Jeff's Ultimate Dual Sport Ride - 2024 KTM 500 XWF Walkaround

[@gregharris2928]

I Bought a KTM 350XWF and installed a Vortex ECU, FMF Q4 , Removed Reeds, installed intake tube in its place. The bike went from running “wimpy” to “woken up” and has so much more power. I buy my parts from Jeff Slavens cuz I live near the store in Colorado Springs. All the employees are Great. Thanks Slavens!

[@slaverace1]

Thank you!

[@gregharris2928]

@@slaverace1 Jeff, in addition to our 350 , we just purchased a Ktm 500 XWF like yours. Today I went to Slavens and purchased another Vortex and FMF Q4 to wake it up! I always enjoy your videos dude. And your employees treat me Great,

[@Nicky_Pin_It]

Love the new camera work fellah's

[@slaverace1]

Thank you.

[@debdinin3926]

Jeff's builds are always informative and look forward to his product videos. If Salven's Racing sells a product, you know there's a reason why... It works. Thanks to Jeff and the crew.

[@slaverace1]

Thank you.

[@carls.2071]

Thanks for the rundown

[@slaverace1]

Thanks for watching our channel.

[@wfodavid]

I cant say enough about Jeff and Alec and Slavens. I emailed Jeff and Alec about my 2024 300 XCW and the fact that it didn't hold up against my 22 300 XCW with Slavens GET Mule tune. Jeff was out of town but took the time to email me and get me in touch with his guys. Got a phone call that night asking me about my issue. They suggested the new TSP ERM and head so I ordered. I'm in Heaven now. Customer service is as good as it gets. Been around a while and got the T-shirt. Jeff and his guys are the real deal.

[@slaverace1]

Thank you. We try hard and are always working on improving the customer experience. We appreciate your patronage. Time to ride!

[@davidmerrell1163]

Nice Bike Jeff, Thanks for all of your videos and content.

[@slaverace1]

Glad you like them!

[@danarussell4246]

Your builds never disappoint me.

[@slaverace1]

Thank you. I have since made a few changes to the bike. Stay tuned for an update video.

[@Mostviews111]

What's he "building"?

[@code4performance]

Excellent build, Jeff. Thank you for all your videos

[@slaverace1]

Thanks for watching!

[@waynemodesitt3445]

Lots of great info, and a very well put together video. The video quality, editing, and scripting seemed better than ever. My son does filming, editing, and scripting, which I've come to find out takes a lot of time, effort, and skill to do well.

[@slaverace1]

Hello: You are correct. Videos take a lot of time and cut into my ride time.

[@SteveLillie-h6l]

Hey if you make it over to AZ anytime let me know i have some fun stuff you may enjoy. Lots of gnar seems that is your groove (as is mine). Have around 70 plus miles and over 400 hours invested into this system- can do that when you are retired! Thanx so much for the videos they are very informative.

[@slaverace1]

Hello What’s Your Name Thanks for the invite. I’d like to take you up on that someday. I’ll be in Az next month but won’t have my bike with me.

[@SteveLillie-h6l]

Steve. Yes you would really enjoy this place. It's great "old man gnar". @@slaverace1

[@jamescrozier2806]

Awesome build. I’m jealous, might need to get rid of my 20 500 and get a new one. And I’m also running the x31 as my front tire. Of all the front tires I have used that is my favorite. It’s just a good do it all tire.

[@slaverace1]

Go for it!

[@OldguyinBelize]

love it! good job.

[@slaverace1]

Thank you.

[@Jeremybaland]

Hello Jeff! Why did you decide to go with the Vortex over the GET Athena ECU?

[@slaverace1]

The Vortex was available for the new bikes first. The GET is now available. We will be doing testing/videos on both. Stay tuned...

[@Jeremybaland]

Excellent! Thanks for the videos.

[@boblogIIIfan]

The quadlock anti vibration phone mount charges your phone and is super durable , would be an upgrade to that one

[@slaverace1]

Hello: I personally broke 3 of the "super durable" plastic mounts you are referring to. That is why we dropped that product line and changed to SP-Connect and they also have anti-vibration charging mounts >>>> slavensracing.com/shop/accessories-and-replacement-parts-by-sp-connect/ made from much tougher aluminum.

[@boblogIIIfan]

@@slaverace1 the one i am talking about the charger body is aluminium and i diddnt use the extension peice so it sits in between the bar mounts , ive bent the bolt that goes thru the charger and not broken it

[@grutzmac]

Sick build! No turn signals?

