with stall-proof motor, electric start and narrow-light feel make the bike a blast to ride. Bike is very easy to change direction compared to the 350XCF I had.

As I understand carbs come set up to help KTM meet emissions. Bike did not not run well with stock jetting so I did the JD Jet kit ad Graham Jarvis carb mods and they cleaned up most the issues.

Similar comment on need for 1/8 throttle jetting that you made, still working on that. Trying to get more low end grunt....I see Slavens Racing states high comp head will help low-mid grunt. Anyone have experience with Slavens, SX or RK heads helping low-mid grunt?






.
Yes. I milled my stock head first. Ended up with more low end, but lost RPM on top. Picked up an RK Tek head and it does everything well. Had Kelsey set it up for 96 octane. Loads of torque and still revs out like it should.

The Shop

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ktmdan
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Houston, TX, USA
ktmdan 9/1/2019 5:25pm
9/1/2019 5:25pm
grunkster wrote:
the gentleman that won my class here in MN in enduro also races all the harescramble series and practices allot...his 2017 has like 392hours on it...
the gentleman that won my class here in MN in enduro also races all the harescramble series and practices allot...his 2017 has like 392hours on it with one new top end. Amazing!!
Goodness gracious. My ‘16 250xc is on its third crank rebuild, and maybe 4th or 5th top end done by cookseycrank.com
I have 160 hours. Bike had a new cylinder at 50 hrs before I bought it..
If I don’t stop riding this year I would love to get a 300 or at least modify my ‘16 250.
GoggleFiend904 9/1/2019 5:41pm
9/1/2019 5:41pm
grunkster wrote:
the gentleman that won my class here in MN in enduro also races all the harescramble series and practices allot...his 2017 has like 392hours on it...
the gentleman that won my class here in MN in enduro also races all the harescramble series and practices allot...his 2017 has like 392hours on it with one new top end. Amazing!!
ktmdan wrote:
Goodness gracious. My ‘16 250xc is on its third crank rebuild, and maybe 4th or 5th top end done by cookseycrank.com I have 160 hours. Bike...
Goodness gracious. My ‘16 250xc is on its third crank rebuild, and maybe 4th or 5th top end done by cookseycrank.com
I have 160 hours. Bike had a new cylinder at 50 hrs before I bought it..
If I don’t stop riding this year I would love to get a 300 or at least modify my ‘16 250.
Holy shit. 3rd crank by 160 hours? I have 250 hours on stock crank in my 14sx with no plans of a rebuild in sight, hopefully. What jetting and oil/ratio do you run?
Adam89
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AU
Adam89 9/1/2019 6:25pm
9/1/2019 6:25pm
I’ve been contemplating going with a 300 seeing I don’t race anymore and to be fair I’m kind of over my yz250, these days I’m having more fun doing trails although I don’t ever think the track bug will leave me so I’d still like to be able to frap around a track whilst being able to still do trails.
A lot of places I ride have hard enduros but also they’ll have a moto track or a nats track which I will always find myself on, I do have a 450 but I don’t really see the point in packing 2 bikes up for a days riding. I guess my question is how does the 300 go on a track? Will it be able to handle getting thrown around and hitting 80+ footers?
ktmdan
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ktmdan 9/1/2019 7:46pm
9/1/2019 7:46pm
grunkster wrote:
the gentleman that won my class here in MN in enduro also races all the harescramble series and practices allot...his 2017 has like 392hours on it...
the gentleman that won my class here in MN in enduro also races all the harescramble series and practices allot...his 2017 has like 392hours on it with one new top end. Amazing!!
ktmdan wrote:
Goodness gracious. My ‘16 250xc is on its third crank rebuild, and maybe 4th or 5th top end done by cookseycrank.com I have 160 hours. Bike...
Goodness gracious. My ‘16 250xc is on its third crank rebuild, and maybe 4th or 5th top end done by cookseycrank.com
I have 160 hours. Bike had a new cylinder at 50 hrs before I bought it..
If I don’t stop riding this year I would love to get a 300 or at least modify my ‘16 250.
GoggleFiend904 wrote:
Holy shit. 3rd crank by 160 hours? I have 250 hours on stock crank in my 14sx with no plans of a rebuild in sight, hopefully...
Holy shit. 3rd crank by 160 hours? I have 250 hours on stock crank in my 14sx with no plans of a rebuild in sight, hopefully. What jetting and oil/ratio do you run?
It’s overkill I know. I just throw a piston in there every time I visit My parents’ as they have a really nice garage and tons of space. The first rebuild took place with the last owner. I believe he sucked some sandy water through the intake around 50 hours in. The second rebuild I just did because it was convenient at the time. I run 50:1. I couldn’t tell you about the jetting because I’ve never had to mess with it. I would love to throw on an sx head or a 300 cylinder if I come across either at a decent price.
FWIW I’m using the forks off my 2012 200xc as opposed to the 4cs.
I’m a decently paced A rider.
2
GoggleFiend904 9/1/2019 7:48pm
9/1/2019 7:48pm
ktmdan wrote:
Goodness gracious. My ‘16 250xc is on its third crank rebuild, and maybe 4th or 5th top end done by cookseycrank.com I have 160 hours. Bike...
Goodness gracious. My ‘16 250xc is on its third crank rebuild, and maybe 4th or 5th top end done by cookseycrank.com
I have 160 hours. Bike had a new cylinder at 50 hrs before I bought it..
If I don’t stop riding this year I would love to get a 300 or at least modify my ‘16 250.
GoggleFiend904 wrote:
Holy shit. 3rd crank by 160 hours? I have 250 hours on stock crank in my 14sx with no plans of a rebuild in sight, hopefully...
Holy shit. 3rd crank by 160 hours? I have 250 hours on stock crank in my 14sx with no plans of a rebuild in sight, hopefully. What jetting and oil/ratio do you run?
ktmdan wrote:
It’s overkill I know. I just throw a piston in there every time I visit My parents’ as they have a really nice garage and tons...
It’s overkill I know. I just throw a piston in there every time I visit My parents’ as they have a really nice garage and tons of space. The first rebuild took place with the last owner. I believe he sucked some sandy water through the intake around 50 hours in. The second rebuild I just did because it was convenient at the time. I run 50:1. I couldn’t tell you about the jetting because I’ve never had to mess with it. I would love to throw on an sx head or a 300 cylinder if I come across either at a decent price.
FWIW I’m using the forks off my 2012 200xc as opposed to the 4cs.
I’m a decently paced A rider.
Oh ok that makes a lot more sense. Good call on the 12 forks over the 4cs

Pit Row

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