Posts
492
Joined
12/12/2016
Location
CO
US
Edited Date/Time
4/9/2021 9:58am
Wanted to see if anyone had this issue also? Fourth kick to start the bike and bang.
KTM updated the cases pretty quickly, a few got warranty, others didn't. You'll see pictures of the updated cases, with easily visible external case reinforcement, and the new gear retention set up.
Every single one of the owners that have the original cases, Should be provided the new ones, and the different gear / bushing set up (I think they changed that as well, but could be wrong). I'd regard it as a major priority recall, that should be mandatory, and, if denied warranty, would pursue it hard. It's a dreadful f**k up on KTMs part, that they seem to just want to walk away from. Of course, it probably represents quite a few thousand cases to be provided.........
Some are putting in a longer retaining bolt - I think it comes to being 18mm(?) with them tapping threads all the way to the base of the hole. But, many of the failure pictures have shown the landing breaking off well into / onto the 'face' of the cases, not really near the stopping point of the short , original retaining bolt. Pictures have been put up of failures with the 'long bolt solution' applied.
It's also been shown that the bushing that the idler gear runs on, can allow the gear to cock slightly, thus delivering extremely high, jamming loads to a weak, badly designed gear landing / casing.
I'd regard any 17 250 / 300 with the first RH inner case and idler gear retention set up, as a ticking time bomb.
The inside of the new case showing the totally different landing, and the new steel post that uses a circlip to hold the idler gear on:
It's all a major change in design, over a demonstrably bad design . If you don't think so, well .........
Of course, a bloke on the site that seems upset with my describing the crap original cases as 'ticking time bombs', has put up a few posts / pictures of it still being OK, after a succession of hours. It seems that strange affliction -"pride of ownership", rules people even when faced with a genuine problem with 'their' bike. But, he notes he doesn't use the Kick Starter........ that appears to be the tactic most are using. SX owners, of course, don't have an ES. A friend of mine who bought a '17 EXC, that has had to leave it idle due to work commitments, when I saw he had it, I warned him about the problem. He called his dealer, to be told "they've never heard of it". Yet, there's an OZ bloke or two on the thread I put up, that have had failures. With, I think, no help coming from KTM Australia.
It's like the 250 4ts a few years back, that were doing conrods / big ends. It was shown on KTM Talk, for quite some time, but, there were "no problems in OZ", until all of a sudden, at a dealership I worked at, at least 5 250s we had, had to have the rods / big ends replaced. Luckily ( though on the warranty 'flat rate' for labour, we were far from lucky) 4 were still in stock. The one that had 'got away', we had in for a service, so did the rebuild. Unfortunately, the dreadful mechanic that did the job, buggered the job up, as when the owner came to pick it up, it pissed out oil at the case joint. In all my years in the industry, I don't think I came across a worse mechanic, continually effing up, yet he thought he was near god like. I think he's still out there, bullshitting his way up the stairway to the top.
The Shop
Some additional pics. Does anyone know how to order cases? I looked on RMATV and you can't buy oem cases. I'm assuming you have to order from the dealer?
You can buy the cases from any vendor that sells KTM parts. They just don't keep them in stock.
Where are these pictures and such of failures with the long bolt mod???
But I had forgot all about this issue. I have the older case and I need to tap that hole and thread deeper. I can't believe how few threads are actually engaged in the case...
Pit Row
55 hours in in my Ktm just put a fresh top end in and I went to go ride at the local mx track and this happened after kicking it .. didn’t even get a lap in
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