Matty the bike engine is now fully stripped down, before i rebuild it as you seem the expert on here what would you replace whilst i am there for a 1997 engine. all parts look in great condition.

I have already got a new cam chain and piston rings for starters

Hi, well since the bike is now 18yrs old and you probably don't have a full service history then its safest to assume that nothing has been replaced recently.
This means you should replace all the seals including and especially the valve guide oil seals as these will have gone hard and will start leaking. Personally i would replace all the bearings, particularly since you should upgrade the mains anyway to the latest skf explorer series ( nj306c3 and nj207ecpc3) and the gearbox intermediate bearing(the one behind the clutch) to the roller race bearing from the rallye model(58533025000). Fyi all the bearings can be sourced from a bearing supplier except the one for the gearbox intermediate shaft as this is a ktm specific part.When you get the silicone 'o'ring for the output shaft spacer (behind the sprocket 0770250021), buy a handful of these as these are often damaged when replacing sprockets, this then causes a leak which people assume is the seal but isn't. Because yours is the earlier model your sprocket is retained with a bolt and diaphragm spring washer (59033034044). This part number buys you both items for the price of the washer and the bolt comes pre locktighted, carry a spare! If you can spare the expense, i would recommend upgrading the clutch basket, primary gear and balancer to those from an 03-07 engine. These parts are a different primary drive ratio and speed up the input shaft and so reduce the torque loading on the clutch and so reduce the risk of slipping. Because of the high price of new parts these can be obtained 'used' via the usual channels. You may also wish to replace the bottom oil filter cover with one from a 2001 onwards model. This is because yours uses an 'o' ring which is a twat to fit and the later item uses a reusable gasket which is much easier to fit when changing filters.( gasket 58530041000). You must inspect the stator and rotor, first generation e start models ('96) were fitted with rotors with unshrouded magnets which came off and caused carnage! Make sure your rotor has shrouded magnets and inspect the stator for signs of any previous mishaps! I mention this because engines for early '97 bike were built in '96 and given its age there is always the chance that someone may have fitted a used item from a '96 model if there has been a reason to replace before. Check starter mech gears for damage as these can lose teeth if some potato head starts cranking on the throttle while the e start is engaged. Opening the throttle while starting a big single is likely to induce a backfire, the sudden reversal of engine rotation against the efforts of the starter will result in damage to the teeth and the sprag clutch. The sprag clutch i would replace if i were you. If the intermediate gears show signs of abuse you can replace with later model items('98 on) but as these are a slightly different ratio you must replace all.( again used is fine if in good condition). Use genuine gaskets, they're better quality than any aftermarket ones I've seen and often reusable which is good news if you have to make an impromptu repair. These items plus the others I've previously mentioned cover the bulk of it, oh and don't forget to replace the inlet rocker arm roller as they are prone to fail. Hope this helps and hasn't put you off. I know it sounds a bit bad but to fair it is 18yrs old so exercising diligence is the name of the game.

Great Info Matty, well i best do it right whilst i am there as i plan to keep this one for awhile and might do a trip on it

I take it you was a KTM mechanic?

I also got hold of a set of 660 Rally side tanks (like the ones on the photo below) and support bars, as the exhaust is low i think they should fit straight on with not much issue and will also be great place for the rear bags to rest when strapped up

Hi the rallye subframe is slightly different although the one for your particular model is the closest to it. You must have it reinforced if your going to use the pannier tanks, partly because of the weight and partly because the tanks are unbaffled so when half full and the fuel and therefor the weight starts to slosh about it will increase the strain on the subframe which when loaded with gear for a trip have been known to fracture(usually behind where you sit). Bear in mind if you use the tanks you won't be able to fit the regular lc4 pannier frames. Oh and remember Loctite is your best friend!

I am insanely jealous! I am running a 625 SXC and would love a set of rally tanks to extend the fuel range! Good luck on your rebuild. I hope you post your progress and a picture of the finished bike with the rally tanks installed.

