Brand new damaged Husqvarna cylinder

[KennyMc]

Can’t we all just get along ?

[carterkendall]

You guys ruined this interesting post. Welp I’ll share my experience...I have never had any issues with my 09 300 xc. Just sold it to my buddy and got a 15 husky te300. Maybe I don’t ride as often or as hard as the rest but they have both seemed to be very reliable, simple bikes to work on. Being in southern CA there really aren’t any competitive brands to husky/Ktm. I don’t know where I’d go to find a beta or gas gas or Sherco...and on the used market there just aren’t many out there. I’d be happy to switch to Yamaha or Honda if they made a 2 stroke 250/300 that was electric start, had a nice smooth power delivery, an easily adjustable power valve/spring, and came wired for a headlight and tail light that was as light weight as a Ktm or husky. But that’s just not available.

I do dig the branding of Ktm and husky. I like that they are heavily involved in different genres of riding then just the track bikes and Baja style races. I think their brands suit guys like me that like to ride more trail and explore the wilderness. But I haven’t had the best experience with my local dealer. Some of the guys there are nice dudes but the sales manager is kinda an ass hole. Very manipulative and slimy in his tactics. They are over priced in their parts and don’t ever hook you up even if your a regular that spends a lot of money there. Their customer service is weak and you have to be ready to go to battle to get what you want and if you are not assertive they walk all over you. They definitely have a snobby attitude unless they can tell you have a lot of money. It’s funny sometimes I’ll be in there for an hour shopping parts and chatting and I’ll watch the sales manager talk to different people. A young kid comes in all excited about Ktm and the sales guy acts like he doesn’t have time for him and doesn’t bother, an older dude dressed in nice business attire walks in and he’s ready to suck him off with a big fake ass smile on. I get it, you gotta make money but I’m a firm believer at investing in every customer big or small. You never know when taking good care of someone is gonna pay off. If a dealer like in this case just simply took care of the customer or offered even to split the cost of repair or said hey you pay parts well cover labor. They may have had a happy customer that could have bought several more bikes in the next 10-20 years. Personally if I had another Ktm dealer in my area I’d avoid my local shop at all cost just because it doesn’t feel good giving this guy my money. I’m here buying a bike and it feels like I lost haha, I should be psyched!

Anyways. I don’t know anything about this motor situation your all debating, although I’ve enjoyed reading about it. But I just wanted to chime in that I really love my husky and my older Ktm and I really love the brand, my experience with their dealers has been lack luster.


See See Ktm up in Portland is usually who I call if I have a question I need to ask and don’t want to feel dumb by asking the snobs at my local shop. Those guys up there seem to know what they are doing and are really making the best of the ktm/husky brand. And if it wasn’t so expensive to ship and transfer from out of state I’d probably buy my next bike up there just out of loyalty to how kind they treat me when I have talked to them/visited their store.

Anyways, get off yer dildos and get back to talking about dirt bikes. I wanna hear what ended up happening with this dudes bike! Was it improper break in? Is he gonna replace anything or run it as is? Is husky strong arming him? Let’s find out! [emoji41][emoji41][emoji41]

[M A T R]

You guys ruined this interesting post. Welp I’ll share my experience...I have never had any issues with my 09 300 xc. Just sold it to my buddy and got a 15 husky te300. Maybe I don’t ride as often or as hard as the rest but they have both seemed to be very reliable, simple bikes to work on. Being in southern CA there really aren’t any competitive brands to husky/Ktm. I don’t know where I’d go to find a beta or gas gas or Sherco...and on the used market there just aren’t many out there. I’d be happy to switch to Yamaha or Honda if they made a 2 stroke 250/300 that was electric start, had a nice smooth power delivery, an easily adjustable power valve/spring, and came wired for a headlight and tail light that was as light weight as a Ktm or husky. But that’s just not available.