[@slaverace1]

Hello: Turn signals are not required in Colorado.

[@merediththomason1111]

Jeff, for those who want to run a DOT tire on their KTM 500, do you have any recommendations? Possibly your top three DOT tires for dual sport? Thank you.

[@slaverace1]

Hello Sir: Sorry, I don't use DOT tires on my dual sport bike so I don't keep up on them. We have a DOT section on our site, slavensracing.com/product-category/tires-wheels/tires/dot-tires/. Please contact [e-mail]. He knows dual sport tires.

[@grantmarett2367]

Jeff, after your experience/upgrades would you recommend any other stock bike for the type of riding that you do?

[@slaverace1]

Hello Grant: The short answer is no, KTM brands are the best option. IF you're on a tight budget, there are other brands to consider, but you get what you pay for.

[@brianmiller6587]

Nice build! For the pegs, do you run any rear or low offset? The stock peg positioning seems to be too forward for me. Thanks

[@slaverace1]

Hello: Sorry, I forgot to mention in the video that the Carapak pegs slavensracing.com/shop/stainless-steel-footpegs-by-carapaks/ are 5mm lower and 10mm to the back. Definitely a more comfortable position for me.

[@JamieKeefer]

You keep the stock rake on the triple clamp? I have the husky varient and while I won’t go so far as to say In have experienced head shake, but the steering feels very sensitive at 50mph plus. Maybe I just need to tighten up the steering? Or more slack angle in order?

[@slaverace1]

Hello: The rake is not changeable and I run the stock offset. If your bike feels unstable/sensitive at speed, soften the REAR shock preload one full turn.

[@JamieKeefer]

@@slaverace1 thank you.

[@robbo6799]

Hi Jeff, does the Vortex make a noticeable difference without a aftermarket muffler?

[@slaverace1]

Hello Rob: Yes, a very big improvement. With the stock muffler with the restrictor screen still intact, the power was wimpy and it flamed out very easily. Now, with the stock muffler and restrictor it runs well, BUT if more HP is desired the restrictor must come out. The stock muffler is still quiet with it removed and the Vortex will compensate for the increased flow.

[@endurok39pnw]

@@slaverace1 How do you have the Vortex set? Are you running one click richer on the bottom end to mitigate the flame outs? I had my FX450 set up that way and it helped a lot with flame outs, then someone I was riding with was following me and said "hey it smells like your bike is running too rich" so I clicked it back to neutral on the bottom. I think the richer setting did help with the flame outs though it's been a few years and I haven't gone back, I still get some flame outs at the worst times. I thinks it's worse now since I am switching back and forth from the 450 to a 300 to and they just lug if you want and rarely stall.

[@saintification4657]

I just bought a 2024 XW-F 500, what is the difference between it and the EXC-F 500 model, to me it just looks like the street legal add ons, but google says the XW-F 500 has 39.5HP and the EXC-F 500 has 64HP.

[@slaverace1]

Hello: Whatever your source is, those numbers are wrong! They have the same engines and are basically the same bikes. The EXC has more useless junk, like turn signals, DS tires, etc..

[@MikeBoughton-h9z]

Why did you go with the xwf vs exc for dual sport? Did you add. Horn and brake light? I’m looking at building a dual sport but not sure of which model to go with. Thanks Jeff

[@slaverace1]

Hello: Either will work well with a few mods. The EXC has a lot of things that you pay for that I would remove; junky mirrors, huge switches that take up a lot of real estate, junk tires, horrible rear under fender and huge taillight, turn signals, etc.. Yes, I added a brake light switch and a horn is in the queue. I have also changed the muffler and the fuel tank. I'll post an update video soon. Stay tuned.

[@merediththomason1111]

What brand rear sprocket are you using? Is it aluminum or steel?

[@slaverace1]

Stock aluminum.

[@MrHumpo75]

Is there any major loss in range if you go to the vortex? Only getting 110km out of the stock tank now and until the big tanks come don’t want to shorten my distance much. Any idea when acebis is bring there 3.9G tanks out?

[@slaverace1]

Hello: I recently rode for 76 miles on mostly Jeep roads and smooth dirt roads with my Vortex tuned `24 500XWF and still had a little fuel left. We have the `24 KTM 4.0 tanks in stock. slavensracing.com/shop/large-capacity-fuel-tanks/

[@jeffmcclain]

Trying to find out if you can swap plug for headlight to route power into the high beam position for the LED to get better illumination on the 500XW. Seems like the only difference on the harness between this and the EXC is a hi/lo beam power route and that should work/be easy?