You can not buy them any more and i was lucky to pick up a set brand new and never used

Also a spare tank and fairing came with the rally tanks

The early fairings come in two sections and the screen is bolted to the fairing, i think the screen is better on the older ones as it is either in smoked black or smoked blue plastic so you can see the front wheel when standing.

So my spare tank is blue with blue fairing and smoked blue plastic like the photo above and my current fairing is the standard orange with orange tank.

I will put some photos up here as i progress

Matty i passed the info on to my mechanic and he was really happy with it, thanks alot for your help

Happy to help. Fyi the spare tank you picked could be a rallye item as well. the rallye tank will be made of colour impregnated polythene based plastic as opposed to the nylon based plastic of the adventure model( which had blue tanks for '98 and '99 only). Be advised you cannot paint poly plastic tanks! Well you can but it won't stay on, even decals will have a limited life span. Look forward to seeing your bike when its finished. M

Yes the fairing, front tank and rear rally tanks were of the 660 Rally.

I am not looking to spray the parts as they are in good condition and i would rather spend the money on fuel and tires


I also got the 3rd oil cooler the 660 had but wont fit this

If and when you decide to do trip with some rougher going i would recommend you use the rallye tank as they are more durable in the event of a fall. Not quite sure what you mean by the 3rd oil cooler since lc4's don't have any oil cooler fitted though 2000 on 660 rallye were fitted with one. Do you mean the additional oil filter housing? Again 2000 on rallye models were fitted with these but you wouldn't really need to use this. They do have a value if you want to fleabay it.As does the rallye type fairing.

Here is a photo on the 3rd oil filter that was fitted to the rally type bike

i wont fit it as see no need on this bike

Yeah like i said an additional filter housing, although that one(in the pic) is not a factory fitted item.
The filter housing they have used is the old 'bog roll' filter housing, when the factory started using a third filter they used a modified 660smc type housing which accommodated a filter the same type as the secondary filter from the 590 series engines and this was housed up behind the fairing.

While i am at it the lights were very dull on this bike, i came across a KTM Adventure 640 LC4 Enduro 99-2007 HID XENON H1 Headlamp Conversion

KTM Adventure 640 LC4 Enduro 99-2007 HID XENON H1 Headlamp Conversion | eBay


What do you think?

HID are great! I use a 35 watt kit and its over twice as bright as standard
H-4, 55 watt conventional bulb. 4 years on, ballast blew, DDM tuning sent me FREE replacement.

Check out these guys:
HID Kits, BMW Aftermarket Bumpers & Lighting, DEPO - DDM Tuning

Mine was about $25 USD, compared with $70 for the UK Ebay one shown above.

I use 35 watt version to save meager output on my DR650 ... but if you can afford to run the 55 Watt version, it puts out 4500 lumens ... now THAT is bright!

Life time guarantee. It's all made in China in same factory.

No idea what shipping would be to UK ... but surly not more than the £17 listed in the Ebay ad.

Mine was plug and play, no screwing around running separate power back to battery. Various versions, color temps, Hi-Lo, ect. I run 4500K bulb, it's not too blue. Rarely get flashed.

Here are the rear tanks, some say they are made out of unobtainium

So what are the small 5mm wide and deep holes for on the side's?

Thats where you attach your race numbers.Those tanks don't look like they've ever been used! The right hand one even has the protective heat shield on! I know envy is a terrible thing but i am seriously green right now!
During the list of upgrades i posted i did mention fitting the 03 onward clutch etc. Its a while since i'd done one of these and i forgot to mention that the later balancer shaft is slightly different and will not fit into an earlier crankcase. This can be modified quite easily though. The newer shaft is 2.25mm longer and the diameter on the crankcase side is a press fit sizing and needs to brought down to a push fit clearance. You will find the same machined down end of the shaft is slightly longer than the depth of the bearing but this can be shimmed up using this part, 56033030000. Know this all to be correct as I've just finished doing this an hour ago.Regards M