I do dig the branding of Ktm and husky. I like that they are heavily involved in different genres of riding then just the track bikes and Baja style races. I think their brands suit guys like me that like to ride more trail and explore the wilderness. But I haven’t had the best experience with my local dealer. Some of the guys there are nice dudes but the sales manager is kinda an ass hole. Very manipulative and slimy in his tactics. They are over priced in their parts and don’t ever hook you up even if your a regular that spends a lot of money there. Their customer service is weak and you have to be ready to go to battle to get what you want and if you are not assertive they walk all over you. They definitely have a snobby attitude unless they can tell you have a lot of money. It’s funny sometimes I’ll be in there for an hour shopping parts and chatting and I’ll watch the sales manager talk to different people. A young kid comes in all excited about Ktm and the sales guy acts like he doesn’t have time for him and doesn’t bother, an older dude dressed in nice business attire walks in and he’s ready to suck him off with a big fake ass smile on. I get it, you gotta make money but I’m a firm believer at investing in every customer big or small. You never know when taking good care of someone is gonna pay off. If a dealer like in this case just simply took care of the customer or offered even to split the cost of repair or said hey you pay parts well cover labor. They may have had a happy customer that could have bought several more bikes in the next 10-20 years. Personally if I had another Ktm dealer in my area I’d avoid my local shop at all cost just because it doesn’t feel good giving this guy my money. I’m here buying a bike and it feels like I lost haha, I should be psyched!

Anyways. I don’t know anything about this motor situation your all debating, although I’ve enjoyed reading about it. But I just wanted to chime in that I really love my husky and my older Ktm and I really love the brand, my experience with their dealers has been lack luster.


See See Ktm up in Portland is usually who I call if I have a question I need to ask and don’t want to feel dumb by asking the snobs at my local shop. Those guys up there seem to know what they are doing and are really making the best of the ktm/husky brand. And if it wasn’t so expensive to ship and transfer from out of state I’d probably buy my next bike up there just out of loyalty to how kind they treat me when I have talked to them/visited their store.

Anyways, get off yer dildos and get back to talking about dirt bikes. I wanna hear what ended up happening with this dudes bike! Was it improper break in? Is he gonna replace anything or run it as is? Is husky strong arming him? Let’s find out! [emoji41][emoji41][emoji41]

Cool story bra

[Motolife333]

Sorry that it has taken so long to respond.  I was gathering as much information before I made this post.

Let me start with this.  KTM looked over my cylinder, and sent it back across the country.  They told me there is nothing wrong with the cylinder and it is not a manufacturer defect.  They also said that these types of marks are typical on their 300 cylinders and will not effect performance or reliability.  They offered to put it back together and monitor it at 5 hours, which I declined. The dealer gave me a gasket set and a new piston (Maybe the old piston was taken for R&D), and gave me their pricing at Mongoose Machining

I will attach a picture of the rings, which do not have any abnormal markings on them (although the pictures don't show much).

There was two marks that are Deeper than the crosshatching.  It was not a raised surface from leftover piston coating.  The surface was very rough and not polished smooth.  And I will attach more detailed photos of the marks.

I showed the cylinder to Mongoose Machine when I delivered the cylinder personally, and they were surprised at how bad the marks were.  They said that honing could not fix those marks, as they were too deep.  They also stated that "Im surprised they told you this was ok.  It will run, but not the way its suppose to, until those rings wear in, which might take a while." They also welded the top of my cylinder where there was a gouge in the o-ring seat.  I also added that into my warranty claim with Husqvarna originally, but I chose to fight the more important battle.  Mongoose Machine told me it was an issue.  I made no mention of it to them.

This is my philosophy on this.  If the cylinder is worn beyond the crosshatching, then it will take hundreds of hours for that ring to seat properly.  People do a top end job at 200 hours and still have crosshatching in their cylinder, so how is this going to seal properly in 5, 10 even 20 hours when its past the crosshatching.

HERE IS THE MOST INTERESTING PART, and the part that made me, and the dealership understand that I had NO part in the damaging of the cylinder.  A friend of a friend, who had put a deposit on a 2018 300cc Husqvarna, caught wind of my story and refused to take his bike without a proper inspection of the cylinder.  They bore scoped the cylinder and realized that his bike along with two others had marks just like mine.  They gave him $2000 off his motorcycle to take it as is.

To the people who say I should run it, I like to have my bike in perfect order, and I hold that to an even higher standard with a BRAND NEW bike.  I do not want to be bore scoping my new bike at 5 hour intervals to see if it is in the condition it should in the first place.  

To the believers of a hard break in, Yes cylinder pressure is important, but it also doesn't reflect in the owners manual that you need to ride the bike hard in the first 15 mins, so if I follow the instructions in the owner's manual and something goes wrong, Its Husqvarna's fault for not including that information in the bike THEY designed.

