09 KTM 150sx

[thorns]

After a brief two month stint with the dark side, I am charging to get back to a real MX bike.

2009 KTM 150SX, what's the good the bad and the ugly with these?
Anything in particular to watch out, or generally a pretty sound bike?
I know the non linkage design seems to be a either hate it or love it design, so apart from that, anything that needs to be done to sort these out nicely?

[Stusmoke]

Welcome to the forum mate and good riddance on the fooper. I'm assuming it blew up on you?

Some things I've had experience with on my 2013 250sx and some things I've heard from KTM loyalists, so guys that raced em during the 09 period:

Rear sprocket bolts: Watch Dem ****es and check their tightness after every ride. Locktite too. Its not as big of a problem on the latest gen ones ('11 onwards) I check mine every hour and have only had to give one a little nip up.

Wooden bolts on those rear silencers (if its oem) can be a pain and have a tendency to fall out. keep an eye on your triple clamp bolts too. When you tighten them, don't just tighten one, then the other. Go backwards and forwards between them. If you just tighten the top one from finger loose, and then the bottom one from finger loose up to appropriate torque, the top one will be looser again. That actually goes for all triple clamp bolts.

Keep an eye on your front and rear axel nuts they can work loose. Uhhh lets see thats all I can think of at the moment.

Before you do go dropping big $$$$$ on head work, porting and all the flashy doo dadding, gear it down one tooth on the rear. If you're a rider of a tight track you might even consider swapping to 2 exrta teeth on the rear. Also, before you go buying any engine work, get your suspension revalved and resprung by an expert.

[thorns]

I actually made money from owning a 2012 RMZ 4 stroke, bought it for 6800, sold it for 7500      
Never missed a beat, went well, just after the first month, was just boring to ride, miss the snappiness, sounds and smell of a 2 banger!

Any info specific to the 150sx, or were they sorted by then apart from the generic KTM things to watch for yo outlined above?   From reading up the 144sx were a bit of a problem, which is why they relaunched them as a 150sx, hopefuly with any issues ironed out.

[ktm150rippa]

My 09 150sx has been rock solid. I agree though go up a tooth or 2 in the rear they put a 49T on stock and it makes it tough on a tight track.

[Larry63r]

Use a torque wrench on everything and you will have no problems, if not you will need to buy a lot of replacement bolts.
ONLY USE THE OIL DRAIN PLUG ON THE LEFT SIDE!!! It has a magnet on it. Use the torque wrench or you will strip it!



Use the correct jetting for your elevation and temperature. It makes a huge difference.

[Stusmoke]

I actually made money from owning a 2012 RMZ 4 stroke, bought it for 6800, sold it for 7500      
Never missed a beat, went well, just after the first month, was just boring to ride, miss the snappiness, sounds and smell of a 2 banger!

Any info specific to the 150sx, or were they sorted by then apart from the generic KTM things to watch for yo outlined above?   From reading up the 144sx were a bit of a problem, which is why they relaunched them as a 150sx, hopefuly with any issues ironed out.

Everything I outlined were generic KTM bugaboos. They're nothing major, just little things you should watch out for. The sprocket thing was 150sx specific, but just about every owner of a ktm MXer goes up a tooth on the rear. They typically gear their bikes one or two teeth tall.

[Larry63r]

I run 13/50 on my 2011 150sx. It came with 13/48 gearing stock. I also have the SXS pipe but only because my stocker got crushed. I have never had a single bolt come loose but I work on my bikes a lot more than most people. I take it down to the frame about once a month and clean the hell out of everything then I torque everything to spec on the rebuild.
I see people having trouble with a few things. Lots of people run their chain to tight and this causes the counter shaft seal to go out. They don't properly torque the seat bolt and loose a seat in the middle of a moto. They over tighten the drain bolt and strip it. They don't jet it right and then cry that the jetting is to fat or that the KTM needles are bad. They never spray WD-40 on the rebound adjuster and then wonder why it got seized and broke. They don't take the time to get the air filter on right and then blame the bike when their top end is worn out in 5 hrs of riding. They only change their gear oil every four or five rides and can't figure out why they burn through clutches so fast.
Run fresh gas with good mix oil at 40:1. Change your tranny oil and your air filter every ride. Don't let gas sit in your carb for weeks. Most importantly, clean your bike well. If you do these simple things you can expect your bike to run great for a long time with out much trouble.

