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I really love riding my KTM350. But for a quality bike sold "Ready to Race" the finishes on every single one of fasteners suck balls. And bolt kits aren't much better. I don't need Ti finishes but my motor looks like a power washer with and old Briggs and Stratton engine with rusty bolt head. I expect to at least match jap companies quality
I doesn’t sound like you love it ….. BTW any rust you have on your bike is on you.
Specbolt makes zinc (like Japanese bike) fasteners as well as “nickel wurks” which have the sharp edges and darker finish more like titanium.
Spec Bolt “nickel wurks” complete bolt kit is the cheaper ($250) alternative to Ti bolts. They look great, compared to the galvanized looking KTM bolts.
https://specbolt.com/nickel-wurks-restoration-bolt-kit-all-models/
That’s odd. Mine had 84 hours on it when I sold it and didn’t notice any issues like that
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Post up pics of it. Have had multiple 350s and 250 euro bikes and never had that happened. Calling BS
What did you wash it with?
Dudes named Max be doin the minimum
After a wash I spray WD40 all over the engine and pipe. I live near the beach and don’t have any rust issues.
I live near the beach too. I’m going to try this.
Works good but man, I framed a bike after doing that and there was oily dirt in all the tight crevices.
lol the wood screws made me laugh, I loved my 350, i sure miss it. I don't miss the forks, but it was a perfect motor. I love my Honda too but got damn its a lot of bike when tired.
Yep, I agree with this guy.You're probably washing it with some harsh chemicals. I've owned 4 KTM dirt bikes, and my 350 is 10 years old and shows no signs of rust and runs great with 220 hours on the engine.
It does leave a residue. But since I wash after every ride, just about, it hasn’t been a problem for me. But I also haven’t framed a bike.
I go through a lot of WD40. This is the cheapest route. And i never run out.
must be nice to live in a dry climate.
Living in the northeast, i have had this problem on my 2017 and 2018 KTM's. Mostly on the triple clamp bolts, front brake caliper bolts, and lower subframe bolts. With temperature changes in the winter, spring and fall, I have walked into my garage and had lots of moisture on the metal parts of all my bikes. My YZ bolts usually don't rust, but any bare metal does. The KTM bolts do, because they are only coated with a light grey colored coating of what looks like paint. I noticed that a few times loosening and re-tightening them will sometimes wear the paint off in places, which leads to rust. On one of our bikes, it was getting pretty bad, so we replaced all the bolts with the spec bolt kit that someone else mentioned above. No more rust issues after that. The ktm bolts just aren't very good at preventing rust. You southwest or southern guys probably don't notice it though.
KTM bolts are more than satisfactory.
I have a couple of 2026 freshies with 3 hours, and a 2025 450 with 60 hours on it, the bolts on both bikes look identical.
I wash and lube my bikes with protectant (WD 40 or SC1) after every ride, they never go into the garage dirty...
I disagree. The galvanized like finish is bad enough. But then add the markings of the t-wrench that can not be avoided and they look like crap.
“If” you don’t use a t-wrench or socket on the bolts and wash regularly, I can see why you’d say they are “satisfactory “. But they are by far the ugliest OEM bolts on modern motocross bikes.
Try out the quick dry WD-40.
Protects without the residue and attraction to dirt. Might be silicone based, but after I wash my bike/dry it I spray it down with that and then in like 3-5 minutes it's all gone.
Pit Row
I live in NW Illinois.
I have had 6 KTM full size bikes and 3 KTM Mini’s over the last 10 years. Can confirm I haven’t had any rust issues on any of mine with the bolts. Although I think the occasional wood screws for attaching plastics is lame lol, but they mostly use regular bolts and the plastics go together with a very nice fit over most other brands(Honda is just as nice).
Despite living in the PNW, I’ve never had rust issues on these either. I typically clean my bike the same or next day after riding and always blow off the bike with my cordless leaf blower, followed by my compressor for the nooks and crannies. Many years ago I would just let the bike air/drip dry and used to get rust and/or corrosion where water would sit (prior to having a KTM).
While I don’t care for the look of the gray finish, I haven’t had any issues with it other than marks where wrenches touch the heads.
I use 50/50 mix of Simple Green and water, I have NEVER had that issue. I have seen bikes washed with Power Purple take the coating off KTM bolts. I also use SLICK Off Road washed with good results.
My '23 with 66 hours doesn't have any rust on the bolts. I wash it after every ride and blow it off with the air compressor so no water is left setting on the hardware.
The coating on the KTM bolts is actually superior to normal zinc plating as far as corrosion goes, its a dacromet type zinc flake coating.
The issue I think is its a bit thinner, if you notice the bolts that never get touched are never an issue but if you take bolts on and off it is going to scrape off the coating and rust there is no way around that, bare metals rusts.
I have a 21 350 and the only place I get some rust is on the bottom of the frame where dirt has chewed away the coating on the frame.
So this tells me who actually does work on there bikes and who doesn't.
Yep lol, axle pinch bolts, triple clamps and a few others are most obvious but I dry my bike and all so it’s not that bad. Even after 300 hours.
I did do the nickel wurks kit on my other bike though well worth the price, did all the obvious fasteners.
Post a reply to: I love my 350