A fellow private messaged me photos of his 2018 TE300, and his cylinder looked worse than mine.  He messaged me the response from Millennium Technologies and it said "This is common on the KTM/Husky. It is due to a minute amount of debris getting caught in the rings."  

My bike never touched dirt and was never taken apart before I started It.  It was started in a driveway on a damp Canadian day.  The filter was oiled and there is no way debris got past the air filter into the motor.  If it was debris that caused this, it had to have already been in the motor. And yes there was fine particles in the motor upon disassembly, possibly fine enough to get caught under the rings and not mark up the piston too bad.

Sorry for the long post but there was lots to touch up on.

 

[GRamg]

So was it KTM Canada that declined help / said it was normal? Or your dealer?

Can't see those gouges being "normal" at all... So the dealer offered you a piston and a reduced rate

on machining your old "new" cylinder?

Kind of shocked KTM wouldn't offer you something like a free top end kit. Factory cost on that has to be under $500 ..

Cheap enough on their end to make a customer happy.. In my eyes anyways..

Hope it gets sorted so you can get to enjoying that thing !

 

[Gnarly Wipes]

...

Edited February 28, 2018 by Gnarly Wipes

[Motolife333]

1 hour ago, GRamg said:

So was it KTM Canada that declined help / said it was normal? Or your dealer?

Can't see those gouges being "normal" at all... So the dealer offered you a piston and a reduced rate

on machining your old "new" cylinder?

Kind of shocked KTM wouldn't offer you something like a free top end kit. Factory cost on that has to be under $500 ..

Cheap enough on their end to make a customer happy.. In my eyes anyways..

Hope it gets sorted so you can get to enjoying that thing !

 

You're totally right.  They couldve saved themselves tons of scrutiny by replacing it in the first place.  KTM canada denied my claim.  My cylinder was sent all the way from Vancouver to Quebec, so they could inspect it.  The dealer gave me a piston, gasket set, and their pricing to get my cylinder replated.  KTM was perticularly pissed that I posted here.  They weren't giving me much feedback until i posted on here anyways.  The morning following my post i recieved calls from the dealer saying KTM saw my post and they would like me to remove it.  My guess is they denied me because they have hundreds if not thousands of cylinders they messed up on, and they're trying to cover up the issue.

[Danceswithtrees]

Those pics are much better and more revealing than the ones in your first post.  Definitely not right and KTM should've taken care of that.  Sorry about all the hassle you're going through nobody should have to deal with that on a brand new $10k bike. 

[Creeature]

Ktm be lurking up in here 

[Captn Kirk]

If you read my very aggressive response to a couple of people on this thread, you can now see by reading the update by the OP that KTM and Husky (which is KTM) are no different than any of the other greed around the world.  I got pissed and I regret it, but when people bring valid data driven perspective to the table, others should be respectful when that perspective is clearly intended to be an advocate for said member.  Forums are our voice and our counsel.  It's a place where good people can go to get a perspective without a corporate dog in the figurative fight.  Please feel free to disagree with me, but this is horrendous that KTM behaves this way.

 

To the OP - THANK YOU for the education and for those who chimed in.  Going forward, I will demand the dealer bore scope the new motor, and demand they then service an run the motor and then we'll bore scope it again.  I've learned something that will help me in the future.  Thank you Thumper Talk Forum!

 

[GRamg]

22 hours ago, Motolife333 said:

You're totally right.  They couldve saved themselves tons of scrutiny by replacing it in the first place.  KTM canada denied my claim.  My cylinder was sent all the way from Vancouver to Quebec, so they could inspect it.  The dealer gave me a piston, gasket set, and their pricing to get my cylinder replated.  KTM was perticularly pissed that I posted here.  They weren't giving me much feedback until i posted on here anyways.  The morning following my post i recieved calls from the dealer saying KTM saw my post and they would like me to remove it.  My guess is they denied me because they have hundreds if not thousands of cylinders they messed up on, and they're trying to cover up the issue.

Good grief... If they didn't want negative feedback posted, they should have looked after the problem.. which there clearly WAS a problem..

Crap, my new 250XC has been sitting in hibernation since October with zero hours. Guess I have to pull the thing down and have a look-see.

Was hoping just to pour some fuel in and go! Crap part is the 30 day warranty is gone long ago, guess that's what you get for jumping the gun and hopping on a good price :-(

[EmpireofDerp]

Totally unsatisfactory end to this, what a shit company. KTM should be ashamed of both their quality control and their customer service.

