Ktm 350 exc-f | GTAMotorcycle.com

Ktm 350 exc-f

mxs

Well-known member
Site Supporter
1) How hard is it to actually get a used one? ... right now, based on what I see or don't see on-line, I am guessing very difficult?
New, is out of question ... I am not spending 10K on a bike I will use half a dozen times a season.

2) It does require 15hrs maintenance service, correct? Is that oil and filters and valves?

3) Anything else important I need to know about this particular bike?
 
KTM's I'm general command a higher resale value especially those exc and xc's. As far as maintenance goes, depending how you ride depends on maintenance. In my opinion you could go 2 seasons without cracking open that top end at all. Just save it for a winter project at the end of the 2nd season. I can't speak for ktm 4 stroke reliability but I had a buddy with yz450 who had 250 hours on a top end at the end of 3 years before opening it up. I heard those 350's are pretty good as well.
 
Really? Everywhere (internet of course) I read, it always comes down to compromise between high end machine maintenance (which the 350 qualifies for) and something like DRZ, XR or WR250R type of maintenance. I am surprised that YZ450 would live that long without a top end review for so long. I guess anything is possible ...
 
The 350's aren't known for reliability as the stong point.
Although plenty of 350's for sale on Kijiji just maybe not the xcf / exc.
2011-2012 I think in particular had more issues and recalls.
Overall good bike but as any other machine best to keep up on the maintenance.
Valve shim check beginning and end of season, oil changes every 8-10 hours.
Air filter every 2nd ride (or every ride in dry dusty conditions).
Spoke tightness every ride.
 
Plenty? I see right now 1 x 350 EXC in Ottawa, street legal ... XCF is useless to me, because it needs to be street legal.

Why cannot Yamaha make WR450R? ... I am sure there's a market for it. Anyway ... dreams come true sometimes, right?
 
KTM's I'm general command a higher resale value especially those exc and xc's. As far as maintenance goes, depending how you ride depends on maintenance. In my opinion you could go 2 seasons without cracking open that top end at all. Just save it for a winter project at the end of the 2nd season. I can't speak for ktm 4 stroke reliability but I had a buddy with yz450 who had 250 hours on a top end at the end of 3 years before opening it up. I heard those 350's are pretty good as well.

250hrs on a top end...your buddy has a unicorn bike and a giant horseshoe up his ***. Either that or the bike didn't get ridden above 3000rpm.
 
You can download all of the service manuals from ktm.com The EXC-F and XCF-W aren't as high strung as the SC-F and XC-F, so the maintenance is a bit more relaxed. Valve check every 30 hours.

If you're looking at a high performance dirt bike, no matter the brand you'll need to keep on top of maintenance.
 
Got it.

I am not necessarily looking for high performance dirt bike, it's just that I don't want to settle for WR250R, nor DRZ400. But I do need it to be street legal ... so it basically points to something of the 350 enduro bike and live with the more frequent maintenance schedule.

I was surprised though to hear that in Motonomad (two guys riding KTM 500 EXC through Europe), the bikes did 7000kms in somewhat 30 days of pretty demanding riding with two oil changes and no valve clearance check. The bikes apparently didn't need any valve adjustment after the trip. I suppose the larger 500 EXC engine lets you stretch things out if you need to .... or the factory pulled a rabbit out of their hat when they were prepping their bikes.
 
I hear ya. You want a real dirt bike with a blue plate. Keep your eyes open on kijiji. There are blue plate bikes that shouldn't be blue plate coming up fairly often.

Just because it requires checks doesn't mean it's going to fail or need adjustment every 30 hours. The point is that you want to know as soon as it starts to go out of spec so that you can take care of problems before more expensive things happen.

A guy at Apex Cycle claims he has 20,000km on his 500 and the valves are still in spec. He's rides it SM on the street mostly and doesn't baby by any means.
 
The bigger EXC (525/530/500) is a lot easier to find used, might be something to look into.
 
I hear ya. You want a real dirt bike with a blue plate. Keep your eyes open on kijiji. There are blue plate bikes that shouldn't be blue plate coming up fairly often.

Just because it requires checks doesn't mean it's going to fail or need adjustment every 30 hours. The point is that you want to know as soon as it starts to go out of spec so that you can take care of problems before more expensive things happen.

A guy at Apex Cycle claims he has 20,000km on his 500 and the valves are still in spec. He's rides it SM on the street mostly and doesn't baby by any means.

Exactly, what I am trying to achieve. Hoping I can find something within my budget.
 
Those 390 bergs are a really sweet bike. Definitely a woods weapon.:)

Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk
 

Back
Top Bottom