I did today in a big way.
I bought a couple of KTM 420's a couple of years ago...promptly put them on the back burner as I was riding my 430 Husqvarna and VOR's. I picked up another 420 a couple of days ago and FINALLY decided to put one together to ride.
I had 3 of them when I was a young racer (A pre-production 1979, a true 1979 and 1980 MC80) and they were my favorite bikes of all time. I was almost afraid to have my memories of the bikes I turned expert on, be mashed in the wheels of reality...so 2 years on the back burner....finally with the arrival of this GS420 (Enduro version of MC) that came my way; and I had to do something with the pile of KTM JUNK :yikes: to justify them...so I stuck one together today with "ok" shocks (one out of nitrogen & the other just "OK"), old Metzler tires, lousy cables..etc.
Put an hour or so to shake it down to see where I need to go with it to make it ridable.
WOW!! It is SO MUCH better than I remembered. Turns way better than my Husky's (dare I say better than the VOR?) It feels like a feather weight as compared to what I have been riding. The Rear suspension... even in its patched together state was as I remembered...is very nice. The fork was undersprung and the front brake cable is frayed to the point of hindering braking....but the motor is perfect. Mellow bottom end with a BUTT kick for a top end. The chassis was and seems to be...right. (For me) Felt just as I remembered and was so familiar it is almost scary. (Can you remember those type of things THAT long???? 23-24years?)
Makes me want to ride again. Now I'm wondering why it took so damn long for me to build what I KNEW was my favorite bike of all time. :nod: Definilty a case of reality better than memorys!
(ALL my buddies of the time who had Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda......... HATED my KTM's.! :moon: )
(By the way..I DIDN"T like the 495, they got really heavy ..especially when they went to the single shock rear suspension...and the geometry was not the same. They didn't turn as well.)
I bought a couple of KTM 420's a couple of years ago...promptly put them on the back burner as I was riding my 430 Husqvarna and VOR's. I picked up another 420 a couple of days ago and FINALLY decided to put one together to ride.
I had 3 of them when I was a young racer (A pre-production 1979, a true 1979 and 1980 MC80) and they were my favorite bikes of all time. I was almost afraid to have my memories of the bikes I turned expert on, be mashed in the wheels of reality...so 2 years on the back burner....finally with the arrival of this GS420 (Enduro version of MC) that came my way; and I had to do something with the pile of KTM JUNK :yikes: to justify them...so I stuck one together today with "ok" shocks (one out of nitrogen & the other just "OK"), old Metzler tires, lousy cables..etc.
Put an hour or so to shake it down to see where I need to go with it to make it ridable.
WOW!! It is SO MUCH better than I remembered. Turns way better than my Husky's (dare I say better than the VOR?) It feels like a feather weight as compared to what I have been riding. The Rear suspension... even in its patched together state was as I remembered...is very nice. The fork was undersprung and the front brake cable is frayed to the point of hindering braking....but the motor is perfect. Mellow bottom end with a BUTT kick for a top end. The chassis was and seems to be...right. (For me) Felt just as I remembered and was so familiar it is almost scary. (Can you remember those type of things THAT long???? 23-24years?)
Makes me want to ride again. Now I'm wondering why it took so damn long for me to build what I KNEW was my favorite bike of all time. :nod: Definilty a case of reality better than memorys!
(ALL my buddies of the time who had Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda......... HATED my KTM's.! :moon: )
(By the way..I DIDN"T like the 495, they got really heavy ..especially when they went to the single shock rear suspension...and the geometry was not the same. They didn't turn as well.)
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