Re: The KAT -Part Deux AND Hatfield McCoy Buffalo Mountain 7/18 to 7/26/2020
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 5:14 pm
Agreed w/ everyone. This was a great trip! Thank you SkinnyJ for putting it together. 
I had never done a trip like this and I really learned a lot and enjoyed it. I might never do another trip w/ as many road sections again but I'm glad I moved out of my comfort zone and tried it.
Robert,
Yeah, later on I figured it couldn't have been your battery as the starter worked once we did whatever we did. Bad battery would have never cranked the starter. I was figuring some sort of intermittent in the start relay wiring or something. I wiggled that ground, it didn't seem loose
FWIW, I wouldn't use a self tapping screw. Just clean the mating surfaces and then put a dab of loctite on the bolt. The bolt doesn't carry the current - the frame touching the mating surface of the electrical lug does.
IME, Everything I ever remove from a KTM will shake back out. I don't know what the factory does to keep stuff together but if I take it out and don't use loctite or vibratite VC3 there is a 50/50 shot I'll loose that bolt later. There is a fellow on ebay that sells ~100pc KTM bolt kits for ~$20. They appear to be the real deal. It sure saves buying $2 bolts one at a time from KTM!
The wrench I was raving about is the Knipex Pliers Wrench
https://www.amazon.com/KNIPEX-Tools-00- ... B005EXNT2Y
Not cheap. The jaws stay parallel. I use the smaller two way more than the big one. If I only had to buy one it'd be the 10". They are handy for all sorts of stuff. They have about 3x the mechanical advantage of typ arc/slip joint pliers and can squeeze an unholy amount. If you are going to only carry one wrench on a trip, an arc joint type plier w/ serrated ends might be a little more universal through? But the pliers wrench doesn't tear up fasteners. I've used it to straighten metal flanged seams like on gas tanks. Bend subframe mounts back straight. Squeeze grommets, etc.
I had never done a trip like this and I really learned a lot and enjoyed it. I might never do another trip w/ as many road sections again but I'm glad I moved out of my comfort zone and tried it.Robert,
Yeah, later on I figured it couldn't have been your battery as the starter worked once we did whatever we did. Bad battery would have never cranked the starter. I was figuring some sort of intermittent in the start relay wiring or something. I wiggled that ground, it didn't seem loose
FWIW, I wouldn't use a self tapping screw. Just clean the mating surfaces and then put a dab of loctite on the bolt. The bolt doesn't carry the current - the frame touching the mating surface of the electrical lug does. IME, Everything I ever remove from a KTM will shake back out. I don't know what the factory does to keep stuff together but if I take it out and don't use loctite or vibratite VC3 there is a 50/50 shot I'll loose that bolt later. There is a fellow on ebay that sells ~100pc KTM bolt kits for ~$20. They appear to be the real deal. It sure saves buying $2 bolts one at a time from KTM!
The wrench I was raving about is the Knipex Pliers Wrench
https://www.amazon.com/KNIPEX-Tools-00- ... B005EXNT2Y
Not cheap. The jaws stay parallel. I use the smaller two way more than the big one. If I only had to buy one it'd be the 10". They are handy for all sorts of stuff. They have about 3x the mechanical advantage of typ arc/slip joint pliers and can squeeze an unholy amount. If you are going to only carry one wrench on a trip, an arc joint type plier w/ serrated ends might be a little more universal through? But the pliers wrench doesn't tear up fasteners. I've used it to straighten metal flanged seams like on gas tanks. Bend subframe mounts back straight. Squeeze grommets, etc.
