Bought a bike - have some questions

[Metastable]

I bought a 2010 ktm 200 xcw. I have a few questions...

- It has Tubliss tires. Apparently the inner tube is suppose to be kept at 80psi or higher, but reading around the net and speaking with the current owner, people are keeping the carcass at 8 - 10 psi. My question is, why keep the carcass so low in pressure? What is the reason for the low carcass PSI, why not just keep it at 15?

- It has been re-jetted and has this on/off switch on the handle bars that apparently changes the engine mapping/characteristic. I've heard of different maps on fuel injected bikes, but never on a carbed motorcycle. How does this work on a carb'ed bike?

- Are the WP shocks nitrogen charged?

- How often do you guys change your fork oil? I don't think it has ever been changed, mind you the bike only has around 60 hours on it. On my track bike (road course) I would change it up every other season and it is pretty easy to do.

Thanks - I'm sure I will have a lot more questions ..... fairly new to dirt, and this is my first 2 stroke.

[boland]

I bought a 2010 ktm 200 xcw. I have a few questions...

- It has Tubliss tires. Apparently the inner tube is suppose to be kept at 80psi or higher, but reading around the net and speaking with the current owner, people are keeping the carcass at 8 - 10 psi. My question is, why keep the carcass so low in pressure? What is the reason for the low carcass PSI, why not just keep it at 15?

Low pressure works better for offroad, better traction and bump absorption. I run 6-8psi in heavy duty tubes in the rear and 10 in the front.

- It has been re-jetted and has this on/off switch on the handle bars that apparently changes the engine mapping/characteristic. I've heard of different maps on fuel injected bikes, but never on a carbed motorcycle. How does this work on a carb'ed bike?

I don't know too much about this but I believe it changes the ignition timing giving it a more aggressive or softer power. Shouldn't affect jetting.


- Are the WP shocks nitrogen charged?

Yes they are

- How often do you guys change your fork oil? I don't think it has ever been changed, mind you the bike only has around 60 hours on it. On my track bike (road course) I would change it up every other season and it is pretty easy to do.

Every 30ish hours or when your seals start to leak or at least once a year.

Thanks - I'm sure I will have a lot more questions ..... fairly new to dirt, and this is my first 2 stroke.

[Dakota_c69]

I bought a 2010 ktm 200 xcw. ........ Thanks - I'm sure I will have a lot more questions ..... fairly new to dirt, and this is my first 2 stroke.

Sounds like you got all your questions answered, so I'll just say welcome to the forums! Lots of good info here and plenty of resources for everything from technical skills to finding people to ride with! Check out the Club Night section of the forum and come out for a Wednesday night ride.

[Metastable]

Thanks guys. Mom is in town for a couple of weeks, so I won't have time to join a ride until later on in the month (she's not in the best health).

Do you guys get your rear shocks rebuild/recharged often?

So the previous owner was about 5'6", so they put in a weaker spring in the back (as weak as you can go with a WP spring) and pulled the front forks up through the fork clamps to lower the bike. I haven't had the chance to play with it, but it seems the front is a lot stiffer than the rear. I'm around 5'8" and 155lbs. I'm thinking of flipping everything back to stock settings and putting on the original OEM shock spring that came with the bike (I have it), then doing my sag adjustments. (They didn't change the front fork springs.)

Question is this -> I'm not exactly tall, so having the bike at "stock" settings would probably cause more tip overs (especially since I have only been riding dirt for 1 season, and I'm short). However my gut feeling tells me it would be nicer riding the bike as it came from the factory as opposed to starting off with messed up suspension settings. Opinions?

[WRocks]

At 5'8" and 155 lbs, is ideal for the stock spring rate and suspension settings.
If you have the stock springs, they should work well.

Keep in mind that suspension setting are only as good as the condition of your suspension.
Suspension service is the probably the most commonly ignored item by most riders. The seasoned guys service the forks several times a season and rear at least once a season.

I see lots of guys messing with settings, who haven't had the suspension serviced in years. You're wasting time unless you start with properly serviced suspension.
Common issues are...
- Rear shock pressure low (does not affect sag, rear will feel spongy)
- Improper sag setting
- leaking forks (no point adjusting unless they have clean fluid, good seals and a known oil level)

Ensure the rear shock is charged with nitrogen to the recommended pressure. This can be done at a local dealership, or dirtyboy may be able to do it.
Since the bike is 2010, it is probably due for a full rear shock service and recharge anyway.
Servicing the rear shock is not possible at home unless you have special tools and an N2 bottle.

Servicing front forks is easy at home, but does require a few special tools.
- seal driver (a must if you want to install them without damaging them or the fork tubes)
- fork rod holding tool
- fork nut wrench
There should be some good videos on YouTube, or order a shop manual.
Alternatively, a local dealership should be able to service them in about an hour plus seals/oil.

I can't recall if this bike has open or closed cartridge forks? Both are fairly easy to service.

[350scott]

I can't recall if this bike has open or closed cartridge forks? Both are fairly easy to service.

Open cartridge so extremely easy to service.

[boland]

Your bike has open cartridge forks. No damper rod holding tool needed. You do need an oil level tool or just a syringe, piece of tube and some tape to set the oil height (air gap). If your seals aren't lesking don't mess with them just take the spring out and hang the forks over a bucket and let them drain overnight. Put new oil in, set the height and you're good to go.

[axel99]

Change the oils and put the stock springs back in and the shock and forks. Move the forks back so the top of fork caps is just above the triple clamps.
Set you static sag on the shock. Put all the clickers on the suspenison to the factory settings listed in the user manual. Make sure you chain is not to tight as this can hurt suspension performance and danmage the drive train.

[Metastable]

Thanks guys! That's kind of what I was thinking, clean up the fluids and put everything to stock and set sag. I have done fork oil changes on my track bike lots of times, so that won't be an issue. I don't see any fork leaks (although I will take a closer look). If the fork seals aren't leaking, then I will just change out the fork oil myself.

[takethebounce]

Some Tubliss experts can further chime in but lots of the people who I have ridden with that use it carry simple tire plugs with them. Should they get a puncture they simply plug the carcass. Much simpler than trying to patch a tube.

And I wouldn't worry about the height, I am much shorter and although there are times a shorter bike may help with one or two sections of snotty trail I would prefer to work on my technique rather than sacrifice ground clearance.

Enjoy the 200!