[SteveThe Snakes]

Thank you for reading these posts KTM now please fix these issues. 

[Captn Kirk]

I have to share this.  My son's 3 hour used 85SX that I spent $1000 to have the dealer convert to a 105 before I ever took delivery had a casting bubble in the head.  Due to coming into contact with a log at the pipe behind the front wheel, the exhaust port portion of the cylinder head casting cracked such that the entire exhaust flange was separated so that motor was cooked even though he was able to ride it out back to the truck.  Mind you, the OEM pipe didn't even have a bend in it and know that the OEM pipes are very thin compared to the FMF replacement product.  Dealer went to bat for me because you could actually see the "bubble" in the casting.  Bubbles happen in castings, it why they do sonic quality control testing, so it's not like I found life on Mars - it's a known foundry issue that is bound to happen.  KTM refused to talk to us.  I was able to get the Factory Rep on the horn and he was pissed.  All he would say is that I am not supposed to contact him and he kept asking how I got his number.  If I could have filmed it and tape recorded it, I could sell it to the corporate world as part of a training regimen of how to not treat your customers.  He did claim that in 11 years, he had never seen it and that he couildn't see how we felt it should be replaced under warranty.  Said he's ever heard of it for me to ultimately learn there is a cottage industry springing up of machine shops that are fixing this exact problem for KTM owners.  It's fascinating to me how regular people start towing the corporate lie and how companies think the consumer is not smart enough to get it.  Karma is always lurking..........

[gunters96lt1]

This is a real bummer.  The more i read about KTM/Husky makes me think i should have just bought a JAP bike.  (yes i know every manufacturer has issues).  10k for a bike with shit jetting, bad reeds, and possibly cylinder issues is just terrible.  And the fact KTM wants to sweep it under the rug is absolutely unacceptable.  

[Motolife333]

17 hours ago, GRamg said:

Good grief... If they didn't want negative feedback posted, they should have looked after the problem.. which there clearly WAS a problem..

Crap, my new 250XC has been sitting in hibernation since October with zero hours. Guess I have to pull the thing down and have a look-see.

Was hoping just to pour some fuel in and go! Crap part is the 30 day warranty is gone long ago, guess that's what you get for jumping the gun and hopping on a good price :-(

Well look at the bright side: their warranty doesn't mean anything anyways!?

2 hours ago, gunters96lt1 said:

This is a real bummer.  The more i read about KTM/Husky makes me think i should have just bought a JAP bike.  (yes i know every manufacturer has issues).  10k for a bike with shit jetting, bad reeds, and possibly cylinder issues is just terrible.  And the fact KTM wants to sweep it under the rug is absolutely unacceptable.  

Beta, GasGas, and Sherco are making great enduro bikes now.  When they become more available across North America, Im sure everybody will remember how KTM treated their customers.

[jengel451]

I hate to say it...the TX may be my last KTM/Husky product.  Sold my 1190R due to lack of Factory Support this past fall.    Dealer's are in a tough spot it seems.

KTM needs to pull the blinders off or will end up like HD.   They thought they had a solid customer base, well....that's not working well for them now is it.

[GRamg]

Actually realllllyyyy wanted a Sherco, but their Cdn dealer network basically shut down...

[Danceswithtrees]

5 hours ago, jengel451 said:

I hate to say it...the TX may be my last KTM/Husky product.  Sold my 1190R due to lack of Factory Support this past fall.    Dealer's are in a tough spot it seems.

KTM needs to pull the blinders off or will end up like HD.   They thought they had a solid customer base, well....that's not working well for them now is it.

I recently ditched KTM after riding their bikes for almost 15 years.  They are an arrogant bunch of twits and will tell you flat out tough shit.  I got tired of being an unpaid r&d field tester for their rushed to market new ideas and changes.  What gets me is how all the guys I ride with on new KTM's just sort of make light of all the shit they have to fix, change and mod to get a good running bike, as if it should be expected.  Maybe KTM will change their ways if they start losing enough market share to Sherco, Beta, Gas Gas and Yamaha. 

[jengel451]

2 minutes ago, Danceswithtrees said:

 Maybe KTM will change their ways if they start losing enough market share to Sherco, Beta, Gas Gas and Yamaha. 

Funny you say that.  I was sitting in a shop full of racers today and that EXACT comment came up....everyone agreed.  And 90% of them raced orange.