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Helping a Newbie Out

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ktm131rob

Free Member
I most recently spent my first full weekend on my snow bike (ktm xc-f 350 w/Camso DTS 129) and I had an extremely tough time starting it. Once I got it started and warmed up it worked great, but getting it started was a whole other story.

A typical weekend for our group is spent at my camp which has no heated garage and or power minus a generator. I have a 30 ft enclosed trailer that heated the bike up in and that seemed to be the only way to get it to start. I did some research and I will change the weight of my oil and if i have the trailer heat the bike up before starting.

My dilema is what do i do if i have no trailer to heat the bike up? Is there any tips or tricks that i can try, any mechanical adjustments i can make to the bike to get it to start.

I appreciate the help with this question I know its been asked before but i dont seem to be able to find any good answers to it.
 
Last edited:
Agreed 0 weight or I have had great luck with 5w motorex... Bring a lithium booster pack ... That will help also... Maybe some fuel controller adjustments... Also get all the water out of the crank case breather before storing it overnight... So it does not freeze...

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
My 450 Honda was terrible last year. Drove me crazy. Had to leave a propane heater on it for starting

I think heating it in the trailer is your best option

I switched to 300 2 stroke this year and I'm hoping it starts a lot better
 
If you have a generator you could use a small heat blanket wrapped around the motor to warm it up.
 
Good suggestions, I will get some new oil for it when I change it this week. When i have my trailer I am not worried as much. This weekend I will only be travelling myself, and only with my snow bike. That's a big trailer...
 
I hogged out my battery holder in my KTM to fit a mondo sized lithium battery. run 5W-40 or 0W-40. carry a can of brake cleaner or ether
 
ktm131rob said:
I most recently spent my first full weekend on my snow bike (ktm xc-f 350 w/Camso DTS 129) and I had an extremely tough time starting it. Once I got it started and warmed up it worked great, but getting it started was a whole other story.

A typical weekend for our group is spent at my camp which has no heated garage and or power minus a generator. I have a 30 ft enclosed trailer that heated the bike up in and that seemed to be the only way to get it to start. I did some research and I will change the weight of my oil and if i have the trailer heat the bike up before starting.

My dilema is what do i do if i have no trailer to heat the bike up? Is there any tips or tricks that i can try, any mechanical adjustments i can make to the bike to get it to start.

I appreciate the help with this question I know its been asked before but i dont seem to be able to find any good answers to it.
Click to expand...

So i also have to place to keep things warm and its been getting to 0 Degrees F around here, so my bike is now an icicle! I saw this a few years ago and thought it was brilliant. Tested it out yesterday and it got 2 frozen bikes up and going in about 5 minutes each! I got some dryer vent tubbing and slipped it over the exhaust of my truck and stuck the other end blowing on the carb. May have to throw a blanket over the bike to help hold the heat. I set my truck to a higher idle for more air/heat. Works great!
 
As everyone said.... even a 5w oil like Rotella T6 will do a lot. However, I think the biggest thing you could use is a high CCA LEAD ACID battery like the Yuasa YTZ7S. That one thing alone took my slow to turn over 450 and upped the crank speed in the cold by triple or more... no fire problems now in the cold (except when I ran my battery dead by leaving my light on).

Upgrade that battery!
 
jrlastofthebreed said:
So i also have to place to keep things warm and its been getting to 0 Degrees F around here, so my bike is now an icicle! I saw this a few years ago and thought it was brilliant. Tested it out yesterday and it got 2 frozen bikes up and going in about 5 minutes each! I got some dryer vent tubbing and slipped it over the exhaust of my truck and stuck the other end blowing on the carb. May have to throw a blanket over the bike to help hold the heat. I set my truck to a higher idle for more air/heat. Works great!
Click to expand...

Im going to give this a shot.. Seems to be to cheap and to easy not to.

Thanks for the advice!
 
capulin overdrive said:
Gas is fine, most people think ether is a no no in gas engines, especially small engines.
Click to expand...

I work very closely with a certified KTM tech, he's great with all the orange bikes. Not much for snow bikes but a wealth of knowledge none the less.

He told me thats a no no, ruins o rings and other rubber gaskets in the throttle body by drying them out.

I trust him, he also has a good habit of "I told you so" when I dont listen to him so I try to follow his guidance.
 
Well my back up is using an Arctic cat coolant heater plumbed in to the system... I have a tunnel cooler so it is an easier fix than if you don't
.. arctic cat has them for the diesel ATV s

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
If you do use starting fluid be sure to use the premium with the oil additives.
IMO, Using it briefly shouldn't cause any long term affects but if you find yourself going thru a whole can in a season then you have other issues you need to address. Some bikes just don't like zero degrees.
 
My KTM SX450 started every time last Saturday. We started the ride at -20 and it never got above zero all day. I did have a bigger battery installed in it when it was converted to a snowbike. Still a Lithium Ion battery though.
 
I have a block heater that I run off the genny while I'm dressing and I have a heavy cord that goes from my 800 amp battery in the trailer that the bike plugs into, and I use 0-30 amsoil and it starts every time! Block heater is one of those rubber pad type that I put on the botom of the motor to warm the oil I use black foam insulation to keep it tight against the block the skid plate mashes it up tight take about 10 minutes and my water temp gauge shows about 35-40 degrees ,,after it heats the oil then the water!
 
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