Hi, has anyone got a Ktm Tpi 2017-19. How have they found them, have they had any problems with it. Read there is bit of a problem with it not lubing the piston sufficiently causing premature wear. Not really any clear pros cons online.
Some say stick with a carbed bike, others love it.
From my limited knowledge and friends who bought etc. The TPI isnt for the customers benefit, its complying with whatever hoops / statutory rules whichever EU / States demand / emissions. Its all part of the emissions package. Unless you need constant mixture adjustments on the fly, ie riding at all different heights above sea level, I would stick to the carb version. From what I can gather racers dont like the TPI. Other opinions might differ. If someone else has just forked out £8k, then I expect they will have all the benefits. ;)
-- Edited by Jerry atterick on Sunday 13th of January 2019 03:18:52 PM
Yes i get that it has been done to get through emissions etc, (like my bike going out 1 or 2 times a month is going to kill the planet).
But have heard they dont like water, and if it gets in your fuel is a prob. Also warranty, maintenance sounds a bit of a pain if you start tinkering with it. Someone must have one, and their views would be welcome.
just bought a new tx300, after asking the same questions Kiwi, decided to go the carb route tx300 / XC 300. ktm recommend a new oil pump at 80hrs, the majority of people are getting 150 hrs without any issues, but here stories of piston damages and seizure with less than 10 hrs.
if you go the carb route , from 17 onwards they have a mikuni carb which has mixed reviews , and the head will require milling down 0.5mm to bring the squish within acceptable squish.....
also think the xplor forks on the TPI are not that great if doing enduros , fine for lanes i would of thought much like the old 4CS fork, TX and XC 300 get the AER air fork which are meant to be alot better, using a air spring instead of a coil spring
Lots of opinions from people who don't own them. lots of conflicting info out there on the web.
ive heard/read the same reviews, some love them, some have had a nightmare. my friends seized at 16 hours and destroyed the engine. another at my local dealer did the same. there is limited or no warrenty on these models. some dealers will fix them some wash their hands. if its a low hours second hand model, forget any warrenty as my mate found out.
oil pumps seem to last up to 150 hours and at only £40 ish, it seems that its not the massive service issue some think it is. (compared to 4 stoke service costs)
it seems that the 300 has a lean running issue and a heat transfer issue due to the cylinder wall thickness. and because of that the 250 seems to suffer less issues.
one thing I did hear but cant 100% confirm, is that on small throttle openings, the oil delivery is very lean or non existent. There should be plenty of oil circulating the engine anyway and this is to keep idle emmisions down.
however, as a trail rider small throttle opening, is where most time is spent. rarely on the trail will you be on wide open throttle. I would suggest that this will be an issue when cruising on the road or tootling about the lanes, with the engine running short on oil, and this may be the reason people have seen issues.
I toyed with buying a new 300 but decided money would better be spent on my 2015 carbed model which for about a grand could have a new barrel, piston and crank set and be made almost brand new again, when needed.
lets face it I did the Exeter on the 300 with a total mileage of 400 miles for the event door to door. that also included a ride back from torquay to Salisbury on the road with 14/52 gearing. Bike was fine. I question if a new model would be so happy with such road mileage.
I personally hate development for the sake of development, where the end product doesn't really deliver any benefits (other than complying with euro 6/7 emissions)
I would recommend a pre 2016 model (kehin carbed model, as the mikuni later models suffered jetting issues that owners struggle to iron out) and spend money when needed on an engine refresh. Lets face it, its unlikely any of us really will be riding a 300 to its full potential.
Thanks for the great replys. they seem to be confirming what ive heard or read. A mechanic also confirmed cant go wrong with carbed bikes, and tpi do have their limits and issues in certain conditions. I am with you smokinrider in sticking with my bike and repair as necessary, and will wait and see how tpi etc all pans out in the future.
I certainly dont want to be a ktm guinea pig with my money, and have to sort out issues they know about but dont seem to be prepared to fix, (wheres that happen before? starter motors comes to mind). Shame as seemed a good idea at the time.
Still would be good to hear any other stories about them as im sure will be a hot topic moving forward, and may be useful to someone in the future.
