2013 250sx tranny issues

[chump6784]

I didn't have a chance to run my bike in before racing it so I rang my mechanic who is a former factory mechanic and he said that all I needed to do was 3 or 4 heat cycles on the motor and its good to go. With tolerances where they are today bikes don't really need to be run in.

I ended up being able to ride it for about 15 minutes before raceday just to run it through the gears and then took it easy in practice. Ran smooth for the rest of the day.

If ktm fixed it I am guessing it was a manufacturing fault and not your own.

My bike is a 12 250sx by the way. Good luck and welcome to the site

[Watson777]

I warm a new bike up a good 15 minutes, let cool, ride it easy for a few, let it cool then run it like i race it. ...... never had a problem!

[Stusmoke]

First off, I thought this was actually a joke post, so that one was my bad and I'm sorry.

When you get it back from the dealer, let us know what they said. I'd like to know if the transmission just broke or there was another problem I've never heard of anything like this happening before.

ALWAYS break in a new engine component. Any part of the engine be it piston, entire top end, crank, conrod, or all of the above be absolutely certain to break it in properly before riding it hard.

I just broke in a piston like this:

start up for the first time, let the engine warm to the touch with just little blips of the throttle. do NOT overrev it.

Ride around gently for 10 minutes using 50-60% of the rev range. Let it cool off COMPLETELY.

Warm up the engine to the touch, again just little blips don't over rev it. Ride it around gently using 60-80% of the rev range. Let it cool off completely and repeat this one again.

Thats my warmup and the one time I've used it it worked well. I checked with both my honda manual and googled around a little. Like chump said the newer bikes it shouldn't be as bigger disaster. You should definitely still do it but it won't be the end of the world if you don't do it properly.

Again though, post up what the blokes at KTM said happened cos I'm interested.

[Jeram]

gearboxes dont need a break in cycle... the heat cycle is purely for the piston and bore undergo gradual heating and cooling cycles together in unison.
The gear box should be good to race from the moment it comes off the production line.

Sounds very odd that you got stuck in second, no idea what could have caused that but hopefully you get your bike repaired and back to you soon buddy!

[Sheriff]

so we picked up a brand new 250sx within an hour of it being received get one ride on it. goes great break in is in full swing. second ride we go out and on third moto i come down out of a corner and try to shift to third only to find it is stuck in second. less than an hour on the bike. so now it is back at the dealership after being fixed(under warranty).
just wondering if any other 11-13 owners have had any problems like this?

Is this a serious thing or a joke? If its serious then it sort of looks like you were asking for it by racing it before it was properly broken in and I dont think that it would of happened under normal circumstances and if run in correctly, on the other hand if its a joke then your sense of humour is rubbish.

Asking for it? I've had quite a few new bikes and probly spent 30 minutes running them in before racing them without a drama EVER! Like TMKIWI said, it happens with machines!!
Hope ya get it sorted ab144 and have no further dramas

Seriously? I always spend 2 or 3 hours using less than half throttle running a bike in before I even think about racing it and even then for the following 3 or 4 rides go really easy on it. How often do you rebuild the engine on your bike? I can ususally get a season out of mine before I replace it but even then the pistons are usually still in pretty good condition.

Just because you waste half the useful life of your engine breaking it in doesn't mean doing anything else is wrong.

I've done no more than 10-20 minutes break in on most of my bikes for the last 15 years (about a dozen bikes in total, from 3 different brands, both 2 strokes and 4 strokes) and never ran into a reliability issue and know of many people of different skill levels who do the same. Today's tolerances are so tight, all you really have to do is let it heat up and ride it smooth for a few laps to make sure everything is in order, then let er rip.

At most one-off SX races in the world (Montreal, Bercy, etc.), local dealers lend brand new bikes to American riders for them to race. They don't spend 4 hours breaking them in during the race. A friend of mine bought the bike Jason Thomas used to win the 2006 Montreal SX. He ran in for 2 years without a single issue.

