steering stem

5607 Views 26 Replies 15 Participants Last post by djdracing, Sep 12, 2008

ktmkid

Discussion Starter · Feb 22, 2008

i know some of you have probaly read my note on another web site but i need to bring it up again, i have had my 525 for about 5 months . it took about 3 months to wear out the top steering stem slide bushing , so i ordered a new one wich took 2 months to get , only to find out that the bushing had not wore but indeed the aluminum stem took the beating. the new bushing does nothing for me it still has a lot of play- when i mean play i mean KLUNK KLUNK play. so no one answered my other post so you mean to tell me that there is nobody else experiencing this same thing? the problem is the stem wears and not the bushing . ktm makes a big deal about the size of the bottom bearing being so big to handle abuse and never mentions the top bushing at any time, i could be wrong but does the top not take the same abuse. don;t get me wrong i love my quad i just want to hear some other thoughts the only choice i have is to wait for an aftermarket company to come up with a steel re placement stem and order a new bushing to replace my "race ready stem " to fix my problem.

only venting , i have waited for parts, etc. just like everyone else. thanks for any replies

1 - 20 of 27 Posts

mcracer

· #2 · Feb 22, 2008

did you clean out the top bushing and keep it lubed with some sort of spray or waterproof grease? I don't think it should have worn out that fast, but even the steel stems wear some if you don't take care of them properly.
Did you let you dealer know about the problem? what did they say?

spendmoneyburngas

· #3 · Feb 22, 2008

Have you tipped it over yet. If the steering stem got bent at all it will wear out in ways that it shouldn't. thanks for the notice. I'll keep an eye on mine. When you pay close to $10,000 for a quad you expect it to be perfect.

ktmkid

Discussion Starter · #4 · Feb 22, 2008

i have not crashed it yet , only general use.. .yes i have been lubricating it with teflon spray. what would you use. my local dealer did not have a response for the problem and other dealers i talked to seemed surprised as well.

bh84

· #5 · Feb 27, 2008

maybe you ended up with the 1 bad egg

try tightening everty bolt on the stem, i might have just vibrated loose

waffles3

· #6 · Feb 27, 2008

that doesnt sound right, 7 months ago? KTM didnt sell the 525 then... either way try adding the grease for it or sumthing, if not you should talk to your local ktm dealer

mcracer

· #7 · Feb 28, 2008

wafflesXC said:
that doesnt sound right, 7 months ago? KTM didnt sell the 525 then... either way try adding the grease for it or sumthing, if not you should talk to your local ktm dealer

there were a few I've had mine since Sept.

ktmkid

Discussion Starter · #8 · Feb 29, 2008

yeah i bought mine in mid september, dude i'm telling you the stem is soft aluminum and the bushing is hard, grease or no grease the stem is going to wear first. i'm not trying to be negative but this is a problem anyone who is riding serios will have the same result

mcracer

· #9 · Feb 29, 2008

what do you consider serious? how much u been ridin yours?

ktmkid

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 2, 2008

well i ride once or twice a week, i'm not racing it yet but the riding i do is cross country a lot of rocky trail, so my group will ride pretty steady for about 60 miles one of my buds has a trail tech computer so we keep track of mileage, mcracer are you riding yours alot too if so do me a favor and see if yours has any side to side play or front to back. let me know what you find. i guess its possible i got a bad "egg" but my stem apears to be the same as every other ktm i have seen . thanks

mcracer

· #11 · Mar 2, 2008

i ride twice a week also weather permitting, i checked mine out last night and no play i pulled it out to inspect no signs of wear, If i were u i'd hound the dealer u got it from until they make it right. so far KTM has been pretty quick to fix any problems they don't want to get bad rep on first try

ktmkid

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 3, 2008

i appreciate you replying i'm taking mine to my dealer on tuesday and i'll see what happens from there. i'll let you know what i find out

MELWAY450

· #13 · Mar 3, 2008

Sounds like you got a blem

raptor0443

· #14 · Mar 3, 2008

my buddies is the same way, but he got it off a pro-am rider that was pretty hard on it. i think its a bunch of crap and ktm should take care of it.

chad6713

· #15 · Mar 11, 2008

I've had mine since Sept. I don't have any play in mine at all, It has quite a bit of time on it and a couple GNCC's in the Junior A class. I did bend a spindle in FL, after a light bounce off of a tree. I was really suprised at how easy it bent!!! I have ridden hondas all my life and they would never have bent for all the harder I hit it.

ccrider

· #16 · Mar 11, 2008

chad6713 said:
I've had mine since Sept. I don't have any play in mine at all, It has quite a bit of time on it and a couple GNCC's in the Junior A class. I did bend a spindle in FL, after a light bounce off of a tree. I was really suprised at how easy it bent!!! I have ridden hondas all my life and they would never have bent for all the harder I hit it.

Where did the spindle bend???I need to check mine out, as I hit a tre a month or so ago, everything looks ok, but details about the bending would help tremendously!!!

On the stem issue, I took mine apart, and cleaned it up, Dirty, and needing service I figured anyway, and found some light scratching, but no major wear per sey, I drilled and tapped for a grease zerk for the upper bushing for future lubing. was pretty easy.

CCRIDER

ktmkid

Discussion Starter · #17 · Mar 12, 2008

thats a good idea i gave thought to that too, i took mine to my dealer a week ago to show them the problem, they said they would check into it and let me know what they found . I still have not heard back from them yet.

MELWAY450

· #18 · Mar 12, 2008

I also bent a front spindle

I nailed a tree HARD

Luckily it is one of the parts they had in stock

cowbell

· #19 · Mar 12, 2008

mel,

How did you find out the spindal was bent? I also hit a tree and flipped over. I thought the bars were bent, but the toe was out. Readjusted and now it is straight. But they don't just "jump" out of alignment. So I am thinking maybe I bent my spindal?? HELP

MELWAY450

· #20 · Mar 12, 2008

cowbell said:
mel,

How did you find out the spindal was bent? I also hit a tree and flipped over. I thought the bars were bent, but the toe was out. Readjusted and now it is straight. But they don't just "jump" out of alignment. So I am thinking maybe I bent my spindal?? HELP

PM sent

1 - 20 of 27 Posts

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