1999 KTM 380SX opinions

[queen of spodes]

Hi all, new to the forum and found a local 99 380 for sale. I have a 640LC4 so the power shouldn't be an issue. I have a few questions..

1) How reliable are the engines & transmissions?

2) I've read a lot about jetting, head mods, JD jet kits, ect.. can someone 'splain why and how important all of this is?

3) I am very tall for a female.. not coordinated enough for basketball but love moto. How will this 380 fit me? I read where a tall rider on ktmtalk rewelding footpegs, raising bars with custom risers.. is the frame on the '99 tiny?

4) Was the '99 sold with an actual title, or MSO? If the latter, did the MSO come with "not for highway use"?

5) Is there a high output (100w or more) stator available for the 380?

6) Is there a large capacity tank available?

Thanks all.. love my '99 KTM 640 LC4.. but it's lonely in my garage after selling my RM125!

[Premixed]

Hi all, new to the forum and found a local 99 380 for sale. I have a 640LC4 so the power shouldn't be an issue. I have a few questions..

1) How reliable are the engines & transmissions?

2) I've read a lot about jetting, head mods, JD jet kits, ect.. can someone 'splain why and how important all of this is?

3) I am very tall for a female.. not coordinated enough for basketball but love moto. How will this 380 fit me? I read where a tall rider on ktmtalk rewelding footpegs, raising bars with custom risers.. is the frame on the '99 tiny?

4) Was the '99 sold with an actual title, or MSO? If the latter, did the MSO come with "not for highway use"?

5) Is there a high output (100w or more) stator available for the 380?

6) Is there a large capacity tank available?

Thanks all.. love my '99 KTM 640 LC4.. but it's lonely in my garage after selling my RM125!

1.  big bore two strokes are reliable as hell, it's a relative term though.  as reliable as a honda civic? probably not.  more reliable than a 04 crf250r?  absolutely.

2. jetting is everything.

3. how tall is "tall for a female"?  a tall filipina is 5'6''.  Ivan Drago's girlfriend in Rocky 4 is 6'1''.  KTMs fit taller people best, because they arent designed and built by twinks.  (japanese men)

4. dunno.

5.  yea.

6. yea.

[Jeram]

Hi all, new to the forum and found a local 99 380 for sale. I have a 640LC4 so the power shouldn't be an issue. I have a few questions..

1) How reliable are the engines & transmissions?

2) I've read a lot about jetting, head mods, JD jet kits, ect.. can someone 'splain why and how important all of this is?

3) I am very tall for a female.. not coordinated enough for basketball but love moto. How will this 380 fit me? I read where a tall rider on ktmtalk rewelding footpegs, raising bars with custom risers.. is the frame on the '99 tiny?

4) Was the '99 sold with an actual title, or MSO? If the latter, did the MSO come with "not for highway use"?

5) Is there a high output (100w or more) stator available for the 380?

6) Is there a large capacity tank available?

Thanks all.. love my '99 KTM 640 LC4.. but it's lonely in my garage after selling my RM125!

the head mods are great for two things, altering the compression ratio, the quish and the general efficiency of the head shape.
There is no single head mod for the 380, it depends on what your riding style is.

JD jet kits are great for the 380, the triple taper needles help get the jetting spot on... you can also adjust the powerband through swappping over the powervalve springs. so you can either get a sudden hit or a gradual build up of power.

but before you did any of that, id be giving it a thorough service, check the compression and change piston if due, and if you have to change the piston get everything else checked while your in there (rod movement, pv carbon build up etc). that way you wont have to touch it again for a long time.

The 380s have alot of potential in them, Im currently building a road racing 380 motor which should have around 70hp, just need to finish the pipe and the electrics. but thatd make a pretty useless road legal bike or trail bike.

[Jeram]

Hi all, new to the forum and found a local 99 380 for sale. I have a 640LC4 so the power shouldn't be an issue. I have a few questions..

1) How reliable are the engines & transmissions?

2) I've read a lot about jetting, head mods, JD jet kits, ect.. can someone 'splain why and how important all of this is?

3) I am very tall for a female.. not coordinated enough for basketball but love moto. How will this 380 fit me? I read where a tall rider on ktmtalk rewelding footpegs, raising bars with custom risers.. is the frame on the '99 tiny?

4) Was the '99 sold with an actual title, or MSO? If the latter, did the MSO come with "not for highway use"?

5) Is there a high output (100w or more) stator available for the 380?

6) Is there a large capacity tank available?

Thanks all.. love my '99 KTM 640 LC4.. but it's lonely in my garage after selling my RM125!

5.  yea.

nope,

the high output stators only fit 2000-2002 motors, as they changed the cases slighly.
I can confirm that it doesnt fit for sure.

only way is to get your stock stator rewound, or trailtech has a manual that shows how to convert the electrics for the lights to DC instead of AC. I think this makes things easier but I've never needed to run lights on mine so cant say for sure.

but KTMtalk has all the answers in the oldie but goody section.

[SachsGS]

Almost sounds like you would be better off with a 380 EXC enduro then the 380SX motocrosser.

Welcome aboard!

[citabjockey]

That post fit me too. My 380SX is close to the EXC model with the stuff I have put on it (all except the wide radio 4th and 5th). That said the close ratios are pretty darn nice to have in real world riding. I don't really need to go faster then 45 mph or so.

As far as jetting and JD in particular go, the biggest improvement to my 380's overly rich off idle response was to switch to the 8mm cutaway slide. The needles helped but not enough (IMHO). I have heard that a head mod is a good improvement here in that it makes the engine less picky about the mixture but I have no experience with that. My bike runs well from sea level to 5000 feet ok with just a 2 notch clip change.

I just tried playing with the powervalve adjuster on mine last weekend. I have had it all the out flush with its housing. I tried turning it tighter by a couple of turns which I think delays the valve opening until the engine is spinning a bit faster. I didn't really like it -- it just delays the serious power of this motor so you end up revving it more to get it into the insane mode. Cool to have the adjustment right there however...

The item I am least happy with on mine is the front forks. Of course the '99 model has conventional forks? My WP USD 43mm's still pound my wrists on braking bumps -- even after a pretty high dollar revalve (although they handle big stuff with ease and they are better on the braking bumps then before the revalve).

If you want way more power then you can ever use, and light weight and a somewhat modern chassis, I think the 380 is the only option.

Almost sounds like you would be better off with a 380 EXC enduro then the 380SX motocrosser.

Welcome aboard!