So back to the OP's question, you did nothing wrong. Just an isolated incident. I hope the dealer finds the problem and fixes it for good. Have fun with your new bike.

[yota]

I have the 12 model with a fair amount of hours on it and no problems.  On a slightly older model KTM I had the same problem, stuck in 2nd gear.  I missed a shift and banged it into gear, chipping a small pc off of a gear.  the small pc ended up embedded in the aluminum shift drum causing the shift fork to jam.  dug the pc of steel out of the drum, sanded the imperfection and put it all back together(with the chipped gear) and it ran great for years.

I don't think break in is an issue, these things break in very quickly, they aren't four strokes.

[ab144]

So final report is that there is a spring in the shifting mechanism that just got stuck and seized up. Ridden a few races on it since then and it's running like a champ

[TotalNZ]

so we picked up a brand new 250sx within an hour of it being received get one ride on it. goes great break in is in full swing. second ride we go out and on third moto i come down out of a corner and try to shift to third only to find it is stuck in second. less than an hour on the bike. so now it is back at the dealership after being fixed(under warranty).
just wondering if any other 11-13 owners have had any problems like this?

Is this a serious thing or a joke? If its serious then it sort of looks like you were asking for it by racing it before it was properly broken in and I dont think that it would of happened under normal circumstances and if run in correctly, on the other hand if its a joke then your sense of humour is rubbish.

Asking for it? I've had quite a few new bikes and probly spent 30 minutes running them in before racing them without a drama EVER! Like TMKIWI said, it happens with machines!!
Hope ya get it sorted ab144 and have no further dramas

Seriously? I always spend 2 or 3 hours using less than half throttle running a bike in before I even think about racing it and even then for the following 3 or 4 rides go really easy on it. How often do you rebuild the engine on your bike? I can ususally get a season out of mine before I replace it but even then the pistons are usually still in pretty good condition.

2 or 3 hours at half throttle, you've gotta be kidding. good way to glaze a bore.
The first 5 hours are the best and hardest that motor will ever go, you crazy not to take advantage of it.
Jump on run her up to temp then let her have it.

[gpnewhouse7]

I used to do that with my old YZ85 but that used to need a new piston every month or so or it would seize up. How I run my bikes in now means that even on my old RM85 I could easily do 12 months on a piston and then when I replaced it it was still in good nic. Never had any problems from taking too long running a bike in.

[shanes]

The first 5 hours are the best and hardest that motor will ever go, you crazy not to take advantage of it.
Jump on run her up to temp then let her have it.

+1 engine will be worn out , warm it up , a few laps up and down the gears , let it cool completely change the oil while its cooling and ride it like you stole it .

[scotty dog]

I would get a season of racing plus all the other riding I did, I only put in a new top end half way through because there was one in the spares kit

so we picked up a brand new 250sx within an hour of it being received get one ride on it. goes great break in is in full swing. second ride we go out and on third moto i come down out of a corner and try to shift to third only to find it is stuck in second. less than an hour on the bike. so now it is back at the dealership after being fixed(under warranty).
just wondering if any other 11-13 owners have had any problems like this?

Is this a serious thing or a joke? If its serious then it sort of looks like you were asking for it by racing it before it was properly broken in and I dont think that it would of happened under normal circumstances and if run in correctly, on the other hand if its a joke then your sense of humour is rubbish.

Asking for it? I've had quite a few new bikes and probly spent 30 minutes running them in before racing them without a drama EVER! Like TMKIWI said, it happens with machines!!
Hope ya get it sorted ab144 and have no further dramas

Seriously? I always spend 2 or 3 hours using less than half throttle running a bike in before I even think about racing it and even then for the following 3 or 4 rides go really easy on it. How often do you rebuild the engine on your bike? I can ususally get a season out of mine before I replace it but even then the pistons are usually still in pretty good condition.