AUSTRIAN
MONSTER
WHY’DYABUYIT?
I’vealwayswantedabig-bore
two-strokeandtheyarehard
tofindhereinAustralia.I
foundthisbargainKTM 550 in
Americathreeyearsago(read
moreaboutBernie’sUS
adventuresin‘SandMountain’,
#468).Istrippeditdownonly
tofindoutwhyitwasso
cheap;themotorhadbeen
hydrolockedandthewhole
bikewasinpoorcondition.A
fullrebuildwasrequired.
WHAT YA DONE TO IT?
Imanaged to get the bike back
to Australia. I decided to create
a custom motor using the 550
top-end and a 350 bottom-end.
It now displaces 521cc with the
shorter stroke (it’s basically a
revvy 550). A lot of tweaks
were needed to fi nish the
motor but it came up fantastic.
There’s a 39-41mm tapered-
bore Mikuni PWK carb and
Boyesen Rad reed valve on the
inlet side, and an FMF Fattypipe handles the exhaust.
I cleaned up all the plastics and
had them painted in Line-X (to
make them indestructible). The
suspension was redone for my
tall stature, the Ohlins shock
was re-valved and Dal Soggio
fork inserts were put in the
front. Almost everything has
been upgraded and replaced.HOW’S IT GO?
Manic! The power is smooth
and linear but it hits with aninsane top-end that keeps the
front wheel airborne in all fi ve
gears. The bike will start fi rst
kick hot or cold (despite the
left-side kickstarter) and it
stops and handles like a
modern bike. The upgraded
clutch with new friction plates
made the biggest difference to
the bike’s usability. Now it
doesn’t suffer from clutch grab.
The old girl has all the modern
perks we take for granted,
except electric start.REAR GUARD
HOW TO RIDE / ADB GARAGE / WE RECOMMEND / TECH / KIDZ KORNER / USED RIDE /
RE
ADER
RIDE
1996
KTM 520
CUSTOM154 |SEPTEMBER 2019 http://www.adbmag.com.au