[@slaverace1]

From Chris at Moto Minded. “The XW-F and XC-W on/off bikes put power to the low beam, not the high beam. Both wires should be green on the bike side of the plug. One green goes to the little euro element on the end of the stalk. The other green is the low beam circuit. Brown is ground. Move the low beam to the empty spot on the plug. Much easier to type than do though.”

[@jeffmcclain]

@@slaverace1 Thanks, Jeff! I got it nailed! On the light side of the plug, it is easy enough to swap the Yellow and Blue wires out and you'll have high beam active if you don't need to run on road. The plug is pretty easy to pull the pins if you know how. Pull the yellow insert out of the inside of the plug with needle nose, and it will unlock/expose the locker tabs for releasing the pins. They just pull out the back side and you can easily swap them. The stupid ON/OFF toggle switch is another story. That POS never works for me and my bike is brand new...something doesn't let it latch very well.

[@ChadBishop-vm1vf]

I’m looking to by the seat concept but can’t decide on the tall standard or standard comfort. Have you used both ?

[@slaverace1]

Hello: I'm 6'3" and use the tall comfort, not the standard and not the XL comfort. The SC Comfort seats are 90+% of our SC sales. slavensracing.com/shop/complete-comfort-seat-for-ktm-by-seat-concepts/

[@richardmartinez5261]

What are you going to do for a fuel tank? As of now, you can't get all the fuel out of an over sized tank and the fuel range isn't the best. We did a long ride last weekend and i bearly made it 75 miles and there was .5 gallons of fuel still in the tank. I have a 24 FE450

[@slaverace1]

Hello: I installed a 4.0 gallon Acerbis yesterday. When the winter weather goes away I'll put on some miles and see what happens. If the tank does not draw fuel down to an acceptable level, I'll design something to address the issue.

[@dont3761]

On the foot pegs noticed the teeth are not as sharp on the outside , did you grind on those teeth or do they come that way? I always catch my boots on the peg

[@slaverace1]

That brand of pegs are too sharp for me. I take a body grinder and knock them down a little. If I don't do that I can't get my foot off the peg quickly sometimes and tip over. It's what works for me but it's not for everyone.

[@ognightrider8730]

What's the cost of that front suspension setup?

[@slaverace1]

Here is a link to the front forks with triple camps >>> slavensracing.com/shop/slavens-mule-mxt-blackjack-49mm-complete-fork-w-luxon-triple-clamp/. Just an FYI: on all of our videos we put links in the description section below the video.

[@Hondarider35]

Why didnt you use the rekluse clutch cover? Also I want to buy this bike when you are ready to sell it.

[@slaverace1]

Hello: Only the CX comes with a cover. I installed the X clutch.

[@yuriabmxr]

Just curious, but why start with an emission bike (xw-f or exc-f) instead of a full power bike (xc-f or xcw-f)?

[@slaverace1]

Hello: I prefer the 500 for DS riding and all models of them are plugged up.

[@yuriabmxr]

@@slaverace1 The 60cc is worth all the extra work?

[@SteveMera-j6q]

Jeff , is the battlecross x 31 dot approved?

[@slaverace1]

No.

[@jaynelson2347]

Will the rekluse left hand brake fit with the turn light switch on the bars ?

[@slaverace1]

It is tight. You would be better off switching to a Sicass Racing switch.

[@busman721]

What side stand is that? My stock stand is always trying to come loose and fling the springs.

[@4x4American]

It’s the new stock one pretty sure

[@slaverace1]

Hello: It's the one that came on the bike for `24.

[@johnfavre1987]

What size front tire?

[@slaverace1]

Hello: For Rocky Mtn Riding I use a 80/100 Bridgestone X31 slavensracing.com/shop/battlecross-x31-soft-to-intermediate-tire-by-bridgestone/. For Baja sand I use the same tire in the 90/100 size.

[@labmetoday4993]

do you use Tubliss system ?

[@slaverace1]

Yes. When in Baja, Mousse.

[@billdeck9766]

hOW. does the front X 31 compare to the M 403 front tire?

[@slaverace1]

Hello Bill: The M403 is only made in the following sizes; 12", 14" and 17". At 6'3" I'm just a little to tall to ride mini bikes and definitely can't ride one fast enough to provide quality feedback.

[@billdeck9766]

Ok,.didnt really expain it better. Old 21 M403 to the 21 X31. hope that is better.

[@mikebishop6095]

Where your blinkers at

[@slaverace1]

In the trash can where they belong.