2015 KTM 500EXC Adventure Build!

[@terrancepack3211]

I have an 05, 525 exc I am in the process of adventurizing. Such a fun bike and pretty good at everything. Really good at singletrack. Great video, thanks for the info.

[@MotoRidesVietnam]

2015. The most reliable year made 👍

[@donaldfabozzi3996]

I have the 2015 500 xc-w. A lot of the same mods.

[@pinkiewerewolf]

I have a Husky 501. I’m gonna say that rebuilding top ends so damn frequently eliminates these bikes from being top tier adventure bikes. We can call them what they are, high performance, lightweight dual-sports but they suck at adventure riding. If we can’t do a trip to Alaska and back without worrying about doing major rebuilds to the engine, plus they suck on the highway, that makes them purely dual-sport weapons for difficult terrain. The only reasons I have mine is because I ride solo and it is easy to pick up in the middle of the boonies by myself. I use my T7 for everything except that kind of riding. But if I want to do epic riding in far off locations, I’m loading the 501 on a trailer. Why would I want to waste engine life on the highway getting there?

[@MotoRidesVietnam]

Did you not read about the guy who did a 140,000 km round the world trip on a ktm 500 with only 1 or 2 rebuilds?

[@pinkiewerewolf]

@@MotoRidesVietnam Yeah, not the norm, at all.

[@MotoRidesVietnam]

@@pinkiewerewolf how often are you rebuilding?

[@MotoRidesVietnam]

2015 was a really good year model though. Many people got 600-800 hours on first piston

[@pinkiewerewolf]

@@MotoRidesVietnam I haven’t had to yet. Mine is new enough to me, and I have 6 bikes. Other factors, I don’t ride it at ultra high RPMs all day, change the oil frequently (which is another reason it isn’t a top tier Adventure bike) and I have the extra capacity clutch case. I would expect a true Adventure bike to go 100,000-200,000 miles (not KM which is about 60% of the mileage) without worrying about rebuilding the engine. So my point is that I bought into trying this out but these are what the manufacturer categorized them as, dual-sport bikes derived from motocross race bikes and at that they excel. We shouldn’t expect them to be as maintenance free as true Adventure bikes. Just enjoy them for what they are.