[_X_]

whats the torque on the chick nuts?

[Larry63r]

I have found that most chicks are nuts!

[twosmoke595]

do it, don't hesitate, one awesome bike

you won't believe the build quality difference between japan and ktm

[_X_]

you won't believe the build quality difference between japan and ktm
[/quote]
come on twosmoke, you know this only applies to suzuki and kawi.

[thorns]

Actually ended up going and looking at a 2011 model yesterday.     Took it for a ride, just in a flat paddock, by man that was nice to ride, honestly just felt so light and would just go where you wanted it.   Having owned Suzuki's which always handled nice, I have to say, I think the 150sx felt sharper than both of the yellow bikes I have owned.

This bike had 35 hours, and motor has never been opened.   How long are most people getting out of a top end, and also bottom end.   Considering making an offer, but want to try get it down a bit in price so I can at least do the top end for my own piece of mind.   

I have to say though, considering that the top end is 35hrs old, it still had a surprising amount of power, so nice and snappy as well,   boy I have missed that two stroke feel!

[Larry63r]

I have 2 1/2 years on my 11 150sx and I haven't touched the stock top end yet. My son and I spent all day at the track today on it. Tag teamed it. The bike never got a rest. I left both my 250s at home. I love that little bike!

[Stusmoke]

I run 13/50 on my 2011 150sx. It came with 13/48 gearing stock. I also have the SXS pipe but only because my stocker got crushed. I have never had a single bolt come loose but I work on my bikes a lot more than most people. I take it down to the frame about once a month and clean the hell out of everything then I torque everything to spec on the rebuild.
I see people having trouble with a few things. Lots of people run their chain to tight and this causes the counter shaft seal to go out. They don't properly torque the seat bolt and loose a seat in the middle of a moto. They over tighten the drain bolt and strip it. They don't jet it right and then cry that the jetting is to fat or that the KTM needles are bad. They never spray WD-40 on the rebound adjuster and then wonder why it got seized and broke. They don't take the time to get the air filter on right and then blame the bike when their top end is worn out in 5 hrs of riding. They only change their gear oil every four or five rides and can't figure out why they burn through clutches so fast.
Run fresh gas with good mix oil at 40:1. Change your tranny oil and your air filter every ride. Don't let gas sit in your carb for weeks. Most importantly, clean your bike well. If you do these simple things you can expect your bike to run great for a long time with out much trouble.

good advice, apart from the last bit. Changing an air filter after every ride is utterly ridiculous and about as unnecessary as it comes. And the same with the transmission oil, thats just silly. My KTM manual recommends changing it every 20 hours, but I change it every ten for peace of mind. Air filter gets cleaned after every ride and replaced after 5 hours. Usually works out to be about 5 rides and washes.

[thorns]

So I am really stuck at the moment.
Can get the 09 for $4000, and the 11 for $6800.   (New Zealand dollars, for reference brand new is $12000 roughly)

The 11 is very tidy, just needs a new rear tyre, the 09 needs a bit of tidy up, but only basic things like frame guards, etc that are a little bit worn.   
The 11 has 35.7 from new on it, while the 09 has 85 hours, with a top and bottom end rebuild at 50 (receipts as well).

Is the 11 worth the extra?     

Part of me thinks it is, as I like tidy low hour bikes, but the other part of says I could have a well and truly sorted 09, including suspension work with change to spare for the cost of the 11.